What Are The Characteristics Of Women From Portugal?

Family is a highly influential and essential driver within Portugal, and many people will often work tirelessly to make a loved one’s life a little easier. Moreover, due to the incredibly strong connections and ties in many Portuguese families, it’s not uncommon for families to live very closely together, even after children have grown up and moved away. As such, children, parents, and grandparents may often live on the same or adjoining roads, where possible. These close ties mean that, when dating Portuguese women, you should always be aware of family’s importance to her. Therefore, any suggestions of moving away from her region of origin will likely be met with resistance and displeasure, not because she doesn’t want to be with you but because she simply doesn’t want to leave her family members behind.

However, although the strong bonds between family members are of the utmost importance for Portuguese women, it’s also worth considering that most Portuguese women are incredibly independent, a trait instilled in them by their upbringing. Hence, they will primarily focus on their passions and careers rather than being held back by ties to their family exclusively. It’s worth considering that the distribution of work within the family structure in Portugal mainly depends on the region you visit. For most Portuguese women living in urban areas such as Lisbon, where approximately 2 million people live, tasks are generally distributed equally. Both partners are expected to pull their weight proportionally, and each contributes roughly the same to the family overall. However, there is a more substantial split between the gender roles in many Portuguese households outside of urban areas. Rural families in Portugal tend to adopt a more traditional approach of the father being the breadwinner and the mother staying at home to take care of the family. Nevertheless, even in rural regions, both the husband and the wife generally get involved with tasks such as cleaning and cooking co-operatively. It may be worth discussing this with your Portuguese partner to determine her thoughts on the matter, as her upbringing will likely influence her perception.

The minimum legal age for marriage in Portugal is sixteen years of age; however, the average age of marriage for Portuguese women is typically 31.6 years. Perhaps surprisingly, the average age for childbirth in Portugal is lower than 31.2 years of age, indicating that a substantial number of women in Portugal have children outside of wedlock. Annually, approximately 34,000 marriages occur in the country, although this fluctuates somewhat year-on-year; many people travel to Portugal to get married outside their home country. Meanwhile, the number of divorces annually typically falls at around 21,000, indicating that the number of married couples within the country at any one time only grows slowly since the divorce rate annually is around 2/3 the number of marriages. With this in mind, it’s essential to be aware of the importance of seriousness when dating Portuguese women; most Portuguese women will be incredibly unimpressed if you’re only looking for a fling and are actually looking for long-term commitment; if you don’t put in the time, it’s not uncommon for her to break things off.

As with many other European nations, education within Portugal is free for children, and state-subsidized education is available until they are 18 years, funded by a budget of approximately €6.1 billion. Free education in the country starts at around six years old, and before this point, many Portuguese children are looked after by their families or grandparents. However, the Portuguese government provides a subsidy for 25 hours per week of childcare in a Ministry of Education-approved pre-primary education facility. The majority of these are usually managed by a non-profit organization, although a small number of pre-primary education facilities are privately owned, profit-making businesses. Portugal’s total enrolment in primary and secondary education falls at around 767,000 per level. Approximately half of the secondary students will attempt post-secondary education, although many often fail to complete secondary education. The success of education is often linked to the school’s region. For example, Lisbon, Porto, and Coimbra are often considered higher-performing than schools in less populated regions.

Following pre-primary education, primary education in Portugal commences at the age of six and runs across three cycles until fifteen. This period constitutes a lower secondary education. After that, upper secondary education is available between fifteen and eighteen, following point higher education commences. Higher education in Portugal is not free of charge and is usually based on strict application requirements; however, higher education is often encouraged. Portugal is home to several historic universities and higher education providers; notably, the University of Coimbra is one of the world’s longest-established continuous universities and first opened its doors in 1290 AD. However, despite the high caliber of Portuguese universities and higher education providers, holding a degree often does not instantly boost employability. Approximately 15% of people with a degree remain unemployed, while many others are employed in job roles that do not fully use their skills and knowledge. 

Education among Portuguese women is often lower than for men, with fewer than half of Portuguese women over 25 years having completed secondary education. However, these figures may be somewhat skewed by the proportion of women living in rural areas, for whom traditional roles of looking after the family are often favored over obtaining a job. Moreover, it’s worth considering that many women in Portugal are also highly motivated. And while they may not have completed their education fully, that does not necessarily mean that they haven’t received a good level of education. The literacy rate for women in Portugal is 94%, although this is substantially lower than the 97% literacy rate for Portuguese men. However, the literacy rate for Portuguese women and men between 15 and 24 years of age is 99.38% and 99.48%, respectively, indicating that the younger generation holds a higher determination for education than previous generations. This may be due to the lack of job opportunities within Portugal; at any one time, approximately 55% of the country’s population is employed, many of whom may be overqualified for the jobs they are completing. Besides these figures, about 6% of Portuguese people are unemployed, indicating that 49% are likely to be self-employed. Therefore, when moving to Portugal, it may be worth brushing up on your entrepreneurship skills to help increase the chances of finding work in the country.

The State itself once controlled religion in Portugal. However, following the split between the Church and State between 1910 and 1926, religion in Portugal has become more free-choice ever since. In the modern-day, the country now celebrates numerous faiths. While an overwhelming number of Portuguese people consider themselves Roman Catholics, with Catholicism accounting for 81.0% of the religion in Portugal, there are also some other religions in the country. Around 3.3% of Portuguese women and men follow another form of Christianity. These include followers of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Protestant church, and the like. A minimal number of Jehovah’s Witnesses and Pentecostals also arrived in Portugal during the 1950s and 1960s. Meanwhile, a larger 6.8% claim to have no religion. However, despite the large number of people in Portugal who claim to be Catholic, very few actively participate in Church life, with around just 19% of Portuguese women and men attending Mass regularly. Nevertheless, approximately 40% of Portuguese residents attempt to pray daily, in line with their faith.

In addition to Christianity and Atheism, which account for the most significant proportion of religion within the country, a small proportion of Portuguese people claim to have another faith. Buddhism is perhaps the most common non-Christian religion, with an estimated total of Buddhists in the country falling at around 80,000. To cater to this new but growing demand, a new Buddhist Vihara was founded in 2010; the Vihara, named Sumedharama, is located close to Lisbon and serves as a destination for the city’s Buddhist population. Shortly after that, the total number of Muslims within the country fell to roughly 65,000 people, based on data from 2019. In addition, other religions within the country include the Baha’i faith, for which the first Spiritual Assembly in Portugal was elected in 1946 following the closure of World War II. Hinduism saw a sharp increase during the 1990s due to the rise in immigration from Nepalese countries, with the modern Hindu community in Portugal accounting for approximately 9,000 people. Meanwhile, around 1000-2000 people followed the Jewish faith, based on estimates from the 1990s.

Superstitions in Portugal are somewhat more influential than in some other European countries, such as the United Kingdom, where superstitions – even if not always believed – are often inground into the country’s culture overall. However, Portuguese women and men are often considered highly superstitious, which may be linked to their strong connections with Catholicism in the country. Some common cultural superstitions in Portugal include believing that walking backward will bring bad luck and misfortune. This is because it lets the devil learn more about how you walk and so can result in harmful threats to your family and loved ones. Other superstitions include the belief that, when thirteen dine at a table, one – usually the oldest or the youngest – will die during the following year. It’s also believed that if you have a guest arriving who makes a particularly dull conversation, an upside-down broom may help ward them off from entering your property!

When it comes to moving to Portugal, it’s well worth considering the common mentalities of many Portuguese women to help make the transition a little easier. Portugal is a country steeped in history and culture, owing to its history of well over a millennium; as such, culture plays a massively prominent role in Portuguese women’s mentality. In addition to this, Portuguese women are also often incredibly determined to achieve independence, a trait which is usually instilled in many Portuguese children at an early age; typically, Portuguese children remain at home with their family until they are fully independent, following which point, they go out to make their mark on the world. For Portuguese women, this often means they’ll do their best to contribute in any way possible in a relationship, not to feel burdened. However, Portuguese women are nevertheless exceptionally compassionate and caring, in many cases, due to the importance of family in Portuguese culture. Hence, while they usually strive to look out for themselves where possible, they will always be there for someone who needs support at a moment’s notice. 

The role of traditional culture somewhat explains why, in many cases, Portuguese women and men can seem less progressive than in other European countries, with many families still focusing on a male breadwinner and the female housemaker role. This is also somewhat influenced by the low employment rate in the country, which leaves many people having to create their work through self-employment – complicating the process of earning an income. And although equality is important in Portugal, with Portuguese women expecting men to contribute to tasks around the house and their independent nature driving them to try and seek employment, the country is still lagging behind many other European nations regarding women in the workforce specifically. The country’s Gender Inequality Index and Global Gender Gap Index rank it as the 17th and 22nd best country, which – though not bad – certainly offers room for improvement. Approximately 61.1% of women in the country are employed at any time; when entering a relationship with a Portuguese woman, it’s important to clarify her goals and aspirations and help her achieve them.

It’s worth considering that Portuguese women hold high regard for punctuality. Indeed, this represents one of the most significant comparisons with Portugal’s neighboring country, Spain; while Spanish women are typically more laid back and relaxed, timeliness and good time management are essential staples for Portuguese women and men as a matter of respect and practicality. This means that if you plan with a Portuguese woman for a date, she will expect you to be on time; however, Portuguese women simultaneously have a more laid-back approach to preparation. They often prepare well in advance to ensure nothing is late to enable timeliness. This is a common trend in Portuguese establishments and restaurants; for example, service is often slow since the Portuguese typically focus on timely, controlled, and calm deliveries rather than rushing to make a short deadline.