Data on homelessness and housing exclusion 2026: Portugal

Summary of key data and information

	Summary of key data and information
Official statistical definition of homelessness (Table 1)	Portugal’s definition of homelessness considers people living rough or in emergency accommodation, in precarious places, and in accommodation for the homeless.
Latest national estimates of homelessness (Table 2, Table 3)	14 476 individuals, representing 0.1% of the total population (2024)
	32% are women, 68% are men
	Point-in-time count, based on the Characterization Survey of Homeless People
	ETHOS Light groups included	Included: ETHOS Light 1: Living on the streets, in public spaces ETHOS Light 2: Emergency accommodation (e.g. shelters) ETHOS Light 3: Accommodation for the homeless (e.g. hostels and women’s refuges) Not included: ETHOS Light 4: People in institutions ETHOS Light 5: People in non-conventional dwellings (e.g. caravans, cars or tents) ETHOS Light 6: Living temporarily with others in conventional housing (e.g. sofa-surfing)
	Notes: Each ETHOS Light group includes one or more sub-categories of living situations. ETHOS Light groups are considered as “included” in the data collection approach if at least one of the sub-categories is counted.
Legal framework to collect data on homelessness (Table 4)	There is no legal obligation to collect data on homelessness in Portugal.
Homelessness Strategy (Table 5)	National Homelessness Strategy: National Strategy for the Inclusion of People Experiencing Homelessness 2025-2030 (Estratégia Nacional para a Integração das Pessoas em Situação de Sem-Abrigo 2025-2030) Other (e.g. anti-poverty, housing) national strategy addressing homelessness: Building Portugal: New Strategy for Housing (2024).
Approaches to collect data on homelessness (Table 6)	Characterization Survey of Homeless People: Enumeration and survey of people experiencing homelessness (Table 6.1)

Table 1. Official statistical definition of homelessness

Statistical definition

Homelessness

The person who, irrespective of his / her nationality, racial or ethnic origin, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, socio‑economic status and physical and mental health condition, is: People living rough or in emergency accommodation: the people are living in the public space, housed in an emergency shelter or living in a precarious place; Public space – spaces for public use such as gardens, metro / bus stations, bus stops, parking lots, sidewalks, viaducts, bridges or others; Emergency accommodation – any equipment which immediately accommodates, free of charge and for short periods of time, persons who do not have access to another overnight accommodation; Precarious place – place that, due to the conditions in which it is allowed, a public use, such as abandoned cars, stairwells, entrances of buildings, abandoned factories and buildings, abandoned houses or others. or People living in accommodation for the homeless (temporary): Temporary accommodation – equipment which accommodates persons who do not have access to permanent accommodation and who promote their insertion. It corresponds, for example, to the social response of the nomenclature of Social Security or others of a similar nature, known as the Temporary Accommodation Centre: “social response, developed in equipment, aimed at the reception, for a limited period, of adults in situation of deficiency, with a view to the most appropriate social response.”

Table 2. Data on people experiencing homelessness: Headline estimate, by living situation

Presented according to ETHOS Light Typology

Year	Headline estimate of homelessness (Individuals)	% of total population	ETHOS Light 1 People living rough	ETHOS Light 2 People in emergency accommodation	ETHOS Light 3 People in accommodation for the homeless	ETHOS Light 4 People living in institutions	ETHOS Light 5 People living in unconventional dwellings	ETHOS Light 6 People staying with family/friends
2018	6 044	0.06%	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
2022	10 773	0.10%	5 975	Included under ETHOS 1	4 798	Not included	Not included	Not included
2024	14 476	0.14%	9 403	Included under ETHOS 1	5 073	Not included	Not included	Not included
Metadata: Type of count: Point-in-time Data are comparable across years: Yes Included in headline estimate: Children: Yes Temporary accommodation for: Asylum seekers: Yes Refugees: Yes Victims/survivors of domestic violence: Yes

Note: Data refer to mainland Portugal.

Source: OECD Questionnaire on Affordable and Social Housing (QuASH); National Strategy for the Integration of Homeless People 2025-2030, Characterization Survey of Homeless People 2024.

Table 3. Data on people experiencing homelessness: Headline estimate, by sub-group and living situation

Presented according to ETHOS Light Typology, 2024

	Single adults	Men	Women	Youth (aged 15‑29)	Older people (aged 65 and over)	Families with children (# of households)
Headline estimate of homelessness	NA	9 857	4 619	NA	NA	NA
As percentage of total population experiencing homelessness	NA	68.10%	31.90%	NA	NA	NA
ETHOS Light 1: People living rough	NA	6 016	3 387	NA	NA	NA
ETHOS Light 2: People in emergency accommodation	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
ETHOS Light 3: People in accommodation for the homeless	NA	3 841	1 232	NA	NA	NA
ETHOS Light 4: People living in institutions	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
ETHOS Light 5: People living in unconventional dwellings	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
ETHOS Light 6: People staying with family/friends	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Metadata: Type of count: Point-in-time Included in headline estimate: Children: Yes Temporary accommodation for: Asylum seekers: Yes Refugees: Yes Victims/survivors of domestic violence: Yes

Note: Sub-groups are not mutually exclusive.

Source: OECD Questionnaire on Affordable and Social Housing (QuASH); Characterization Survey of Homeless People 2024.

https://www.enipssa.pt/documents/10180/11876/Inquérito+Caracterização+das+Pessoas+em+Situação+de+Sem-Abrigo+-+31+de+dezembro+2024+-+Quadros/77733784-0f2a-44fd-aa3d-9e9ba6611ddc.

https://www.enipssa.pt/documents/10180/11876/Síntese+de+resultados+2024+-+Inquérito+de+caracterização+das+pessoas+em+situação+de+sem-abrigo/b9db6b38-3edf-4f8c-bce6-ad02c9a55534].

Table 4. Legal framework to collect data on homelessness

	Legal framework
Law that governs data collection on homelessness	None.
Legal obligations	None.

Table 5. Homelessness strategy

	Homelessness strategies in place
National Homelessness Strategy	National Homelessness Strategy: National Strategy for the Inclusion of People Experiencing Homelessness 2025-2030 (Estratégia Nacional para a Integração das Pessoas em Situação de Sem-Abrigo 2025-2030) Other (e.g. anti-poverty, housing) national strategy addressing homelessness: Building Portugal: New Strategy for Housing (2024).
Regional and/or local homelessness strategies exist	No.

Note: Although the Building Portugal: New Housing Strategy (2024) does not directly mention homeless people, it does: 1) focus on the housing crisis, the need to increase the supply of public housing and affordable rental housing; 2) Aim to support vulnerable groups affected by housing insecurity, which includes people at risk of housing exclusion.

Table 6. Approaches to collect data on homelessness

6.1. Characterization Survey of Homeless People
Description The Characterization Survey of Homeless People seeks to provide a snapshot of the number of people experiencing homelessness in Portugal and their demographic characteristics. The count and the survey are carried out at the municipal level through public institutions that have a local mandate through the Local Councils of Social Action (CLAS) or Homeless Planning and Intervention Centers (NPISA). The data is officially reported by the National Strategy for the Integration of Homeless People 2017-2023 and subsequently the National Strategy for the Inclusion of People Experiencing Homelessness 2025-2030.
Type of count generated Point-in-time	Methods Street count Service‑based method
Lead authority(ies) Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security National Strategy for the Integration of People homelessness – ENIPSSA	Source(s) of information People experiencing homelessness are surveyed directly.
Scope National level, but only mainland Portugal. All 278 mainland municipalities are covered.	Depth of data Socio-demographic characteristics are surveyed: (age, sex, marital status, nationality, education level, income sources, etc).
Frequency Annual (since 2018)
ETHOS Light groups included: ETHOS Light 1: Living on the streets, in public spaces ETHOS Light 2: Emergency accommodation (e.g. shelters) ETHOS Light 3: Accommodation for the homeless (e.g. hostels and women’s refuges) Note: Each ETHOS Light group includes one or more sub-categories of living situations. ETHOS Light groups are considered as “included” in the data collection approach if at least one of the sub-categories is counted.
Notes and sources ENIPSSA síntese resultados 31dez2022 V_110823 rev MV-LNEC Results 2024: https://www.enipssa.pt/documents/10180/11876/S%C3%ADntese+de+resultados+2024+-+Inqu%C3%A9rito+de+caracteriza%C3%A7%C3%A3o+das+pessoas+em+situa%C3%A7%C3%A3o+de+sem-abrigo/b9db6b38-3edf-4f8c-bce6-ad02c9a55534 https://www.enipssa.percentage points (p.p.)/documents/10 180/11 876/InqupercentageC3%A9rito+CaracterizapercentageC3%A7%C3%A3o+das+Pessoas+em+SituapercentageC3%A7%C3%A3o+de+Sem-Abrigo+-+31+de+dezembro+2024+-+Quadros/77 733 784‑0f2a‑44fd-aa3d‑9e9ba6611ddc

Please refer to the OECD Affordable Housing Database, indicator HC3.1. Population experiencing homelessness, https://www.oecd.org/content/oecd/en/data/datasets/oecd-affordable-housing-database.html.

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