Portugal faces regional disparities in education and seismic safety

Recent reports highlight significant regional disparities in Portugal regarding education and infrastructure safety. According to the EduQA National Report based on PISA 2025 data, the Alentejo region recorded the lowest average scores in Portugal for Science, Reading, Mathematics, and computational problem-solving. The most significant gap was found in Reading, where Alentejo students scored 427 points compared to the national average of 462.

In terms of educational attainment, Pordata data indicates that the Algarve is among the regions with the lowest secondary school completion rates, alongside Grande Lisboa and Península de Setúbal. While the North and Center regions maintain completion rates above 90%, the Algarve has recorded values below 85% for the 2022/23 period.

Regarding public safety, the Portuguese government is preparing new seismic security regulations for existing buildings. The Algarve, Alentejo Litoral, Lisbon, Vale do Tejo, and the Azores have been identified as high-vulnerability zones. The proposal, developed with the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC), aims to create a legal framework for assessing and mitigating seismic risks across different regions.