According to the report released by the Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics, "the majority of participants are concerned about the levels of emigration (70.1%) and immigration (73.1%) in Portugal", while 71.7% want a reduction in the flow of immigration and 81.2% believe that the departure of people to other countries should be stopped.

The responses were collected through 997 online surveys in July 2024 and the data indicate a worsening of the Portuguese people's feelings compared to 2017 Eurobarometer data or a 2015 report by the International Organization for Migration, both studies carried out before the pandemic and the issue was on the agenda of Portuguese public opinion.

Contacted by Lusa, one of the people responsible for the study, Rafael Demczuk, explained that the issue of immigration was included in this survey due to its importance in public opinion and will be evaluated regularly, to analyse any change in behaviour.

"We will include the issue in the future", he explained.

The report also assessed "the feelings of the Portuguese people regarding housing and government measures to facilitate the purchase of their first home by young people", concluding that the majority support the changes.

Among those surveyed, "the majority of participants (63.9%) reported living in their own home, with an increase in the number of participants in this situation" compared to a similar study in 2023, as can be read in the executive summary.

A third of participants said they spent "more than 30% of their household income on rent or mortgage payments" and, "between July 2023 and 2024, there was an increase in the percentage of participants spending up to 50%".

"The majority of participants (95.9%) believe that the price of houses in their area has increased, but there was a slight decrease in this percentage compared to November 2023", it can be read.

As for the Government's measures, the exemption from stamp duty for amounts up to 316,772 euros is the one that received the most applause (69.9%), but the other tax reductions and public guarantees for young people also received the support of the majority of respondents.

The survey included a range of other cross-cutting issues and "participants were most satisfied with food security, followed by national parks and open spaces and national security".

"On the other hand, the lowest levels of satisfaction were related to rising housing prices, corruption, housing supply in urban centres, public housing, poverty, inequality in society and immigration policy", the study says.