The percentage of people who negatively evaluated their health stood at 12% in 2024, marking the lowest figure since the series began, reflecting a decrease of 1.5 percentage points compared to 2023, and much lower than the rates recorded from 2004 to 2014 (between 18% and 21%).
The data, included in the publication “Health Statistics” released by the National Statistics Institute (INE) to coincide with World Health Day on April 7, indicate that the Greater Lisbon area has the highest proportion of people aged 16 or over with a positive perception of their health status (60%), followed by the Azores (58.3%) and the Algarve (57.9%).
In 2024, the Central region recorded the lowest frequency of the population with a positive self-assessment (46.6%), followed by Oeste and Vale do Tejo and the Autonomous Region of Madeira, both below 50%.
Examining the population with chronic morbidity, the data show that, in 2024, 42.3% of the population aged 16 or over reported having a chronic disease or prolonged health problem, a decrease of 2.2 percentage points from the previous year (44.5%).
This condition was more prevalent among women (45.9%) than men (38.2%) and significantly affected the elderly population: 68.1% compared to 32.2% of those under 65 years old, notes the INE, highlighting a decrease in this indicator across both sexes and age groups.
Additional data from the publication reveal that, last year, 28.7% of the population felt limited in performing activities considered usual for most people due to health issues. Of this group, 5.5% reported severe limitations.
The “Healthy Life Years” indicator, which combines the population’s life expectancy information with the impact of limitations in carrying out usual activities due to health problems, shows that, in 2022, the healthy life expectancy at age 65 was 8.6 years for men and 7.3 years for women.
In both cases, these figures are below the European Union (EU-27) averages of 8.9 years for men and 9.2 years for women.
