Changes in Portugal's public data, ranked by what actually moved: legal thresholds crossed, series records, accelerations and deviations from the norm. Every item carries its comparison inside the sentence and links to the data behind it. No language model: arithmetic over official sources only.
01 · PUBLIC CONTRACTS · BASE/IMPICCONTRACT FLAG
€19,992 direct award just below €20,000 ceiling by Ciência Viva
Ciência Viva awarded a direct contract for monitoring and animation services at €19,992, reaching 100 % of the €20,000 threshold that triggers a competitive procedure.
€19,992 direct award, no public tender, 100.0% of the €20,000 ceiling above which the law requires a more competitive procedure. · Source: BASE/IMPIC
The State spent €6.1 billion more than it collected in January–May 2026.
Spending rose 11.8% year on year while revenue grew 2.2%, meaning spending is growing 5.4 times faster. That 9.6-point gap is what widens the balance. Public accounting, DGO.
03 · HEALTH · SNS TRANSPARENCYOFF THE NATIONAL NORM
At Unidade Local de Saúde de Loures-Odivelas, 64.9% of surgery patients wait beyond the legal deadline; the national share is 31.3%.
It is the worst SNS unit in May 2026: only 35.1% of surgery-list patients were within the legally guaranteed maximum, 33.6 points above the national share. Source: SNS Transparência.
% BEYOND THE LEGAL WAIT
ULS Loures-Odivelas64.9
National share31.3
Unidade Local de Saúde de Loures-Odivelas: 35.1% within the surgery deadline · national 68.7% · May 2026. · Source: SNS Transparência
Surgery waits beyond the legal deadline rose from 31.0% to 31.3% in a month.
In May 2026, 87,246 of the 278,394 patients on SNS surgery lists had waited beyond the legally guaranteed maximum, against 86,414 in April 2026. Source: SNS Transparência.
% BEYOND THE LEGAL WAIT
Oct29.6
Nov30
Dec31.7
Jan31.9
Feb30.9
Mar30.4
Apr31
May31.3
31.3% beyond the surgery deadline (+0.3 pp in a month) · May 2026. · Source: SNS Transparência
11 town halls remain over the legal debt ceiling; the worst sits at 2.82 times the limit.
In the 2024 accounts, 11 of 307 municipalities exceeded the art. 52 of Law 73/2013 ceiling (1.5 times three-year average current revenue). Vila Real de Santo António leads, with €125.2 million of debt. 14 municipalities sit in the municipal rescue fund (FAM). Source: DGAL.
% OF THE LEGAL CEILING · WORST 5
Vila Real de Santo António282
Fornos de Algodres233
Vila Franca do Campo205
Cartaxo186
Nordeste130
11 municipalities over the legal debt ceiling · 2024 accounts. · Source: DGAL
This brief gathered 5 candidates from BASE/IMPIC, DGO, SNS Transparência, DGAL and published the 5 highest-scoring. The score weighs the type of change (threshold crossed > record > acceleration > movement > deviation > standing state), magnitude and freshness; a fact older than its source's publication cadence is ineligible, which is why a 2020 figure can never appear in a 2026 brief.