A survey conducted by the European Commission reveals that, in 2024, 83% of the Portuguese respondents report living in regions with a good or very good quality of life (+1 p.p. compared to the EU). Satisfaction with the economic situation of their region is similar to that of other European citizens (65%). The issues that Portuguese people consider to be the most important ones facing their region are, firstly, housing (43%, +23 p.p. compared to the EU), followed by the cost of living (40%, +9 p.p.), health, economic situation, and transportation, with significant regional variations.
The results of Flash Eurobarometer #539, published in March 2024, reveal that, overall, citizens of the EU27 are more satisfied with the quality of life (82%) than with the economic situation of their region (65%). Portugal follows the same trend, with a similar quality of life (83%, +1 p.p.) and the same assessment of the economic situation. However, there are fewer people in Portugal who consider the quality of life in their region to be “very good” (9%, -11 p.p.). There are also significant regional variations: people in the Centre region rate the economic situation of their region better (69%), while the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, the Azores Autonomous Region, and the Algarve rate it worse (respectively, 61% and 58%).
Regarding quality of life, the North and the Alentejo region exceed the national average (respectively, 89% and 88%), while in the Madeira Autonomous Region, the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, and the Azores, the proportion of people satisfied with the quality of life in the region is lower (respectively, 80%, 76%, and 75%). It is also worth noting the apparent polarization of the quality of life in the autonomous regions, with 17% of people in Madeira considering it “very good” while 13% consider it “very bad” (respectively, +8 p.p. and +2 p.p. compared to the national average); in the Azores, 13% consider it very good, compared to 21% who consider it very bad (respectively, +4 p.p. and +10 p.p.).
The Eurobarometer also asked European citizens which two issues currently facing their region they consider to be the most important. In the EU27, the cost of living stood out in first place (31%), followed by the economic situation, unemployment, and health (all at 26%), housing (20%), and climate change (19%). In Portugal, housing emerges as the main concern for the majority of respondents (43%, +23 p.p. compared to the EU), followed by the cost of living (40%, +9 p.p.), health (31%, +5 p.p.), economic situation and unemployment (24%, -2 p.p.), and finally transportation (16%, +4 p.p.), instead of climate change, which is only a top concern for 7% of respondents (-12 p.p.).
In summary, Portugal shows greater concern than the rest of Europe regarding housing, the cost of living, health, and transportation, but less concern about the economic situation, climate change, the education system (-9 p.p.), crime (-8 p.p.), and the outflow of people/businesses from their region (-1 p.p.). However, the survey highlights significant differences between Portuguese regions:
- The cost of living concerns more residents of the Algarve and Lisbon (both 42%) and fewer people in the Alentejo (32%), Centre, and Azores (both 38%);
- The economic situation worries more those living in the Centre region (27%) or in the Azores (30%) and less those living in the North (23%) or in Lisbon (22%);
- People in Madeira are particularly concerned about health (36%), followed by residents of the Alentejo and Lisbon (both 33%), unlike those in the Algarve (27%), North (28%), and Azores (29%);
- Concern about housing is above the national average in the Algarve (48%), Lisbon and Madeira (both 45%), but below average in the Azores (33%) and the Alentejo (41%);
- Finally, while transportation is one of the main concerns in the North (17%), Algarve (20%), Alentejo (23%), and autonomous regions (both 18%), this domain is replaced by immigration in the Centre and Lisbon, where 19% and 13% of people, respectively, consider it a priority issue (compared to the EU27 average of 13%), contrasting with the North, where only 9% of people are concerned about this issue.
Among the less mentioned topics by the Portuguese, there are some interesting variations between regions. There is greater concern about the education system in the North than in the rest of the country (11%), particularly compared to Madeira (3%), Azores (4%), and Alentejo (6%). Crime concerns more residents of the North (7%), the Alentejo, and the Azores (both 5%). Concern about the “outflow” of people and businesses particularly worries residents of the Alentejo (10%), the Centre, and the Azores (both 9%).
Reference:
European Commission (2024). Flash Eurobarometer 539 – Public opinion in the EU regions, January-February 2024, National report: Portugal. Brussels, European Commission. https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/surveys/detail/3218.
Note:
[1] A telephone survey was conducted between January and February 2024. In total, 62,091 European citizens aged 15 and over were surveyed across the EU27 countries. The Portuguese sample consisted of 2,122 individuals (approximately 300 per region). The sampling method was probabilistic random for each region, with the final data resulting from the application of a statistical weighting, stratified according to the age and gender of the population by region and country.
By Adriana Albuquerque
