A study conducted by a research team at Nova SBE is based on the findings from the 2023 Survey on Living Conditions, Origins, and Trajectories of the Resident Population in Portugal (ICOT). The survey, despite its “sample limitations,” revealed that 83.8% of the 21,608 respondents “identify as white.”
The research highlights that “various ethnic minorities (Asian, Roma, Black, mixed origin or belonging, and others) are aggregated into one group,” which “represents about 7.8% of the adult population (nearly 600,000 individuals).”
Concerning financial situations, the study notes that “low incomes are more prevalent among ethnic minorities,” with “32% of adults in the lowest income quintile compared to 18.6% of the white population.”
The report states that “ethnic minorities display greater difficulties than the white population: the proportion of people living in households unable to cover expenses is more than double among minorities (13.5%) compared to whites (6%).”
Researchers emphasized that only 9.2% of ethnic minorities live in households without financial difficulties, compared to 12.8% of whites. Although employment remains the primary source of income for both groups, it was observed that “minorities receive fewer pension benefits and have a higher prevalence of social transfers.”
The report suggests that these findings “demonstrate a greater financial vulnerability among minorities,” advocating for “policies that promote labor market inclusion and strengthened social protection.”
The challenges facing ethnic minorities extend to job access, with an unemployment rate significantly higher than that of the white population (18.9% compared to 7.2%), and a much higher prevalence of part-time work (10.3% compared to 5%).
Access to healthcare also proves to be challenging, with difficulty in obtaining both medical care and prescription medications.
Regarding education, “ethnic minorities have a lower percentage of adults with higher education (20.8% compared to 26.3%) and more worker-students (34.3% compared to 27.7%).” According to researchers, this underscores the need for educational support policies, scholarships, and incentives for continued academic pursuit.
On the subject of discrimination, the study notes that “ethnic minorities report a more frequent experience, with 40.3% of individuals stating they have been victims of unequal treatment (13.9% within the white group) and 53% having witnessed prejudice.”
“Among discrimination victims, ethnic minority individuals report experiencing discrimination almost twice as frequently always or almost always (7.1% against 4.1%), and 43.5% indicate having been discriminated against in the last year (28.1% among whites),” the document states.
The report adds that, for ethnic minorities, skin color is the most significant factor of discrimination (54.7%), followed by professional group (52.4%), and region of origin (51.7%).
The data shows that the scenarios where ethnic minorities most frequently face discrimination include job seeking (46.3%), housing searches (32.1%), interactions with law enforcement (25.9%), and access to social services (25.2%).
The environments where discrimination against minorities is most common include the workplace (49.9%), commercial establishments (42.5%), outdoor spaces (42%), educational settings (39.0%), and public institutions (32%).
Researchers assert that these findings highlight “the need for more effective policies to combat prejudice and promote equity.”
