Lisbon, Sept. 10, 2026 (Lusa) - Low incomes are the main cause of financial insecurity for 75% of Portuguese people, in a context where three in ten Europeans are experiencing financial difficulties and where poor pay is also a dominant factor in Romania and France.
Insufficient income is by far the main reason cited by Europeans living in precarious circumstances, according to the 20th edition of the Barometer on Poverty and Economic Precariousness published by ‘Secours Populaire Français', a French charity.
According to the study, which covered 10 European countries, 71% of respondents who consider themselves to be in a precarious situation cite insufficient income as the cause, ahead of unexpected or high expenses (32%), physical health problems such as illness or disability (20%), excessive debt (18%) and job loss (14%).
Insufficient income is the main cause identified in all 10 countries analysed, being particularly pronounced in Romania (78%), France (77%) and Portugal (75%), according to the report.
Across all the countries studied, almost three in ten Europeans (29%) say they find themselves in a precarious financial and material situation, defined in the study as one in which an unexpected expense could throw their budget out of balance. A further 56% consider their situation to be balanced, although they have to be careful with their spending, whilst 15% say they do not need to pay particular attention to their day-to-day expenses.
The proportion of people who consider themselves to be in a precarious situation thus remains virtually stable compared with previous years, having stood at 29% in 2025 and 28% in 2024.
The study also reveals that precariousness is not limited to those outside the labour market. More than a third of European workers, 34%, say that the income they earn from their jobs is not enough to cover all their expenses, compared with 66% who say they are able to do so.
In Portugal, the proportion of workers who say they are unable to cover all their expenses with their income from work is 42%, above the European average, but still representing almost one in three workers.
These financial difficulties also translate into tangible restrictions in everyday life. More than half of Europeans (51%) say they have recently faced at least one situation of deprivation due to their financial situation, with an average of 1.8 such situations in the last six months.
Among the most frequently cited consequences are the inability to go on family outings or engage in leisure activities, cited by 67%; stopping going out, for example to the cinema or a restaurant (62%); restricting travel (57%); and stopping buying new clothes when the old ones wear out (50%).
These difficulties also extend to essential needs. According to the study, 41% of Europeans have felt the cold because they could not turn on the heating due to financial difficulties, 33% have had a health problem and decided not to seek treatment, and 26% have gone hungry and skipped a meal.
Financial pressure also remains a source of fear for the future. Four in ten Europeans (43% of those surveyed) consider the risk of finding themselves in a precarious financial situation in the coming months to be high – a figure that has not improved significantly compared with previous years.
This fear is particularly high in Greece, Italy and Moldova, where more than half of those surveyed view this risk as high, whilst in Germany and the United Kingdom the figure stands at around one-third. In Portugal, 33% express this fear.
This precariousness also has an impact on perceptions of the future. Seven in ten Europeans believe that access to energy at affordable prices has worsened compared with their parents' generation, whilst the majority also perceive increased difficulties in accessing stable employment and decent housing.
The study was carried out by Ipsos BVA for Secours Populaire Français, involving online interviews with 10,000 people – 1,000 in each of the 10 countries analysed: France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, the United Kingdom, Moldova, Portugal, Romania and Serbia.
The interviews took place between 26 May and 6 July 2025, and the sample was designed to be representative of the population aged 18 and over in each country, using quotas based on gender, age, occupation, region and city type.
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