Three-point gap separates Azores from national poverty or exclusion risk average
Poverty or social exclusion risk reached 21.6% in the Azores in 2025, three percentage points above Portugal's average and higher than the EU figure.
In 2025, 21.6% of Azores residents were at risk of poverty or social exclusion. This was Portugal's highest regional rate, according to Eurostat figures reported by RTP Açores on 16 October.
The gap against Portugal's 18.6% rate was three percentage points. The archipelago also stood 0.7 percentage points above the European Union figure of 20.9%.
The indicator, abbreviated as AROPE, covers three situations: risk of monetary poverty, severe material and social deprivation, or living in a household with very low work intensity. Under Eurostat's definition, meeting any one condition is sufficient for inclusion. Each person is counted only once, even when several conditions apply.
For the Azores, this provides a way to assess social vulnerability beyond income alone. The indicator also tracks European poverty reduction targets for 2030. The regional result does not, by itself, establish which component contributes most or identify the population groups or islands most affected.
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