Prostitution in Portugal

Prostitution in Portugal is legal, but it is illegal for a third party to profit from, promote, encourage or facilitate the prostitution of another. Consequently, organized prostitution (brothels, prostitution rings or other forms of pimping) is prohibited.

Although the number of workers involved in the industry is notoriously difficult to estimate, in the mid-2000s, the number of female prostitutes was estimated at 28,000, of whom at least 50% were foreigners.