More than a quarter of the population at risk of poverty faced a housing cost overload in 2024, according to data released Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
“There was a worsening of financial conditions associated with housing compared to 2023, both in terms of the median housing cost burden (which increased to 12.0%) and the rate of housing cost overload (which rose to 6.9%),” the report stated.
Additionally, “the population at risk of poverty faced greater difficulties at this level, with more than a quarter (25.9%) of the population at risk of poverty experiencing a housing cost overload.”
Housing conditions improve, but…
Data from the INE’s Survey on Living Conditions and Income (ICOR) for 2024 also suggest “an improvement in physical housing conditions, with the overcrowding rate decreasing to 11.2% and the severe housing deprivation rate decreasing to 4.9%.”
“For both indicators, the greatest housing deprivation mainly affected families with dependent children and families at risk of poverty,” it was noted.
The INE explained that “as in previous years, the risk of living in inadequate housing space was more substantial for the population at risk of poverty: 17.3% of the population at risk of poverty was in a state of housing overcrowding, compared to 10.0% for the rest of the population.”
It is also noted that, “in 2024, overcrowding primarily affected the younger population (19.9% for the age group up to 17 years), decreasing with age (12.1% for the population aged 18 to 64 years and 3.1% for the elderly).”
“The overcrowding rate was also higher for the population residing in predominantly urban areas (12.8%),” the INE concluded.
A report released today by Oxfam International concluded that the wealth accumulated since 2015 by the richest 1% of the world’s population could eradicate poverty in the next 22 years.
Lusa | 06:11 – 26/06/2025
Prominent Regions
According to the INE, the housing overcrowding rate was lower than the national average (11.2%) only in the NUTS II regions of the Center and the West and Tagus Valley: 5.9% and 6.3%, respectively.”
On the other hand, “this condition was more frequent in the Autonomous Regions: 16.2% in the Azores and 19.4% in Madeira.”
The INE data also show that “in the population at risk of poverty, the indicator is more sensitive to periods of economic disruption, such as the last global economic and financial crisis and the subsequent period of external financial assistance to Portugal, as well as the pandemic period.”
“Nevertheless, the indicator shows a clear trend of reduction: from 7.9% in 2004 to 0.5% in 2024,” it was reported.
Housing issues will be addressed for the first time between presidents and prime ministers of the European Union (EU) at the next European Council meeting, announced today by the institution’s president, António Costa.
Lusa | 13:05 – 09/07/2025
