Figures published by the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation's statistical database to mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, reveal that the impact of inflation - which reached a high in September that had not been seen since 1992 – reduces the purchasing power of those who receive the minimum wage from €705 to €639.

People who receive minimum old-age and disability pensions (€278.05) are effectively left with €252 due to inflation, €25.9 less in purchasing power than a year ago.

Increased risk of poverty

The Pordata study warns that in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion, which had been falling since 2014, increased by 12.5 percent, which pushed Portugal from 13th to 8th place among 27 countries with the largest population at risk of poverty in the European Union.

Between 2019 and 2020, Portugal worsened its position in two other indicators related to poverty: the at-risk-of-poverty rate (from 12th to 10th) and inequality in income distribution (from 10th to 8th).

The groups most affected by poverty in Portugal are households with dependent children, those under 18 and the unemployed, reveals data from Pordata.

In Portugal, the value below which someone is considered poor was, in 2020, €6,653 per year, which is equivalent to €554 per month (in 12 months).

Almost 40% of households with IRS declaration in 2020 earned only €833 monthly in 2020.