Portugal is a parliamentary democracy with a multiparty political system and regular transfers of power between rival parties. Civil liberties are generally protected. Ongoing concerns include corruption, certain legal constraints on journalism, poor or abusive conditions for prisoners, and the effects of racial discrimination and xenophobia. Prosecutors have pursued corruption cases against top officials in recent years.

• In snap parliamentary elections in March, called at the end of 2023 amid a corruption scandal affecting then–Prime Minister António Costa, the center-right Democratic Alliance (AD) won 80 of 230 seats, Costa’s center-left Socialist Party won 78, and the far-right Chega party took 50, leaving several smaller groups to divide the remainder. Luís Montenegro of the AD took office in April as the prime minister of a minority government, with no single bloc controlling a majority of seats.
• The investigation that prompted Costa’s resignation in November 2023, having implicated him in possible corruption related to mining concessions, continued during the year, though prosecutors faced setbacks in the courts and admitted an important error in which Costa was misidentified in a wiretap transcript. Among other high-profile cases during the year, a court confirmed in January that former Prime Minister José Sócrates would face trial on charges including money laundering and forgery, nearly 10 years after his initial arrest in 2014, and former Economy Minister Manuel Pinho was sentenced to 10 years in prison in June for passive corruption, money laundering, and tax fraud.
• In the months after it took office, the new government secured passage of legislation that reversed some of the previous government’s measures to address a housing shortage, including forced rental of vacant houses and restrictions and disincentives on short-term rentals that are typically used by tourists. Instead, Montenegro’s government offered tax benefits and subsidies for home sales and rentals, pledged to make vacant public properties available for housing, and introduced a spending plan to build homes for families in need.
• In February, police in Lisbon reportedly used batons and pepper spray to disperse counterprotesters who had turned out in opposition to a far-right march. Separately in October, a police officer shot and killed a Black man from Cabo Verde under disputed circumstances and was later charged with homicide. The incident prompted several days of riots and protests against police brutality and racism in Lisbon, resulting in property damage, arrests, and at least one serious injury.
• Five inmates escaped from a prison in September, triggering an audit of the country’s prisons that uncovered significant shortcomings in physical infrastructure, equipment, management, and resource allocation.

This report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2025 due to ongoing budget constraints. Freedom in the World is entirely funded by nongovernmental sources such as private foundations, corporations, and individuals like you. Please consider making a donation to support future editions of this vital resource.

For additional background information, see last year’s full report.