Portugal is increasingly culturally diverse. Around 800,000 foreigners live in Portugal (including foreigners with legal resident status), a figure that has doubled in 10 years. Brazil is the main country of origin for immigrants. Countries such as the United Kingdom, Cape Verde, Romania and India follow, for example.
Immigration has helped to prevent the decline in the resident population in recent years. In other words, although the Portuguese population living in Portugal is falling (due to low birth rates and also due to emigration), immigration has offset this population reduction. It also makes an important contribution to balancing the age pyramid, since, according to data from 2022, 57% of Portuguese residents are between 20 and 64 years old, while the percentage of foreign residents in this age group of the working population is 77%.
These figures are also reflected in the increase in foreign employees. Between January 2014 and December 2023, the number of foreign employees in Portugal multiplied by nine, rising from 52,000 to 504,000.
In January 2014, foreign workers represented 2.1% of the total number of workers in Portugal, whereas in December 2023, they represented 13.4% of workers.
The sectors where the weight of foreign labor is higher are: agriculture and fishing (41% of workers are foreign), accommodation and catering (31%), administrative activities (28%); and construction (23%).
Immigration policies have been the subject of extensive debate, but it is important to support the discussion with numbers and in a well-founded and rational manner, to avoid possible decisions that could have strong undesirable repercussions, particularly on the economy.
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