One of the core objectives of the revolution of 25th April, 1974, was the democratisation of education and improving the Portuguese populations general levels of qualification has been a key goal of education policy in recent decades.

Indeed, Portugal has been implementing policies aimed at reducing early school leaving and boosting the population’s educational attainment, as well as its workforce’s qualifications.

However, focussing on adults between the ages of 25 and 64, there needs to be continued efforts to overcome the legacy of poor qualification levels that still puts Portugal in an unfavourable position when compared to other European countries. 

Resident population aged 15 and over: total and by  level of education

Source: INE, PORDATA.

Due to the crisis that began in 2008, the percentage of GDP spent on education decreased 10 pp between 2010 and 2015. From then on, a sustained increase in GDP allowed investments in education to be maintained, without increasing its relative cost.

State expenditure on education: budget spending as % of GDP

Sources: INE, DGO/MF, PORDATA. Last update: 2020-09-23

During persistent budgetary constraints and responsible policy, governmental measures involving a reduction and reallocation of funding, as well as a better match of human resources to educational needs, has allowed Portugal to continue making strides in improving the qualification levels of its population. This is particularly evident in the schooling results of the population aged 15 and over.