Portugal ended 2025 with at least 108 confirmed homicides, the highest number recorded since 2018, according to figures compiled by Jornal de Notícias.
The final recorded homicide of the year happened less than two hours before midnight on New Year’s Eve (December 31), on Leirosa beach in Figueira da Foz, following a family dispute. It capped a year in which murders were reported across the country, often involving people with close personal ties.
Official data from the Annual Internal Security Report (RASI) shows that Portugal recorded 89 homicides in 2024, 90 in 2023 and 97 in 2022. The 2025 figure is provisional but already stands as the highest in seven years.
By mid-October, police investigations into homicide had already surpassed the total for the previous year, JN reports. Since then, at least 14 more people were killed in 12 different municipalities, from Braga and Amadora to Lagos and Tomar, highlighting the nationwide spread of cases rather than any regional concentration, the newspaper highlights.
According to the Observatory of Murdered Women, at least 24 women had been killed by mid-November.
As in previous years, most homicides were reportedly committed by men and frequently involved family members, partners or acquaintances. Knives and other bladed weapons remained the most commonly used, followed by firearms.
The PJ police, which investigates homicides in Portugal, declined to confirm the figures ahead of the publication of the official 2025 RASI, expected in the second quarter of this year.
Several high-profile cases marked December alone, including the killing of a 13-year-old boy by his mother’s ex-partner in Tomar, a fatal beating of a 70-year-old woman in Braga, and a stabbing in Lagos linked to a relationship dispute.
