Number of terrorist attacks in Portugal 1972-2022

The number of terrorism-related incidences which occurred in Portugal from 1972 to 2022 dramatically fluctuated. Data shows that over this period there was a significant annual increase during the 1980s, with the peak occurring in 1985 with 20 separate instances of terrorism-related behavior. Contrarily, there has not been an attack recorded in Portugal since 2011.

Crime in Portugal

Physical force was the weapon used in most crimes taking place in Portugal in 2023. The almost 4,500 criminal incidences using physical force contrast with the 1,340 occurrences where a knife or another cutting instrument was used and with the 553 instances with a firearm. The overall number of crimes in the country has decreased in recent years, which is generally aligned with the trend in the number of manslaughter cases. These have also overall decreased over the last decade. The same can be said about incarceration rates in Portugal, at 118 per 100,000 inhabitants in the same year.

Crime in Lisbon

Lisbon, Portugal’s capital city, mostly recorded crimes against property in 2023. While these totaled almost 44,900 occurrences, there were less than half as many incidences of crimes against persons, the second most common type of crime in the Greater Lisbon region. During the same year, the number of voluntary manslaughter cases in the area was 21, which was the lowest value since 2019, when 20 homicides were recorded by the police forces.