Brussels, Nov. 12, 2025 (Lusa) – Minister of Finance Joaquim Miranda Sarmento on Wednesday justified Portugal’s low average salary compared to the European Union, €24,818 in 2024, by the fact that the Portuguese economy is “less advanced” than the rest of the EU.

“This is a structural factor in the Portuguese economy. Unfortunately, the Portuguese economy has always been less advanced than a substantial part of the economies of the European Union [EU] and the eurozone, especially the economies of central and northern Europe,” said Joaquim Miranda Sarmento.

“We continue to be, among the 27, and especially among the 20 in the eurozone, unfortunately, still one of the least advanced economies, but this has been historical and structural for many decades,” Joaquim Miranda Sarmento emphasised, speaking on arrival at the Eurogroup meeting of finance ministers in Brussels.

According to the minister, however, there is “nominal and real wage growth [which] is happening in all areas of activity and for practically all professional profiles”.

Portugal has thus “made progress towards convergence, both in terms of economic growth and wage growth” to try to counteract this, he noted.

“Wages are growing on average in real terms above 4% and, therefore, this means that families, in general, […] are seeing an improvement in their income, their wages, their purchasing power, their standard of living, and this is a path of convergence that the country has to take,” said Joaquim Miranda Sarmento.

The average annual salary for full-time workers in Portugal was €24,818 in 2024, below the EU median of €39,800, making it the tenth lowest country, it was announced today.

Data published today by the EU statistical office, Eurostat, show that last year the average annual adjusted full-time salary for workers in the EU was €39,800, representing an increase of 5.2% compared to €37,800 in 2023.

In Portugal, this figure was €24,818 in 2024, compared to €23,184 in 2023 and €21,131 in 2022.

Portugal is thus the 10th country with the lowest average annual salary, surpassed by countries such as Bulgaria (€15,387), Greece (€17,954), Hungary (€18,461), Slovakia (€20,287), Romania (€21,108), Poland (€21,246), Latvia (€22,262), Croatia (€23,446) and the Czech Republic (€23,998).

Among EU countries, the highest average full-time annual salary was recorded in Luxembourg (€83,000), followed by Denmark (€71,600) and Ireland (€61,100).

 

 

 

 

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