Portugal Mandates Financial Literacy in National Curriculum, High-Profile Officials Lead Workshops

Portugal has formally integrated mandatory financial literacy as a core competency within its national education framework, marking a significant evolution in progressive education. This strategic addition to the existing Citizenship and Development curriculum aims to equip students with essential, real-world economic skills, transforming abstract financial concepts into actionable knowledge for the next generation.

The government underscored this commitment on October 31, 2025, through high-level engagement across the country. Fernando Alexandre, the Minister of Education, appeared at the Escola Secundária José Gomes Ferreira in Lisbon to support the initiative. Adding considerable weight, Minister of State and Finance Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, an alumnus of the same school, dedicated two hours to instructing approximately 150 eleventh-grade students on the vital principle of saving. This hands-on participation by senior officials signals the seriousness with which the administration views this educational pivot.

The national effort is channeled through the program titled "Educate for Citizenship: Saving, a Commitment to the Future," which actively involves governmental figures and leading academics. Further demonstrating this unified approach, Álvaro Santos Pereira, the Governor of the Bank of Portugal, conducted a dedicated financial literacy session for eleventh and twelfth-grade students at the Escola Secundária Avelar Brotero in Coimbra.

These targeted actions directly address identified needs within the student population, as highlighted by findings such as the PISA 2022 results, which indicated a requirement for greater familiarity with financial instruments and digital money management among Portuguese students. The Ministry of Education is also broadening this foundation through projects like the "Todos Contam" (Everyone Counts) initiative, designed for widespread dissemination of financial education principles. This comprehensive national undertaking seeks to empower young individuals, preparing them to navigate future economic landscapes with informed assurance.

Beyond these visible events, Portugal's focus aligns with a broader international trend recognizing that economic resilience starts in the classroom. Proactive financial education is viewed as a powerful societal stabilizer; international analyses suggest that nations mandating personal finance education before age 18 see a measurable decrease in early-adulthood consumer debt defaults by nearly 15% within a decade of implementation. The overarching objective is to cultivate a citizenry capable of making sound financial choices that support long-term personal and collective well-being.