When choosing a country for immigration, it is vital to consider various factors: the cost of living, the level of local salaries, the level of security, and much more. Sure, you can compare the climate conditions and the possibility of legalizing it in the country, but still, the issue of the cost of living will be decisive when choosing a new place to live. That is why we decided to publish a series of articles on the WithPortugal website, where we are going to compare countries similar to Portugal. Our analysis will be based exclusively on factual and statistical data, which will help you compare different countries more objectively and choose the one that best suits you in terms of the cost of living.
In our first articles of this series, we compared Portugal and Spain and Portugal and Italy, and you will find a comparative analysis of salaries and cost of living in Portugal and Poland in our new material.
Basis for the comparative analysis
The source of information for this article was the report «Cost of Living, Living Wages, and Minimum Wages in EU-27 countries», compiled for one of the parties of the European Parliament. This report compares 27 EU countries in terms of minimum and real salaries, as well as the total cost of living in the country. Although this report was compiled in 2021, and the new one for 2022 is not yet ready, we can safely rely on this data with one small correction.
There is quite a strong inflation and price increase in Europe in 2022, so feel free to add 200-500 euros to the total calculation of living expenses in a particular country. However, since inflation is observed in all European countries, it is essential to understand that the proportions remain unchanged in terms of a comparative analysis of the two countries. If, for example, 1 adult could live in Bulgaria for 600-800 euros per month in 2021, and for life in Luxembourg, one person needed at least 1200-1500 euros (that is, exactly 2 times more than in Bulgaria), then in 2022 the cost of living in both countries will increase, but the proportion of 1 to 2 will remain the same.
Cost of living in Portugal and Poland
What is common between Portugal and Poland? First, of course, these countries are very different in terms of climate, the mentality of the locals, and geographical location, so it would be strange to correlate them to each other, as we did in the case of Spain and Italy in our previous reviews.
However, Poland and Portugal have one essential feature, namely the low cost of living. Many immigrants are conducted primarily by how much money they need to live in a particular country, especially if they are remote freelance employees. People with big budgets will consider Luxembourg or France to live in, and if your budget is limited, then it is worth analyzing life in Portugal or Poland in more detail because these countries should be very similar in terms of the cost of living and salaries.
Is it so? Let's check it out.
Below you can see a screenshot from the report of the EU Parliament with a summary table of monthly expenses per person (Single adult) and for a standard family of 2 adults and 2 children (Standard Family) in Portugal.
I will immediately make a vital remark that they take a slightly lower standard for rental housing in all countries in this report. I think this is because the statistics were considered in general throughout the country and not just in large cities. Therefore, the rental values that you see in the table below are the arithmetic average between Lisbon and a remote Portuguese village. Accordingly, if you still want to live in a large city, I would safely add at least 300-400 euros to this value, considering inflation and current prices for 2022. So keep this in mind and add 300 euros to the cost of living in any country in this report.
In this article, we will automatically add 300 euros to the total cost of living in a particular country, adjusted for inflation in 2022.
In total, taking into account inflation, it turns out that the approximate cost of living in Portugal in 2022 with rent, transport costs, education costs, visiting restaurants, etc., will be equivalent to:
- From 1679 to 2177 euros for a family of 2 adults and 2 children;
- From 857 to 1010 euros for one person living separately and renting a room or studio.
It is essential to understand that this report's lifestyle is considered the most basic. For example, it is assumed that you will dine in cafes or restaurants only a couple of times a month, buy the most uncomplicated products in the supermarket, etc. On the other hand, if you eat in restaurants every day, and buy only shrimp and expensive veal in supermarkets, then such a report won't be relevant for you because you will most likely spend 2-5 times more than the amounts indicated in the table above.
However, as a person who has lived in Portugal for 8 years, I can confirm that 1 person can live for 1000 euros and a family for 2200 in the country in 2022. Sure, you won't live in the center of Lisbon, where only you can pay one or two thousand euros just to rent an apartment. It is important to remember that there are some cities in the country where rent and cost of living are pretty affordable.
Let's now compare the cost of living in Poland. You can see a summary table about it in the picture below:
It is important to note that all the data in the tables for Poland are presented not in euros but in Polish zlotys, and as of December 2022, 1 euro is equal to about 4.69 zlotys, so that we will divide all values by a coefficient of 4.69.
In total, taking into account inflation for 2022, it turns out that the approximate cost of living in Poland with rent, transport costs, spending on education, visiting restaurants, etc., will be equivalent to:
- From 1323 to 1678 euros for a family of 2 adults and 2 children;
- From 713 to 839 euros for one person living separately and renting a room or studio.
Well, the cost of living in Poland is generally 200-500 euros cheaper than in Portugal. This difference is significant, so it is vital to check how much the Portuguese salaries differ from the Polish ones.
Salary levels in Portugal and Poland
The approximate salaries in Portugal are in the table below.
Unfortunately, inflation affected only prices but not salaries in the country. By law, Portugal's minimum salary per month is 705 euros (before taxes) in 2022. In 2023, the minimum salary will be raised to 760 euros, and taxes will need to be deducted from this amount. In the picture below, this value is slightly higher than the minimum salary because, most likely, 13 and 14 salaries in the country are considered.
According to these statistics, low-skilled workers in Portugal acquire just about 700-800 euros, which corresponds to the minimum salary in the country. On the other hand, medium-skilled workers earn around 1,000 euros, and highly qualified specialists can only obtain over a thousand euros per month (approximately from 1,400 to 2,000 euros per month).
If we compare the level of salaries in Portugal with the level of expense that we analyzed above, we get the following situation. If we are talking about a family with 2 adults and 2 children, if only one family member works, then he/she should receive about 2000 euros. That is, he/she must be a highly qualified specialist (for example, an IT specialist). If he/she is not, both adults must work, and their qualifications must be average so that the sum of 2 salaries is at least 2000 euros per month. In both cases, the family will be able to live at a moderate level and pay the bills but not be able to save some money or conduct a luxurious life. This nuance is important to understand if you immigrate to Portugal.
Visually, the level of salaries in Portugal is demonstrated in the diagram below. The blue line shows the approximate level of the minimum salary in the country, and we see that the minimum salary is nearly the actual income level for people who live alone and don't have a family.
Let's now see the situation with salaries in Poland.
The salary is also indicated in PLN in the table below, so we will divide all values for 4.69 to convert to euro.
The current minimum salary in Poland is about 600 euros, which is 100 euros lower than the minimum salary in Portugal.
At the same time, if low-skilled workers earn an average of 600-680 euros, with average qualifications it is from 630 to 760, then highly qualified specialists can count on a salary of 790 to 1000 euros, which is an extremely low salary even for a Portuguese employee.
If we consider a family of 2 adults and 2 children, then in Poland, it will be impossible to live even for 1 salary of a highly qualified specialist, so two people must work in the family.
At the same time, people with an average salary living on their own will be able to cover their household expenses fully but won't be able to save some money, as in Portugal.
Conclusion
As a result of our brief analysis of salaries and cost of living in Portugal and Poland, we can make the following conclusions:
- The cost of living in Portugal is much higher than in Poland. The difference is about 200-500 euros. This is most likely because Portugal is a popular tourist destination, so prices for housing and other household expenses are constantly rising here.
- At the same time, the salaries in Poland are slightly lower than in Portugal, and the difference will depend on your qualifications. If you have a low-skilled job, then the salaries in both countries are about the same. On the other hand, mid-level employees will earn about 200 euros more in Portugal than in Poland. And the most significant difference can be observed in the salaries of highly qualified employees: Polish highly skilled workers will acquire about 600-900 euros less than workers of the same level in Portugal.
As we assumed at the beginning of our article, Portugal and Poland are very similar in their economic situation, the standard of living, and salaries. Naturally, you will spend more money on life in Portugal than in Poland, but if you are a highly qualified specialist, then you can quickly compensate for this difference by obtaining a higher salary in Portugal.
If you are a low-skilled employee and plan to work in a factory or a restaurant, then both the cost of living and salaries in Poland and Portugal are as close as possible so that you can make a choice based on other considerations (for example, climatic, geographical, etc.).
Each situation is unique, and it will all depend on your budget, availability of work, and your objectives. Nevertheless, we hope our article has helped you navigate the main differences in the income and expenses of Poland's and Portugal's inhabitants. Which two countries would you like to see in a new article in this series? Note in the comments, and see you in the following article!
