Following the pandemic crisis, the morale of respondents in Portugal and Europe in general was optimistic. However, international conflicts, inflation, and a decrease in purchasing power reversed this feeling. This is what the 2024 European Barometer reveals, carried out by Observador Cetelem – a commercial brand of the BNP Paribas Personal Finance group.

At the beginning of 2024, regarding the perception of the country's situation, respondents in Portugal gave a score of 4.8/10 points (-0.1 points compared to 2023), the lowest value among the 10 countries surveyed, and 0.3 points below the European average. Regarding personal morale, respondents in Portugal maintained last year's score: of 5.7. Which leads us to believe that citizens have adapted, despite the difficulties and challenges of the last year.

These data are in line with what was released by Observador Natal 2023, also carried out by Cetelem, in which 37% of respondents in Portugal assessed the economic situation at that time as worse than a year ago and only 16% assessed the year 2023 as “very positive.” Furthermore, at the end of last year, 49% expressed a negative opinion regarding their personal situation and 81% expressed a negative opinion regarding the current situation in the country.