Portugal remains far from European convergence
In 2025, Portugal maintained the 18th position among the 27 Member States of the European Union in GDP per capita, measured in purchasing power parity. According to Eurostat estimates, the country went from 82% to 81% of the community average, registering a slight divergence in relation to the EU.
This evolution deserves attention because it occurs in a relatively favorable context for the Portuguese economy. The war in Ukraine continued to penalize several competing economies in Eastern Europe, tourism maintained a strong dynamic in Portugal and there may be statistical effects associated with the underestimation of the immigrant population residing in the country. Even so, Portugal was unable to approach the European average.
The trajectory of the last two decades shows a worrying pattern. In 2000, Portugal ranked 15th among the Member States of the European Union, placing it in the middle of the European table. Over the following decade, it gradually lost ground, until reaching 18th place in 2010, in a period marked by reduced economic growth and loss of dynamism compared to other European economies.
Between 2010 and 2015, Portugal remained essentially in the same relative position. The international financial crisis and the public debt crisis severely affected the Portuguese economy, slowing down investment, growth and the capacity for convergence. The second half of the decade brought new signs of fragility. Between 2015 and 2020, the country lost positions again, reaching 20th place following the impact of the pandemic, at the same time that several Eastern European economies, which only joined the European Union in 2004, continued to grow at higher rates.
In more recent years, between 2020 and 2025, Portugal recovered a little, returning to 18th place, a position it has maintained for three consecutive years. But this recovery does not change the underlying trend. Today, Portugal is below the position it occupied at the beginning of the century and has been surpassed by economies such as Malta, Czechia, Slovenia and Lithuania.
The balance is clear: despite specific improvements, Portugal continues without consolidating a sustained process of real convergence with the European Union. More than annual fluctuations, the problem lies in the persistent difficulty of growing at the pace necessary to regain ground compared to European partners.
- Facts viewed through a magnifying glass by André Pinção Lucas e Juliano Ventura – A partnership between POSTAL and the Institute
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