Immigration to Portugal
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 32,057 | — |
| 1980 | 50,750 | +7.96% |
| 1985 | 79,594 | +9.42% |
| 1990 | 107,767 | +6.25% |
| 1995 | 168,316 | +9.33% |
| 2000 | 207,587 | +4.28% |
| 2005 | 274,631 | +5.76% |
| 2010 | 443,055 | +10.04% |
| 2015 | 383,759 | −2.83% |
| 2020 | 666,374 | +11.67% |
| 2022 | 994,011 | +22.13% |
| 2023 | 1,293,463 | +30.13% |
| 2024 | 1,546,521 | +19.56% |
| Source: | ||
As of December 2022, Portugal had 1,733,067 inhabitants that were born in a foreign country, out of 10,516,621 inhabitants, accounting for 16.48% of its total population. This figure also include Portuguese nationals born abroad.
In 2023, AIMA reported that, of the 1,044,606 foreign residents believed to be living in Portugal, 553,801 identified as male (53%), and 490,437 as female (47%). 63.5% of foreign citizens lived in Lisbon, Faro or Setúbal districts: these districts account for 35.2% of the country's population.
As of December 2023, foreign citizens' origins were subdivided as follows: America (38.9%), Europe (26.5%), Asia (16.1%), Africa (18.4%) and Oceania (0.1%). Major groups of immigrants to Portugal include Brazilians, Angolans, Cape Verdeans, Britons, Indians, Bissau-Guineans, Nepalis, Chinese, São Toméans, Bangladeshis, Ukrainians, Romanians, Pakistanis, Americans, Russians, Venezuelans, Mozambicans and Moldovans. Brazilians made up the largest foreign community in the country (368,449) followed by Angolans (55,589) and Cape Verdeans (48,885).
The share of children born in Portugal to foreign resident mothers stood at 21.9% in 2023. The share of children born from foreign-born mothers reached 25% in 2022.
Due to population ageing, immigration is the only factor that has made the Portuguese population grow in recent years. Foreigners in Portugal have higher activity rates than nationals, as per the 2022 Annual Statistical Report of the Observatory. Immigrants have been proved to be particularly vital to sectors of the Portuguese economy employing few Portuguese nationals, mainly due to the wages being low such as tourism industry, fishery, agriculture, catering and civil construction.