The Azores and Madeira were the only regions in the country where the at-risk-of-poverty rate increased in 2022, according to the report “Portugal, Balanço Social,” developed by researchers from the Faculty of Economics at Universidade Nova de Lisboa.
The rate rose in the Azores from 21.9% in 2021 to 25.1% the following year, putting a quarter of the population in difficult living conditions. The figure rose from 24.3% to 25.9% in Madeira, according to the report released yesterday.
“The prevalence of poverty is higher in the Autonomous Regions, which also have more material and social deprivation and more inequality than mainland Portugal. The poverty rate is almost 10 percentage points above the national average in Madeira, the region with the highest poverty rate in Portugal, and 9 percentage points above the national average in the Azores,” says the study.
According to the report, the rate of severe material and social deprivation fell in all regions of the country between 2021 and 2022, but the exception was the Azores. “In 2022, in the Azores, one in 10 people were in a situation of severe material and social deprivation,” the researchers point out.
“The Alentejo is the region with the lowest rate of severe material and social deprivation (3.2%), while the Azores (9.8%) and Madeira (7.8%) are the regions where this rate is highest,” the report states.
The Azores are also in first place for inequality, as measured by the Gini coefficient. “The region with the greatest inequality was the Azores, which was also the one where inequality increased the most compared to the previous year, followed by Madeira and the Center. In the North, Center and Lisbon Metropolitan Area, inequality decreased,” the paper explains.

In Diário Isnualr, José Loureço-director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.