Despite the improvements noted compared to 2023, in 2024, the Autonomous Region of the Azores remained the region of the country most vulnerable to poverty and social exclusion. Last year, in the Azores, 28.4% of the population was at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Although the situation has improved compared to the previous year, with a reduction of 3.0 p.p., the Region remains far from the national average of 19.7%, i.e., a significant difference of +8.7 p.p.. However, the current decline interrupts the worsening trend that had been observed since 2021, recovering, albeit partially, the favorable trajectory recorded until that year. This is stated in the report “Poverty and Social Exclusion 2025” by EPAN, released last Friday, October 17, which marks the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. In fact, all indicators support the vulnerability of the Azorean people.

In terms of monetary poverty, the region had a rate of 24.2%, 1.9 percentage points lower than in 2023, but still 7.6 percentage points higher than the national average of 16.6%. Although the recent improvement is significant, the existence of this gap, which remains considerably high, highlights the structural weaknesses of the labor market and disposable income in the Azores. The Azores also have the highest at-risk-of-poverty rate among the employed population (13.5%), +4.3 p.p. above the national average (9.2%). Although labor intensity per capita points to a positive trend, having fallen by 2.1 p.p. between 2023 and 2024 to 6.8%, it remains above the national average of 4.8%. The report states that this difference suggests that, although there are more people in situations of constraint related to employment in the region, these constraints continue to hinder full integration into the labor market. The indicator of severe material and social deprivation also showed a significant improvement, falling from 12% in 2023 to 8.2% in 2024, after 12% in 2023. Still, it also remains 3.9 p.p. above the national average of 4.3%, confirming a continuation of deprivation and constraints in different areas, such as access to basic goods and services, housing quality, and even the ability to cover unexpected expenses, among others. The report “Poverty and Social Exclusion 2025” analyzes the data from a broader temporal perspective, between 2018 and 2024.

The reading shows that the Region has significantly reduced all the indicators under analysis, although not continuously. In fact, the trajectory was marked by two distinct phases, with a first period of great improvement between 2018 and 2021, followed by a reversal from 2021 onwards, with a worsening of the indicators, and finally, in 2024, a reversal of the downward trend. The report concludes that, although the most recent results show an alleviation of social vulnerability, the Azores continue to show very significant structural differences compared to the national average, confirming their position as the region of Portugal most exposed to the risk of poverty and social exclusion. In fact, the gap between the area and the rest of the country remains more than double the threshold set by the National Strategy to Combat Poverty (2021–2030). In this regard, the National Observatory for the Fight Against Poverty states that “the Azores continue to show a persistent structural gap, which may require more targeted and sustained public policies to ensure effective convergence with the Strategy’s objectives. The country In 2024, with around 1,761,000 people at risk of poverty, Portugal was among the 10 countries that contribute most in absolute terms to the total number of people living in poverty in the EU-27 (72,099,000 people).

This group is led by Germany (12,898 thousand), Italy (11,092 thousand), and France (10,553 thousand). In relative terms, Portugal has a rate of 16.6%, slightly above the EU average (16.2%). Women continue to make up the majority (56%) of those exposed to poverty and social exclusion. More than one in three people living in poverty had an income of €422 or less per month. Forty percent of poor children lived in households with this income. Only half of the people aged 18 to 64 living in poverty receive social benefits. Pensioners saw their risk of poverty increase by 19.9%, people aged 65 or over saw an increase of 17.8%, and the very elderly (aged 75 or over) faced a 22.7% increase,” details the EAPN, adding that 22.3% of pensioners, 23.8% of people aged 65 or over, and 26.5% of elderly people aged 75 or over were at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Rural and sparsely populated areas continue to have higher poverty rates (23.5%) than densely populated cities (17.5%). However, most people living in poverty live in urban areas. On the Portuguese mainland, the Setúbal peninsula is the most vulnerable region, with a rate of 21.8%.

Rui Melo Leite is a journalist for Diário dos Açores-Paulo Viveiros, director.

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