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Despite fluctuations, namely during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of homicides in Portugal has generally decreased. In 2025, the Portuguese police registered 98 homicides consummated in the country, up from 89 manslaughter cases reported one years earlier. There were 333 involuntary homicides due to traffic accidents in Portugal, and 21 homicides that happened under other circumstances, such as negligence. 

Manslaughter cases and incarceration rates in Portugal

Portugal had one of lowest homicide rates in Europe as of 2023, at 0.7 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. The county of the nation’s capital, Lisbon, registered 23 voluntary manslaughter cases in 2024, which represented an increase in comparison to the previous year, but a decrease when compared to pre-pandemic times. In Portugal, the incarceration rate has also overall been on a downward trend. In 2024, there were 115 people incarcerated per 100,000 inhabitants. This rate, however, has risen since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was in 2015 that the incarceration rate peaked at 137.1. 

Despite decreasing homicide numbers, domestic violence is increasing in Portugal

Domestic violence, which triggers multiple manslaughter cases in Portugal, has been increasing over recent years. However, in 2024, there were 30,221 recorded incidences of domestic violence, but showing an overall rise compared to pandemic and pre-pandemic years. This type of crime takes place in the domestic environment and between people with a degree of kinship. In 2024, 26.5 percent of cases occurred between spouses or partners, while seven percent of recorded occurrences concerned ex-spouses or ex-partners. In the same year, 28.4 percent of domestic violence victims were children or stepchildren of the accused, while the parents or stepparents of the alleged criminals were the victims of domestic violence in over seven percent of cases.