Portugal forms the south-west border of mainland Europe with its continental landmass of around 90 thousand square kilometers along the western extent of the Iberian Peninsula complemented by the island archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores. Two decades of European Union membership have resulted in far-reaching social and economic change as this country of 10.5 million citizens emerged out of rural poverty and a long period of dictatorship.
Progress throughout the 1990s was particularly impressive and convergence with European norms and standards of living was seen as a matter of time. However, this century has seen the path to development prove significantly more complicated with the state seriously challenged by longstanding difficulties in key areas such as education. Positive achievements are many and Portugal now not only meets EU legislative requirements but is also a fully participating member of the Euro. It has successfully hosted such events as the 2004 European football championship and is endowed with a range of modern social and collective infrastructures. Political and social stability have accompanied economic growth that has seen average per capita income reach USD 16,170 (World Bank 2006).
However, progress towards convergence with European standards of living has stagnated this century with Portuguese income per capita worryingly slipping from 73 to 71 percent of the EU25 average between 2003 and 2005 (Eurostat 2006). The Portuguese state has struggled with budgetary over-expenditure and general under-performance. Against this backdrop, the Socialist Party won their first ever parliamentary majority in February 2005 and the government of Jose Socrates has since embarked on an ambitious reform programme targeting the entire extent of the state apparatus with the field of education a target priority.
The Portuguese educational system comprises twelve years of education of which nine are compulsory. The remaining three years correspond to secondary education:
Ensino Básico (compulsory education)
- 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico( Years 1 to 4) from 6 to 10 years of age
- 2º Ciclo do Ensino Básico (Years 5 and 6) from 10 to 12 years of age
- 3º Ciclo do Ensino Básico (Years 7, 8 and 9) from 12 to 15 years of age
Marks are awarded on a scale of one to five (pass mark: three)
Ensino Secundário (secondary education/post-compulsory education)
Years 10, 11 and 12 or 3 (three) years of vocational education for pupils of 15+ years of age. These qualifications allow students to proceed to HE.
Marks are awarded on a scale of 0 - 20 (pass mark: ten)
Ensino Superior (higher education)
HE is available at state universities and polytechnic institutes, and some private institutions, spread across the whole country including the islands of Azores and Madeira. Pre-Bologna undergraduate courses (licenciatura) with the duration of four or five years are now being adapted to the three year model. Postgraduate courses (pós-graduações) have the duration of nine months and masters (mestrados) the duration of two years. PhDs (doutoramentos) have a minimum duration of three years.
Apart from the Erasmus programme, Portuguese students seek education abroad in the UK, Spain and other EU countries.
Marks are awarded on a scale of 0 - 20 (pass mark: ten)
Education in Portugal is widely valued and cherished with a university degree both perceived as an important achievement and gaining the right to use the title Dr/Dra that compares internationally to the title gained on receipt of a PhD. However, the percentage of the Portuguese adult population aged between 25 and 64 participating in education and training stood at only 4.1 against an EU15 average of 11per cent
Education has always been a social and political priority with state and private education expenditure two per cent higher than EU15/25 averages. In total representing 5.6 per cent of GDP, Portugal spends significantly more on primary and secondary level but less on tertiary level education, with 28 per cent spent at this level in Portugal against a European average of 36 per cent (all figures from Eurostat 2006). Yet the completion rate, those passing versus the total registered, for students in the final year of secondary school stood at 50.6 per cent in 2004/05 academic year. This is perhaps indicative of the challenge facing the national education system.
Furthermore, while free education is a constitutional right and compulsory through to the age of 15, its actual provision has been mixed. Private schools, including international schools and important French, Spanish and German state establishments, are attended by approximately one in five students across the primary and secondary systems and make up the overwhelming majority of the best ranked and most prestigious schools. As such, they play a crucial role in the major metropolitan areas and tend to be first choice options for professional, middle/upper class households.
There has been a gradual improvement in attainment levels with the percentage of those aged 20 to 24 having completed at least upper secondary rising from 43 per cent in 2000 to 49 per cent in 2005. It should be noted that that figure breaks down into 40.8 per cent for males and 57.5 per cent for females highlighting the differential in educational achievement by gender that increasingly characterises the Portuguese education system.
For further information about nursery, primary, secondary and vocational education, please contact:
Ministério da Educação (Ministry of Education)
For further information about higher education please contact:
It is to be expected that in a period of significant change, a series of opportunities are generated. The Socrates government education reforms began by targeting primary schools with timetable changes and the introduction of English and music classes among other changes, to ensure children did not only have a half-day of formal schooling (8am to 1pm or 1pm to 6pm) as previously the case. The sourcing of such a major expansion in human resource requirements has been subject to debate. Some private entities have been entering into outsourcing agreements for the provision of these and other services.
Within the Lisbon Strategy for Life Long Learning and the Knowledge Based Economy frameworks the present government is fully committed to reform all levels of education in Portugal in order to increase the percentage of qualified young and adult population through a different number of national programmes, which aim to qualify young people with both school and professional qualifications and to re-qualify the adult population; to improve the educational system efficiency and drastically reduce school drop out; to promote scientific and technological culture within the Portuguese society; to value knowledge and skills acquired through work experience and informal learning.
The university system is similarly undergoing profound alterations due to both the Bologna agreement at the European level and national changes. Prior to the 1974 revolution, university level education was the preserve of a very restricted elite and this situation only really changed in the 1990s. Degrees still remained traditional and theory based, generally running to five years in length. Now, under Bologna, degrees are becoming three years long and modular in structure with wide ranging restructuring in options and methodologies. This comes in conjunction with the implementation of the ‘Technological Plan’ designed, to modernise and internationalise the Portuguese higher education system through, and for example, a wide-ranging partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
These and other changes remain very much ongoing and their outcome uncertain. Recent years have already seen major shrinkage in private universities with a demographic downturn meaning a reduced student pool. However, numbers pick up towards the end of this decade. Immigration take up of education, with non-nationals already representing over 11 per cent of the active workforce, remains another incognito even if integration is facilitated by the shared language background of many immigrants to Portugal.
Over the last two decades Portuguese students have been choosing the UK to pursue their studies at vocational and undergraduate levels in various subjects including those not available nationally. This comes in addition to significant take up of short English language courses particularly in the summer months. While it may be expected that there is more demand at this level in the future, it is equally the case that national universities are also boosting their range in this field. This in turn complements the rising internationalisation of education courtesy of the EU initiatives such as school exchange programmes, with the Erasmus Programme resulting in significant two-way flows of international students. What is certain is that as the Portuguese state strives to gain greater results from the resources invested, there will be greater opportunity for outsourcing, (re)training and infrastructural development services where not the direct provision of education into schools.
Similarly, the number of students attending postgraduate courses and research programmes in the UK has increased. These are students who decide to continue their studies after completing their initial qualification at a British HE institution, and also students who conclude their first degree in Portugal and choose the UK for postgraduate study.
Feedback from students suggests that the practical component of the British courses and the tutorial system are the two main reasons why students choose the UK to obtain a sound internationally recognised qualification (vocational or academic).
The British Council in Portugal has teaching centres in Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra and teaching centre satellites in Miraflores, Parede and Foz. The main office is in Lisbon. Information about Education and study opportunities in the UK is available through online services only.
A comprehensive electronic information service about studying opportunities in the UK is available at the British Council Portugal web pages. With Frequently Asked Questions and relevant web links this step-by-step guide gives a brief explanation of the educational system in the UK, including access to nursery, primary, secondary and higher education.
The information available will allow parents to choose a British school and students to apply to vocational and higher education as well as to British Council-accredited English language schools in the UK.
A key regional project is INDIE – Inclusion and Diversity in Education. Our 'Inclusion and Diversity in Education' project unites policy makers in the field of education and inclusion, head teachers and young leaders (pupils of participating schools) from ten European countries (Great Britain, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Greece) and provides the opportunity to exchange ideas and develop best practice guidelines on building and developing diverse and inclusive schools.
The aim of this project is to promote social cohesion, raise educational standards and build lasting networks which focus on the common challenges presented by immigration and cultural diversity to school education in the participating countries.
Other regional and global projects are currently being developed. For more information please contact general enquiries: Lisbon.enquiries@pt.britishcouncil.org.
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