According to the report published by Catolica Lisbon School of Business and Economics“The majority of respondents are concerned about the levels of immigration (70.1%) and emigration (73.1%) in Portugal,” while 71.7% want to reduce the flow of immigration and 81.2% believe that the departure of people to other countries should be stopped.
Responses were collected through 997 online surveys in July 2024 and the data suggests that Portuguese sentiment is worsening compared to data from European barometer 2017 or the 2015 report of the International Organization for Migration, two studies conducted before the pandemic and the issue was on the agenda of Portuguese public opinion.
Contacted by Lusa, one of the study's authors, Rafael Demchuk, explained that the issue of immigration was included in this survey because of its importance in public opinion and that it will be evaluated regularly, to analyze any changes in behavior.
“We will address this issue in the future,” he explained.
The report also assessed “Portuguese people's feelings about housing and the measures taken by the government to make it easier for young people to buy their first home”, and concluded that the majority of them support these changes.
Among those surveyed, “the majority of respondents (63.9%) reported living in their own homes, with an increase in the number of respondents in this situation” compared to a similar study in 2023, as can be read in the summary.
One-third of respondents reported spending “more than 30% of their household income on rent or mortgage payments,” and “between July 2023 and 2024, the proportion of respondents spending up to 50% increased.”
We read that “the majority of respondents (95.9%) believe that house prices in their area have increased, but this percentage has decreased slightly compared to November 2023.”
As for the government's measures, it was the exemption from stamp duty for amounts up to €316,772 that received the most applause (69.9%), but other tax cuts and general guarantees for young people also received the support of a majority of participants.
The survey included a series of other comprehensive questions and “respondents were most satisfied with food security, followed by national parks and open spaces and national security.”
“On the other hand, the lowest levels of satisfaction relate to high housing prices, corruption, housing supply in urban centres, public housing, poverty, social inequality, and immigration policy,” the study notes.
