{"version":1,"asset_type":"statistical_series","data_type":"time_series","slug":"pt-average-salary","url":"https://apiardata.com/statistics/pt-average-salary","html_url":"https://apiardata.com/statistics/pt-average-salary/","title":"Average Annual Salary in Portugal (2025)","description":"Average annual wages in Portugal from 1995 to 2025, expressed in constant 2025 USD at purchasing power parity. At $44,937 in 2025, Portugal sits approximately 30.7% below the OECD average of $64,809. Source: OECD Average Annual Wages dataset.","domain":"labor","category":"Labour & Employment","keywords":["Labour & Employment","Wages & Earnings","Portugal","Macroeconomics","Purchasing Power Parity"],"publisher":"OECD — Centre for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs","frequency":"Annual","geography":"Portugal","temporal_coverage":"1995/2025","unit":"Avg. Annual Wage (USD PPP)","last_updated":"2026-07-25","last_updated_text":"25 July 2026","data_as_of":"2025","variable_measured":"Mean gross annual wage of full-time full-year employees in Portugal","measurement_technique":"National accounts and labour force surveys, converted to constant 2025 USD at purchasing power parity","license":"https://apiardata.com/data-license","is_accessible_for_free":true,"sources":[{"name":"OECD Average Annual Wages — SDMX REST API endpoint","url":"https://sdmx.oecd.org/public/rest/data/OECD.ELS.SAE,DSD_EARNINGS@AV_AN_WAGE,1.0?format=csv"},{"name":"OECD — Average Wages indicator page","url":"https://www.oecd.org/en/data/indicators/average-wages.html"}],"meta":[{"label":"Frequency","value":"Annual"},{"label":"Coverage","value":"1995–2025"},{"label":"Observations","value":"31"},{"label":"Geography","value":"Portugal"},{"label":"Base period","value":"Constant 2025 USD at PPP"},{"label":"Last updated","value":"25 July 2026"}],"kpis":[{"label":"Portugal Avg. Wage (2025)","value":"$44,937","unit":"Constant 2025 USD, PPP","trend":{"direction":"up","value":"+1.8% vs. 2024"}},{"label":"vs. OECD Average","value":"-30.7%","unit":"Below OECD avg. of $64,809","trend":{"direction":"down","value":"Portugal below OECD average"}},{"label":"10-Year Real Growth","value":"+23.0%","unit":"2015 to 2025","trend":{"direction":"up","value":"From $36,520 in 2015"}},{"label":"Crisis-Era Low","value":"$36,473","unit":"Constant 2025 USD, PPP","trend":{"direction":"down","value":"Reached in 2012 post-austerity"}}],"series":[{"key":"value","label":"Portugal Average Annual Wage (USD PPP, constant 2025)"}],"observation_count":31,"observations":[{"period":"1995","value":34209},{"period":"1996","value":35476},{"period":"1997","value":36395},{"period":"1998","value":36826},{"period":"1999","value":38085},{"period":"2000","value":38604},{"period":"2001","value":38752},{"period":"2002","value":38741},{"period":"2003","value":38651},{"period":"2004","value":38695},{"period":"2005","value":38489},{"period":"2006","value":37649},{"period":"2007","value":37891},{"period":"2008","value":37765},{"period":"2009","value":39244},{"period":"2010","value":39084},{"period":"2011","value":38176},{"period":"2012","value":36473},{"period":"2013","value":37155},{"period":"2014","value":36538},{"period":"2015","value":36520},{"period":"2016","value":36501},{"period":"2017","value":36646},{"period":"2018","value":37323},{"period":"2019","value":38940},{"period":"2020","value":39461},{"period":"2021","value":40734},{"period":"2022","value":40470},{"period":"2023","value":42357},{"period":"2024","value":44144},{"period":"2025","value":44937}],"table":{"columns":[{"key":"year","label":"Year"},{"key":"value","label":"Avg. Annual Wage (USD PPP)"},{"key":"yoyChange","label":"YoY Change"}],"rows":[{"year":"1995","value":"34209","yoyChange":"n/a"},{"year":"1996","value":"35476","yoyChange":"+3.7%"},{"year":"1997","value":"36395","yoyChange":"+2.6%"},{"year":"1998","value":"36826","yoyChange":"+1.2%"},{"year":"1999","value":"38085","yoyChange":"+3.4%"},{"year":"2000","value":"38604","yoyChange":"+1.4%"},{"year":"2001","value":"38752","yoyChange":"+0.4%"},{"year":"2002","value":"38741","yoyChange":"0.0%"},{"year":"2003","value":"38651","yoyChange":"-0.2%"},{"year":"2004","value":"38695","yoyChange":"+0.1%"},{"year":"2005","value":"38489","yoyChange":"-0.5%"},{"year":"2006","value":"37649","yoyChange":"-2.2%"},{"year":"2007","value":"37891","yoyChange":"+0.6%"},{"year":"2008","value":"37765","yoyChange":"-0.3%"},{"year":"2009","value":"39244","yoyChange":"+3.9%"},{"year":"2010","value":"39084","yoyChange":"-0.4%"},{"year":"2011","value":"38176","yoyChange":"-2.3%"},{"year":"2012","value":"36473","yoyChange":"-4.5%"},{"year":"2013","value":"37155","yoyChange":"+1.9%"},{"year":"2014","value":"36538","yoyChange":"-1.7%"},{"year":"2015","value":"36520","yoyChange":"0.0%"},{"year":"2016","value":"36501","yoyChange":"-0.1%"},{"year":"2017","value":"36646","yoyChange":"+0.4%"},{"year":"2018","value":"37323","yoyChange":"+1.8%"},{"year":"2019","value":"38940","yoyChange":"+4.3%"},{"year":"2020","value":"39461","yoyChange":"+1.3%"},{"year":"2021","value":"40734","yoyChange":"+3.2%"},{"year":"2022","value":"40470","yoyChange":"-0.6%"},{"year":"2023","value":"42357","yoyChange":"+4.7%"},{"year":"2024","value":"44144","yoyChange":"+4.2%"},{"year":"2025","value":"44937","yoyChange":"+1.8%"}]},"qa":[{"question":"What is the average annual salary in Portugal?","answer":"In 2025, the average annual salary in Portugal was $44,937 in constant 2025 USD, adjusted for purchasing power parity. The figure covers mean gross wages for a full-time, full-year equivalent employee across the total economy, compiled by the OECD from national accounts and labour force surveys (series AV_AN_WAGE, measure WG, unit USD_PPP). The 2025 reading represents a 1.8% gain over $44,144 in 2024, a new all-time high extending the milestone first reached in 2024 when Portugal's average wage crossed $40,000 for the first time in this series."},{"question":"How does Portugal's average salary compare to the OECD average?","answer":"Portugal's 2025 average of $44,937 is approximately 30.7% below the OECD-wide average of $64,809. Within the EU, Portugal typically sits in the lower tier of OECD member states — well behind Germany ($76,285), France, and the Netherlands, broadly comparable to Estonia and the Czech Republic, and above lower-income OECD members such as Mexico and Colombia. The wage gap with the OECD average has narrowed since 2015, as successive minimum wage increases have lifted the lower tail of Portugal's wage distribution faster than in many peer economies."},{"question":"How did the eurozone debt crisis affect Portuguese wages?","answer":"The sovereign debt crisis and subsequent troika adjustment programme produced the sharpest wage contraction in Portugal's post-1995 record. From $39,244 in 2009 — the pre-crisis peak — average wages in constant PPP terms fell to $36,473 by 2012, a cumulative real decline of approximately 7.1%. The worst single year was 2012 itself, when wages dropped 4.5% from $38,176, reflecting mandatory public-sector pay cuts, nominal wage freezes in collective agreements, and a spike in unemployment that altered the composition of employment. Rather than recovering quickly, wages then stagnated in a narrow $36,500–$37,200 band through 2017 before a sustained recovery took hold."},{"question":"What is driving Portuguese wage growth since 2018?","answer":"From 2018 onward, three forces have most likely supported Portuguese wage gains. First, Portugal's minimum wage (Salário Mínimo Nacional) rose aggressively — from €580 per month in 2018 to €820 per month in 2024, a nominal increase of roughly 41% over six years — lifting the floor of the wage distribution significantly. Second, strong tourism and services activity tightened the labour market, pushing unemployment from above 7% in 2018 toward roughly 6.5% by 2024. Third, COVID-era labour retention schemes in 2020 and subsequent services-sector recovery in 2021 ($40,734, +3.2%) boosted average earnings. The inflation shock of 2022 briefly reversed gains (-0.6% to $40,470), but recovery resumed strongly in 2023 (+4.7%), 2024 (+4.2%), and 2025 (+1.8%)."},{"question":"Why did Portuguese wages stagnate or decline from 2002 to 2007?","answer":"Between 2001 and 2007, Portugal's average wage in constant PPP terms fell from $38,752 to $37,891, a cumulative real decline of approximately 2.2%. This period preceded the sovereign debt crisis but reflected earlier structural difficulties: sluggish productivity growth following euro adoption in 1999, loss of export competitiveness as wage levels converged with the eurozone while productivity lagged, and a construction and real estate boom that absorbed labour without generating high-wage tradeable employment. The 2006 reading of $37,649 was the sharpest single-year drop of the pre-crisis period at -2.2%, reflecting the beginning of a corporate restructuring cycle that would continue through 2008."}]}