Market Research Companies in Lisbon

Key figures for researchers

Population (municipality)

658,236 (2025)¹

Grande Lisboa region

2,415,261 residents (2025)²

Metropolitan area

18 municipalities on both banks of the Tagus; 2,899,670 residents (31 December 2022)³

Parishes

24 freguesias since the 2013 administrative reform⁵

Foreign residents

202,430 in the municipality of Lisbon (31 December 2024)⁶

Age (municipality)

20.8% aged 65 and over, 12.1% under 15 (2025)¹

Renting

42.3% of main homes rented in the municipality, 29.2% in the metropolitan area (2021 census)⁷

Growth 2021–2025

Grande Lisboa +10.6%, Setúbal Peninsula +12.8%⁸

Tourism

85.0% of overnight stays in the municipality by non-residents (2025)⁹

Economy

the metropolitan area produced 36.1% of Portugal’s GDP (2022, provisional)³

Research guide

Research landscape

Lisbon is, with Porto, one of the two centres of the Portuguese research industry. Full-service agencies work alongside qualitative specialists, B2B and healthcare firms, field and telephone teams and online panel providers, and many of them also run fieldwork in the rest of the country.

The metropolitan area produced 36.1% of Portugal’s GDP in 2022, so it is also the main location for B2B, financial services and public-sector research. Tourism is a major research topic: in 2025, 80.8% of overnight stays in tourist accommodation in Grande Lisboa were by non-residents, and 85.0% in the municipality of Lisbon.

Who you will interview

“Lisbon” can mean three different areas. The municipality had 658,236 residents in 2025. The Grande Lisboa statistical region, created in 2024, had 2,415,261. The metropolitan area (Área Metropolitana de Lisboa) has 18 municipalities on both banks of the Tagus and had 2,899,670 residents at the end of 2022. Say clearly in the brief which area you mean: quotas and sample sizes change a lot.

The population is growing fast: between 2021 and 2025 it rose by 10.6% in Grande Lisboa and by 12.8% in the Setúbal Peninsula. There were 202,430 foreign residents in the municipality of Lisbon at the end of 2024, the highest number of any Portuguese municipality. For migrant audiences, consider questionnaires in other languages (for example English) or bilingual interviewers.

The city is older than the wider region: in 2025, 20.8% of residents of the municipality were 65 or over and 12.1% were under 15, compared with 20.0% and 13.3% in Grande Lisboa.

Fieldwork in practice

The municipality has 24 parishes (freguesias) since the 2013 administrative reform. Sampling or quotas by parish, or by municipality in the metropolitan area, help control the spread of interviews.

Lisbon has many renters: in the 2021 census, 42.3% of main homes in the municipality were rented, against 29.2% in the metropolitan area. Together with recent arrivals, this means address lists age quickly and door-to-door studies need more contact attempts. Online panels are widely used for consumer surveys, with telephone or face-to-face interviews for older or offline audiences.

In tourist districts, street interviews will reach many visitors. Screen for place of residence if you want Lisbon residents only, or design a separate visitor sample if tourists are in scope.

Focus groups and qualitative research

In-person focus groups are usually held in dedicated studios with a one-way mirror and video streaming. Groups are moderated in Portuguese, with simultaneous translation for foreign clients: check that it is available and budgeted.

Ask the agency for its Lisbon incentive levels, recruitment lead times and checks against repeat respondents. Allow travel time from the south bank and outer municipalities when scheduling evening groups. Online interviews work well for B2B and senior respondents.

Timing

13 June (Santo António) is the municipal holiday of Lisbon. It is the high point of the Festas de Lisboa: the Marchas Populares parade down Avenida da Liberdade on the night of 12 June, and in 2026 the festivities ran until 26 June. Expect crowds and slow fieldwork in central districts in June. Other municipalities of the metropolitan area have their own holidays.

Tourism is less seasonal in Grande Lisboa than in most Portuguese regions, so visitor studies can run all year. Check national holidays, the August holiday period and school breaks in the Portugal guide.

Working with a Lisbon agency

• Share a clear brief: objectives, target, sample size, area (municipality, Grande Lisboa or metropolitan area), method, languages and deadline.
• For face-to-face or recruitment, ask how the agency reaches renters, recent arrivals and foreign residents.
• Say whether tourists are in scope, and how residents and visitors will be screened.
• For focus groups, ask for the studio address, viewing room capacity, streaming and translation options and incentive levels.
• Ask how the schedule allows for June (Festas de Lisboa, 13 June) and the August holidays.
• Compare several proposals: you can send one request to up to 5 Lisbon companies from this page.

National rules (data protection, holidays, sampling across regions) are covered in our guide to market research in Portugal.