The foreign population living in Portugal has doubled in ten years

Almost 800,000 foreigners lived in Portugal last year, of whom 234,000 were Brazilians and about 160,000 from Cape Verde, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe, Mozambique and Timor-Leste. The foreign population grew again this year, reaching 980,000 in September, according to preliminary data from the now defunct SEF. These data indicate that in Ukraine more than 57 thousand citizens are fleeing the war, which is five Ukrainians for every thousand inhabitants.

Among foreign citizens, the majority are people aged 15 to 54 years, a total of 71.8%. Thus, they represent about 700 thousand employees, which means 14% of the workforce. In 2021, the average salary in Portugal was €1,361, but each foreign worker earned on average €94 less per month, Pordata reports as today marks International Migrants’ Day.

At a local level, it is in the Algarve that the three municipalities with the largest presence of foreigners were found: 41% of the population of Vila do Bispo are immigrants, in Albufeira 37% and in Lagos 35%. Last year, 118 thousand immigrants arrived in Portugal, the highest figure in history, and 31 thousand emigrants left. Increased immigration allows the country to achieve population growth. From 2015 to 2022, the country’s population increased by 63 thousand people. During these seven years, the foreign population increased by 400 thousand people, on the other hand, there was a decrease of 338 thousand Portuguese living on national territory. The immigrant’s profile states that they are male, aged between 15 and 44, and 70% of them come from countries outside the European Union.

Thousands of people use the “CPLP portal”

Some 180,000 immigrants from Portuguese-speaking countries, most of them Brazilians, have applied for residence permits through the CPLP portal. By early September, documents had been issued to more than 140,000 people, according to the now-defunct SEF.

More than 720 thousand offer discounts

The Labor Department announced that in the first eight months of the year, Social Security had a “record number” of active workers making contributions: more than five million people. Of these, more than 720 thousand are foreigners.