This article analyzes the factors of social exclusion and inclusion in Portugal and in the European Union so as to both identify the critical factors that play an important role in society nowadays, and analyze the trend of evolution of social policies to face the emerging problems that lead to the social exclusion of the most vulnerable groups. The methodology used was based on extensive bibliography research analysis of the information got, and the results show that the main current critical factors of social exclusion are the same (e.g. unemployment, demographic aging and poverty) throughout the European Union.
Social exclusion; Social inclusion; Social Services; Portuguese and European society
