Another advantage of Portugal is its safety. A large number of people settle in Portugal because it is a good place to live. Living in Portugal means living in a serene, benevolent environment, less stressful than other European countries such as France, especially after the attacks of the last few years for example.

Natural risks: fire, earthquake, ocean

In Portugal, there are some natural risks like fires in rural and forest areas, mainly in the center of the country. The number of fires is increasing in recent years, due to global warming, the aridity of some regions and the species of trees present such as pines or eucalyptus.

Everyone remembers the terrible fire that ravaged the south of the country in August 2018. The Fire in the Algarve region lasted more than a week and where 27,000 hectares of forest went up in smoke. There were 39 injuries, mainly firefighters. Portugal had however set up this summer a significant device to not relive the deadly fires of the year 2017 that had caused more than a hundred deaths and destroyed more than 442,000 hectares of forests.

Each time the same scenario is repeated: extreme climatic conditions: violent winds, temperatures close to 50°c resulting in a very important drought. In addition to this, there are rough terrains that are difficult to access and, finally, highly flammable vegetation: pine trees, scrubland….

Another natural risk in Portugal is the seismic risk. Indeed, Portugal is located in a seismic zone. The areas where the risk is the highest are Lisbon, the southern part of the country and the Azores. The Portuguese remember the terrible earthquake of 1755 in Lisbon that destroyed the city completely.

Another risk to mention when talking about Portugal are all the risks related to swimming. Indeed, on the Atlantic coast the waves and currents can be dangerous.

Crime and delinquency in Portugal

Many expatriates choose to live in Portugal because it is a welcoming and safe country. As a matter of fact, Portugal is ranked 4th in the Global State of Peace Index (for comparison, Germany is 17th, Spain 30th and France 61st). It ranks countries from the most pacifist to the least pacifist.

Another indicator that tells us about the security in Portugal is its crime rate, which is also very low compared to other European countries. In Portugal, tourists or French residents, for example, live in a more serene environment. Even if in the last few years in the big cities or in the very touristy areas some crimes are increasing such as car thefts for example.

Some areas of the country are safer than others. The big cities like Lisbon or Porto that attract a lot of people are also the least safe cities in Portugal. It is in these cities where there are problems with drugs, delinquency and crime.

The problems related to drug use are decreasing in Portugal even in the big cities. This is due to a policy of decriminalization of drugs in the 2000s accompanied by a policy of prevention.

The delinquency rate in Portugal is also lower than the average of other European countries. As for crime, Portugal has a very low delinquency rate, although it can be seen that in the southern areas of the country, where there is a lot of tourism, or in large cities such as Lisbon or Porto, this rate is higher than in the rest of the country. This is pickpocketing, especially pickpocketing.

👉 According to the “Crime Index 2017”, published on an American website, Lisbon comes in 259th place with a crime rate of 32.71%, and in the same ranking in comparison the city of Paris comes in 96th place with a crime rate of 52.02%. The French police counted in 2012 277,000 violent crimes versus 22,000 crimes in Portugal the same year (Source eurostat).

The rate of intentional homicide in Portugal is 1.2 per 100,000 inhabitants (compared to 1 per 100,000 inhabitants in France, so it is roughly similar).

Road Safety

When we talk about Portugal in terms of safety, we must not forget road safety. But in this sector, contrary to delinquency and crime, Portugal is a bad pupil. Road accidents are on the rise despite the fact that the road infrastructure is in good condition. Portugal has a high rate of road accidents.

According to INSEE, Portugal recorded 52 deaths per million inhabitants in 2020, which places the country in 9th position in the European Union. France is a good student with 39 deaths per million inhabitants. It is at the bottom of the pack, in 19th place.

As in France, automatic speed cameras have made their appearance on Portuguese roads. The traffic axes concerned are those with 50 km/h, 90 km/h and 120 km/h.

Immigration in Portugal

Immigrants living in Portugal represent about 5% of the population, mainly from Brazil, Ukraine and Cape Verde. These immigrants are rather well integrated and speak Portuguese.

According to OECD figures, in 2018, Portugal received 64,000 new immigrants for long-term or permanent stay, which is 61.6% more than in 2017. At the same time, Brazil, Italy and France were among the top three nationalities of new arrivals in 2018.

Immigration remains low in Portugal for several reasons. First of all Portugal, due to its geographical location, has never been on migration routes. Then Portugal experienced a serious economic crisis in 2010 (linked to the European debt crisis) that made Portugal less attractive than other European countries. Finally, Portugal did not have a tradition of welcoming immigrants. Historically, it is a country of emigration rather than immigration.

Since the migratory crisis, Portugal has volunteered to open up its country while many European countries were tightening their immigration policies at the same time. Today, Portugal wants to be a welcoming country for several reasons: to offer asylum to political refugees, but Portugal also needs this immigration to face its aging population, to populate neglected areas, to save its social security system.

Terrorist threat in Portugal

Since the attacks in Paris and Brussels, the Portuguese authorities have also raised their terrorist alert level. Several times threatened, Portugal has a risk level of 3 on a scale of 5. Urban video surveillance equipment is being developed as in many other European countries.

You can find an analysis on security from the point of view of a Frenchman living in Portugal in a blog post.

Security in Portugal: No. 4 in the world!

In 2019, Portugal was ranked 4th in the world for safety, all issues combined. Well before France N° 36, England N° 38, . Let’s not even talk about the US N°65 !

Here is the complete ranking.

The security score for countries takes into account each of the three factors: war and peace, personal security and natural disaster risk. The security score aggregates the indices of these three risks, thus providing a complete picture of the security for each country.

So for these three factors, security in Portugal is really there. Which means beyond your person that investing in this country is safe. As well as real estate is in great shape here, investing here is most likely one of the best deals possible right now.