Is Portugal safe?

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Written by: | Last updated on October 11, 2023 | Est. Reading Time: 5 minutes

According to the 2017 Global Peace Index, Portugal is the world’s 3rd safest country. Only Iceland and New Zealand are considered safer, and neither has the weather, beaches, or low cost of living that Portugal has. To put it in a bit more perspective, the United Kingdom sits at position 41 and the United States at 159. Basically: Portugal is an extremely safe place to visit, and unless you’re coming from either Iceland or New Zealand, it’s safer than your home country.

It’s also considerably safer than most of the other popular holiday and retirement destinations: Spain sits at position 23, Italy at position 38, and France at position 51. Greece and Turkey are even further down the list.

As with any country, there are safe bits and there are unsafe bits. There are some parts of Lisbon that I wouldn’t recommend tourists go late at night, for example, but these aren’t places that tourists ever go to.

My wife operates a small B&B and we have quite a view guest from the US who come to Portugal to take a look as a possible retirement place. Particularly, female guests commented how the felt they could walk the streets even at night without fear.

Kurt

Safe to travel to

The Algarve, Lisbon, and Porto (the three most popular destinations for tourists) are all extremely safe. The biggest concern for travellers, particularly those heading to cities like Lisbon, is small crime or theft.

Pickpockets are a problem in Lisbon. They’re nowhere near as big a problem as Barcelona, where it seems everyone gets their wallet or other belongings stolen. They’re not even as big a problem as they are in Rome, Madrid, Prague, or Paris, but they are still something that you need to watch out for.

Pickpockets target absent-minded tourists, usually while they’re taking a photo or getting on and off public transport. Tram 28, the touristy tram, is well-known for having pickpockets. They are also prevalent in the more touristy areas like Baixa and around Cais do Sodré.

Keep your wits about you in these areas, and you should be fine. Some people travel with anti-theft devices like a bum bag (or fanny pack as they’re known in America). There are also pouches that hang from your neck, which are often easier to use.

Theft is less of a problem in the Algarve although, as with anywhere, you should avoid leaving valuables visible in your car and use common sense when you’re out and about.

The biggest safety problem for tourists in the Algarve is probably other tourists, particularly on The Strip in Albufeira. This is stag and hen party central, and there have been a couple of incidents recently where the riot police have been called in. For families, especially, stick to Albufeira’s Old Town or one of the other coastal resort towns like Carvoreiro or even Praia da Rocha.

Safe to live in

As well as being safe to travel to, Portugal is also very safe to live in. Portugal is continually ranked as one of the top ten places in the world to retire to, with the Algarve frequently nabbing the top spot.

Portugal has a very large expat community, and most live here without coming into contact with crime. Most expats live in the Algarve, but you’ll also find expats in almost every corner of Portugal: from Porto the the Azores.

Although expats are at least partly responsible for a few negative things – rising house prices, for example – there isn’t usually any obvious animosity between locals and expats.

Natural disasters in Portugal

Portugal is prone to a few natural disasters, namely forest fires, earthquakes, and floods. Forest fires are the biggest concern here. Although Portugal did have one famous earthquake in 1755 that destroyed Lisbon, it has never been repeated. If you live in Portugal for long enough, you’ll feel an earthquake at some point but it’ll probably be so small that you won’t even notice it.

Floods do happen in Portugal from time-to-time. In 2015, the floods in the Algarve left one elderly man dead. The 2010 floods in Madeira were much bigger, causing mudslides and leaving 42 people dead.

Fires have been a big problem for Portugal in recent years, particularly around Monchique in the Algarve and in Central Portugal. Thankfully nobody died during the 2018 fires in Monchique and nearby parts of the Algarve, but the 2017 fires in Central Portugal resulted in at least 66 deaths.

Despite some of these natural disasters taking place in touristy parts of Portugal like the Algarve and Madeira, tourists are rarely affected. With both floods and fire, there’s usually sufficient time to evacuate and move onto somewhere safer.

Terrorism in Portugal

Obviously in this day and age, a big concern of travelling – particularly in Europe – is the threat of terrorism. Most of Portugal’s neighbouring countries – Spain, France, Germany, the United Kingdom – have had terrorist attacks particularly from ISIS. Could there be a terrorist attack in Portugal as well?

Yes is the unfortunate answer simply because it could happen anywhere.

ISIL (ISIS) claim attacks in Russia, France, Australia, Canada, Belgium, the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, Germany, as well as plenty of other countries as well. Portugal seems to have been ignored, and hopefully it will stay that way.

The U.S. Department of State & Bureau of Consular Affairs rates travel advisory levels on a scale of 1-4, and Portugal is at level 1: exercise normal precautions.

The UK Foreign travel advice says “terrorist attacks in Portugal can’t be ruled out” but it doesn’t really say any more than that. France and Spain both have warnings that terrorist attacks are either “likely” (Spain) or “very likely” (France).

Unfortunately, even though the travel recommendations for Portugal are much more positive than neighbouring countries that doesn’t mean it can be ruled out completely. As the US government website says: exercise normal precautions.

Written by

James Cave is the founder of Portugalist and the author of the bestselling book, Moving to Portugal Made Simple. He has visited just about every part of Portugal, including Madeira and all nine islands of the Azores, and lived in several parts of Portugal including Lisbon, the Algarve, and Northern Portugal.

You can contact James by emailing james@portugalist.com or via the site's contact form.

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There are 17 comments on this article. Join the conversation and add your own thoughts, reviews, and stories of life in Portugal. However, please remember to be civil.

Comments

  1. Ive live in the Algarve all my life and the world safe departmant of EU put Portugal on 3rd safest country in the world so unless you live in New Zealand our Iceland there is no other country safer them Portugal in the world and this year will be safe from corona virus to only 200 cases ative at the moment from 680 only 10 in hospital 0 death 0 in intensive care unites fact portuguese have a very safe protocol on restaurant and hotel services so you have miles and miles of sandy beach to enjoy with your freinds and loved ones in a safe resort

    Reply
  2. hi james

    my boyfriend is currently staying in Porthugal,you see im from South Africa i ve never in my life travelled aboard but really want to..He bought us a home there and is coming to fetch us do thing i would fit in,in a place like your since i want to make a change in my life..im kinda worried about my safety aswell my sons

    Reply
    • Hi Jaymeque,

      I’ve travelled in South Africa, so I understand what you mean when you say safety concerns. Don’t worry: Portugal is nothing like that.

      Obviously you need to be sensible as with anywhere, but you can easily walk around at night, you can go to the ATM easily, take public transport without any problems, etc. It’s just a lot safer.

      Reply
  3. I agree with others here – may I gently suggest that you tone down the ‘safest place’ stuff. We have been checking out the Algarve and discover that it has a high rate of burglaries – everyone has alarms, many have guard dogs and rapid response companies are doing good business. High gates, strong locks, etc are the order of the day and its recommended by one local community service that you lock everything up in your house and set the alarm even if you are just popping out to the shops – even if you have gates and walls. I feel very misled by the many people on the forums peddling the ‘safe’ place propaganda.

    Reply
    • Hi Janey,

      You’re right. Burglaries are an issue in Portugal (not just the Algarve) but no, not everyone has alarms or high gates or anything like that. The vast majority of people don’t have alarms and gates aren’t all that common either: most people live in apartments.

      I do agree that burglaries are a problem in Portugal, particularly areas where people have second or empty homes, but I think what you’re suggesting is on the other end of the spectrum of the “safe propaganda.” The truth is somewhere in the middle.

      Reply
  4. Portugal may be considered safe but the rate of theft and break ins is excessive , and many of the break ins are not even reported by the police .

    Reply
    • Hi Paul,

      There is definitely an issue with break-ins here. I will try to find some statistics so that I can compare it to other countries or even to previous years to see if there’s an increase.

      As for the police not reporting the break-ins, I’m just wondering how you know this happens?

      Reply
  5. I am planning to relocate to Portugal as I am searching job in Portugal how safe it is and how rich is this country in terms of salary

    Reply
    • Very safe but not very rich. Wages are usually lower than other EU countries, but it’ll depend on the industry. But, even though you will probably get paid less than you would in other countries, you may find that the quality of life that you get in Portugal makes up for that.

      Reply
      • Find the job win a prize! There’s no quality of life when bare essentials are unaffordable! This lyrical ambiance is everyone
        trying to sell tourism! Watch CM TV and watch what’s going on.
        Huge increase in spousal crimes. Killings are now frequent. Sordid murders, old-aged people targeted in home attacks
        and beatings. No work available, hard to make friends, lots of drugs and illegal ‘refugees’ entering the country via Algarve.
        There are no cities in Algarve. They’re towns. This country was fabulous 30 years ago! Pumping with talent, intellectuals,
        Citizen rights, but today all lost! Not to forget we’re in the list as the favorites for money laundering which is what drives the economy. Unsustainable!

        Reply
    • It’s hard to say really. The big question is whether or not the current buildings would be able to withstand an earthquake?

      Reply
  6. When I decided to retire in Cascais I was constantly reminded how safe the country is but a lot of this I believe is Public relation propaganda. In my first 3 months here My cell phone was almost stolen 3 times, its an angolan scam where they ask you a question and then strike your forearm with the hope that your phone will drop. All three of them got a little surprise from me as I am ex special forces, and whats more I almost got in trouble for protecting myself? My new secure condo complex has been broken in 4 times in one month looking for easy to steal items. The police come out but never make out reports, so the statistics are not valid. The whole nation is on a public relations campaign to attract outside wealth to buy homes but a lot of what people say is as the Brazilians say BS from the Melandro.

    Reply
    • I dont know where you get your information from Ive live in the Algarve all my life and the world safe departmant of EU put Portugal on 3rd safest country in the world so unless you live in new zealand our iceland there is no other country safer them Portugal in the world and this year will be safe from corona virus to only 200 cases ative at the moment from 680 so you have miles and miles of sandy beach to enjoy

      Reply
    • should choose algarve instead capital next city here we dont have that problem any capital as petty tefth is a commom virus on big citys

      Reply
    • I would like to know more about your experiences. We are thinking about moving to Portugal after I finish 1 more year of teaching. However, we don’t want to move to an area where people are constantly breaking into your place.

      Reply

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