Great Value & Easy Living in Portugal in 2026

Portugal charms expats with low costs, sunshine, and friendly locals — but its job market and bureaucracy are among the worst anywhere.

➡️You’re welcome to use these 2026 Expat Insider results. Please remember to credit InterNations as the source, and where possible, include a link to www.internations.org.

In this article:

In Brief
A Place Your Money Goes Far
Friendly Faces & Fresh Air
Safe & Sound in Portugal
Bureaucracy at Its Worst
A Job Market to Avoid
The Typical Expat in Portugal
Further Reading

In Brief

Portugal ranks 8th out of 31 destinations in the Expat Insider 2026 survey. Its strengths are the Personal Finance Index (4th) and the Ease of Settling In Index (7th), supported by a healthy Quality of Life (11th).

The Expat Essentials Index (23rd) and the Working Abroad Index (29th) are the trouble spots. Expats are nonetheless content — about four in five (78%) are happy with life there, well above the global average of 70%, and close to two in five (39%) want to stay forever.

A Place Your Money Goes Far

Portugal ranks 4th in the Personal Finance Index. Over three in five expats (61%) rate the general cost of living positively — well above the 39% global average — and around three-quarters (76%) feel their disposable household income is enough for a comfortable life (vs. 71%).

The value proposition draws a particular crowd: one in five expats (20%) moved to Portugal specifically to retire there, five times the global share of 4%. Of all respondents in the country, over two in five (41%) are then also retired (vs. 14% globally).

Friendly Faces & Fresh Air

Settling in comes easily, with Portugal 7th in the Ease of Settling In Index. Expats appreciate the friendliness of the local population (5th) and feel at home (4th), with over three in four (76%) agreeing (vs. 61% globally). A similar share feel welcome in the country (76% vs. 64%) and had no problems getting used to Portuguese culture (73% vs. 60%).

Opinion

Portuguese people are generally very kind and helpful. Often when I'm slaughtering their language, they are patient and/or offer to speak in English with me. (US American expat in Porto)

Opinion

Safe & Sound in Portugal

A good Quality of Life (11th) adds to the appeal: Portugal stands out for a great air quality (3rd), its pleasant weather and climate (7th), and a high degree of personal safety (7th). Over nine in ten respondents (94%) report feeling safe in the country, against a global average of 81%.

Expats further point out a good culture and nightlife offering (10th), plenty of recreational sporting opportunities (10th), and the affordability of public transport (9th). And nearly nine in ten (89%) agree it’s easy and safe to get around on foot or by bicycle, too (vs. 78% globally).

All of this is great news, especially for the 21% of respondents who say they primarily moved to Portugal in search of a better quality of life (vs. 9% globally).

Bureaucracy at Its Worst

It’s not all fun and sunshine, though. Practical life is a particular sore point, with Portugal ranking 23rd in the Expat Essentials Index.

Dealing with local authorities ranks dead last at 31st — only one in five expats (20%) finds it easy, against 38% globally — and online administrative services are easily available according to only 45% of respondents (vs. 61%). After the language barrier (40%), bureaucracy was a leading pre-move concern, named by over a third of respondents (35% vs. 14% globally).

The picture isn’t uniformly bleak: Three in five expats (60%) may consider Portuguese difficult to learn (vs. 40%), but a similar share (58%) agree you can — if need be — actually get by without local language skills, ranking Portugal 11th for this factor. And while expats in many countries struggle with the availability and affordability of housing, the same isn’t true for Portugal, which ranks 12th in the Housing Subcategory.

A Job Market to Avoid

Work is Portugal’s clear weakness, with it landing in the bottom 3 of the 2026 Working Abroad Index (29th).

It ranks last for the local job market (31st), with fewer than one in five expats (19%) rating it positively, just half the global average of 38%. The country also places last for improved career prospects (31st). Results regarding expats’ job security (28th) and overall job satisfaction (29th) are similarly poor.

Opinion

For someone who prioritises career, I thoroughly dislike the lack of career opportunities because there are no opportunities for growth and the pay is really poor compared to the living costs and expenses like rent. The market is saturated but even worse for English jobs. (Kenyan expat in Porto)

Opinion

There’s a sliver of a silver lining — Portugal ranks 16th for work-life balance — and the average full-time week is 41.4 hours, under the 42.2-hour global norm. Fair pay (23rd) and workplace flexibility (28th) are weak, however, and incomes skew modest — about three in five expats (60%) earn up to 50,000 USD a year (vs. 47% globally).

All in all, Portugal is a lifestyle choice rather than a career move.