Bankruptcies in Portugal increased by more than 26% in July 2024, compared to the same month in 2023.
This increase is part of an upward trend throughout the year, with a total of 2,410 insolvencies registered in the first seven months of 2024, representing an increase of 16% compared to the same period last year.
In July, 309 bankruptcies were registered, a significant increase compared to the same month in 2023.
Bankruptcy declarations requested by third parties grew by more than 53%, while bankruptcy requests submitted by the companies themselves increased by 71%.
Closures with a bankruptcy plan also saw a 50% increase compared to last year, and declarations of bankruptcy totaled 1,303, 84 fewer than in 2023.

78% in Ponta Delgada

The districts of Lisbon and Porto continue to lead the way in terms of the number of bankruptcy filings, with 545 and 594 respectively. Lisbon saw an increase of just over 10% compared to 2023, while Porto saw an increase of around 35%.
Other districts with significant increases in bankruptcies include Guarda (+267%), Ponta Delgada (+78%), Castelo Branco (+74%), Santarém (+66%), Portalegre (+46%), Beja (+44%), Bragança (+40%), Braga (+39%), Évora (+33%), Vila Real (+27%), Viseu (+19%) and Aveiro (+2%).

Decrease in Angra and Horta

In contrast, eight districts saw a decrease in bankruptcies: Horta (-50%), Madeira (-30%), Leiria (-24%), Angra do Heroísmo (-22%), Coimbra (-11%), Setúbal (-8%), Viana do Castelo (-3%) and Faro (-3%).
In terms of sectors, there were increases in bankruptcies in all activities, except for Agriculture, Hunting, and Fishing, which fell by 3% compared to 2023.
The sectors with the sharpest increases were Electricity, Gas and Water (+100%), Manufacturing (+39%), Hotels and Restaurants (+19%), Other Services (+18%), Vehicle Trade (+12%), Transport (+11%), Retail Trade (+6%), Wholesale Trade (+3%) and Construction and Public Works (+2%).

Increases in New Businesses in the Azores–bucking the trend in major Portuguese cities

In July 2024, the number of business start-ups fell by 21% compared to the same month in 2023, from 4,101 to 3,260.
In the total for the first seven months of the year, there was a 3% reduction in the number of new companies, with 30,884 set up. Lisbon leads the way in the number of new companies, with 9,695, a decrease of 10% compared to 2023, followed by Porto with 5,244 companies (-2.5%).
Other districts with negative variations include Portalegre (-12%), Beja (-11%), Vila Real (-8%), Santarém (+6%), Setúbal (-5%), Coimbra (-5.5%), Faro (-1%) and Leiria (-0.3%).
Some districts saw an increase in the creation of new companies by the end of July 2024: Horta (+74%), Angra do Heroísmo (+38%), Guarda (+19%), Viana do Castelo (+13%), Castelo Branco (+13%), Ponta Delgada (+12%), Bragança (+11%), Madeira (+10%), Aveiro (+9.5%), Évora (+5%), Braga (+3%) and Viseu (+0.2%).
The sectors with growth in the creation of new companies were: Telecommunications (+60%), Mining (+56%), Construction and Public Works (+7%), Retail Trade (+1%), Vehicle Trade (+2%) and Other Services (+0.4%).

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.