According to data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), those who earn between 75% and 200% of the average income of any country belong to the middle class. In Portugal, the average monthly income is 918 euros, or 11,014 euros per year, considering data for 2022.
According to the OECD, 60.1% of the Portuguese population belongs to the middle class, 16.8% has low income (between 50% and 75% of the average), 12.4% is poor, and 10.6% has high income.
From this data, we can conclude that to belong to the middle class in Portugal, it is enough to earn 688 euros net per month. Those who earn more than €1,836 net per month, which is less than the minimum wage in some European countries, are considered upper class in Portugal.
On the other hand, anyone who earns less than 688 euros per month is considered to be in the lower class in our country.
The data also shows that the Portuguese middle class is one of the classes with the least purchasing power in the European Union. For example, in Portugal, someone earning €15,500 per year belongs to the upper middle class. In Spain or Italy, the same income belongs to those who belong to the lower middle class.
In 11 EU countries, such as France, Germany and Ireland, those who earn this amount annually do not even reach the middle class, but are considered lower middle class.
Portugal is also the country with the fewest middle class families, with only 32% saying they are middle class. On the other hand, 82% of the population in the Netherlands say they are middle class.
