Workers with higher education in Portugal earn, on average, 73% more than those who only have secondary education, according to the 2023 State Education Report, released by the National Education Council (CNE). However, the Algarve continues to stand out due to regional asymmetries in schooling, presenting a lower qualification rate than other regions of the country.
According to the report, in 2023, around 40.6% of the Portuguese population had, at most, basic education, which places Portugal as the country with the highest percentage of low qualifications in the European Union. This reality is even more pronounced in regions such as the Algarve, where the average level of education is below that observed in the North and Center of the country.
Higher education pays off, but there are challenges in the Algarve
Data presented by the CNE shows that young adults with higher education (between 25 and 34 years old) have better job prospects and higher salaries. The employment rate for this group is 88.3%, compared to 84.9% among those who completed only high school or post-secondary education.
Furthermore, workers with higher education earn, on average, a monthly income corresponding to 173% of the salary of those with secondary education. However, salaries in Portugal remain low compared to other European countries. Compared to Spain, the Portuguese earn 800 euros less per month; in comparison with Germany or Ireland, the difference is more than four thousand euros.
These low wages can be a disincentive to qualify, especially in regions like the Algarve, where training and specialized employment opportunities are scarcer. The report, therefore, calls for a reinforcement of policies that promote education and retraining, not only among young people, but also among adults.
Regional asymmetries and the impact on the Algarve
In the introductory text of the report, the president of the CNE, Domingos Fernandes, highlights that regional asymmetries continue to be an obstacle to improving qualifications in the country. In the Algarve, this inequality is reflected in training opportunities and social mobility, with many young people reproducing their parents’ educational level.
Although there has been an increase in secondary school completion rates in recent decades, the Algarve faces additional challenges such as early school leaving, which mainly affects boys. Currently, young male adults are the ones who most often drop out of school, a pattern that has reversed in relation to the past, when girls were the ones who most often dropped out of school.
Recommended measures and progress recorded
The CNE report advocates an expansion of policies to support higher education, including granting scholarships to those most in need and increasing the supply of student housing at affordable prices. These measures may be especially relevant for the Algarve, where housing costs are high, which represents an additional obstacle for students.
Despite the challenges, the report highlights significant progress. Between 2016 and 2023, the proportion of young people between 18 and 24 years old who neither study nor work decreased from 18.3% to 13.2%. More than half of young people (55.3%) continued studying, while 31.6% were already in the job market.
With the recommendations of , it is expected that the Algarve can benefit from more robust policies that encourage education and reduce regional inequalities, promoting a more qualified and prosperous future for young people in the region.
Also read:
