A new report puts 20.5% of Madeira's population at risk of poverty or social exclusion. The national average is 18.6%.
Regional President Miguel Albuquerque rejected the figure on 15 October. He said the real rate is 16% and questioned some of the criteria.
"That is not true, what we have now is 16%."
Miguel Albuquerque, President of the Regional Government
The figures come from the report "Poverty and Social Exclusion in Portugal - 2026" by EAPN Portugal, the European Anti-Poverty Network. A fact check by DNOTICIAS.PT compared it with official data from the national statistics institute, INE.
Two Different Measures
The report uses two separate indicators. Both are official, and they do not contradict each other.
The first is monetary poverty. It counts people whose income after social benefits is below 60% of the national median income.
The second is broader. It also counts people in severe material and social deprivation, or in households where very little paid work is done. One of these conditions is enough.
What the Numbers Say
Madeira's monetary poverty rate is 16.6%, against 15.4% nationally. So Albuquerque's figure matches real data, although 16.6% is closer to 17% than to 16%.
But that number does not cancel the 20.5% he was disputing. A third measure, using Madeira's own income levels, gives 15.6%.
Both rates in Madeira have gone down. The region moved closer to the national average, but it is still above it on both measures.
The data is not from 2026. Income and work figures refer to 2024, and deprivation figures to 2025.
DNOTICIAS.PT rates the claim "imprecise".
Source: dnoticias.pt
Comments