Portugal Reports 3.1% Crime Increase in 2025 as Sexual Offenses Reach Decade High

Portugal's 2025 Annual Internal Security Report, delivered to parliament on March 31, 2026, recorded a 3.1% rise in general crime compared to 2024, while violent and serious crime fell by 1.6%, with authorities attributing the overall increase largely to reinforced police enforcement and greater proactivity in areas such as road crime, possession of prohibited weapons, and disobedience. The report, known as RASI, was approved at a meeting of the Higher Council for Internal Security presided over by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro. Of all crimes recorded in 2025, 50.5% were against property and 25% against persons, with thefts remaining the most reported category. Rape cases reached their highest level in a decade, with 578 cases reported — an increase of 6.4%, or 35 more than in 2024. Juvenile delinquency dropped for the first time since the pandemic, offering one of the report's more encouraging findings.

Immigration-related crime surges 251%, marriages of convenience up 400% Crimes related to illegal immigration rose by 251.3% in 2025, from 343 recorded cases in 2024 to 1,205 — an increase of 862 cases across the six criminal typologies tracked in this category. The sharpest percentage rise came in marriages of convenience, which jumped from 12 cases in 2024 to 60 in 2025, a 400% increase. In absolute numbers, the dominant typology was "other crimes related to illegal immigration," which surged from 185 to 838 cases, a rise of 353%. Assistance to illegal immigration also climbed sharply, from 110 cases in 2024 to 262 in 2025, a 138.2% increase. The report's six immigration typologies showed only one decline: violations of entry ban measures fell from 26 to 25 cases, a drop of 3.8%. Investigations into human trafficking fell by 4% and those for illegal entry and stay by 17%, while investigations for assistance to illegal immigration rose by 5% and for association for assistance to illegal immigration by 160%.

Marriages of convenience 2024: 12, Marriages of convenience 2025: 60, Assistance to illegal immigration 2024: 110, Assistance to illegal immigration 2025: 262, Other crimes related to illegal immigration 2024: 185, Other crimes related to illegal immigration 2025: 838, Total 2024: 343, Total 2025: 1205

Domestic violence dips slightly, but rape hits decade high Police forces registered 29,644 domestic violence reports in 2025, a reduction of 577 cases, or 1.9%, compared to 2024, continuing a downward trend that has persisted since 2022. Domestic violence between spouses or partners accounted for 85.5% of all cases, totalling 25,357 incidents — a 2.2% decrease from the previous year. Domestic violence against children, however, rose by 8.6%, reaching 1,122 cases. The report recorded 44,571 victims in total, 69% of whom were women, with the majority aged 25 or older. Among perpetrators, 78% were men, and 92.4% were aged 25 or older, though the report noted 2,988 perpetrators aged between 16 and 24 and 86 under the age of 16. 578 (cases) — rape reports in 2025, highest in a decade The report noted that 90.3% of rape victims were female, predominantly in the age group between 21 and 40, and that in roughly half of all cases, victims and perpetrators were known to each other.

Portugal has tracked domestic violence statistics systematically for over a decade. The year 2022 marked a record surge of 15% in domestic violence reports, reaching 30,488 cases — the highest figure recorded since 2016. The downward trend since then has been gradual, with 2025 marking the third consecutive year of decline. The RASI is the primary instrument through which Portugal's Internal Security System reports annually to the legislature on crime trends, security threats, and law enforcement activity.

Terrorism falls sharply, but far-right activity and cyber threats draw concern Terrorism-related crimes decreased by 29.4% in 2025 compared to 2024, with 2,441 communications processed through the Anti-Terrorism Coordination Unit within the scope of preventing and combating terrorism and radicalization. The RASI stated that Islamist-based international terrorism remained one of the greatest threats capable of projecting itself onto Portugal and onto national interests abroad, though Portugal had not been the target of any Islamist-based terrorist attack as of 2025. Authorities flagged individuals with an Islamist profile who intended to travel to Portugal, used Portuguese identification documents, or maintained contact with residents through social networks or telephone calls. The report also identified IP addresses located in Portugal through which jihadist propaganda associated with different terrorist organizations was accessed. On the far right, the RASI confirmed that right-wing extremists remained active in 2025, promoting an anti-Islamization, anti-immigration, and re-migration agenda — described in the report as a euphemism for mass deportation — while spreading disinformation and normalizing hate speech online and offline. Sexual extortion crimes rose by 6.8% to 1,067 reported cases in 2025, up from 999 in 2024, with the report highlighting the role of platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp in facilitating rapid dissemination of content and complicating the identification of perpetrators. The coordinator of the National Cybersecurity Center, identified in the source articles as Lino Santos, stated that the RASI data demonstrated Portugal's standing as one of the safest countries in the world, while stressing that safety perception must also be addressed through improved organizational defenses, digital literacy, and inter-agency collaboration.

„It is not enough to be in a country that is safe. They must also feel safe, and that depends on our action and the effectiveness of our action” — Lino Santos via TSF Rádio Notícias