What is the percentage of foreign residents in Portugal?
- Portugal Business News - Valerie Charoux
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
Immigration News Europe - Here is the percentage of foreign residents in Portugal at the end of 2025, including the trend over the past 5 years and the main source countries for people immigrating to Portugal. The data also shows Portugal´s immigration versus population decline paradox and Portugal´s aging index, according to a report by Statistics Portugal published on June 22, 2026:
What is the percentage of foreign residents in Portugal?
Foreign residents in Portugal represent 14.0% of the population, that is 1,597,539 people living in Portugal are residents of foreign nationality. This figure represents an increase of approximately 850,000 foreign residents living in Portugal since 2021 and also compares to Portugal´s total population that reaches 11,424,031 people.
What is the trend showing the growth of foreign residents in Portugal?
The number of foreign residents in Portugal increased by 330,587 in 2022.
The number of foreign residents in Portugal increased by 274,643 in 2023.
The number of foreign residents in Portugal increased by 182,875 in 2024.
The number of foreign residents in Portugal increased by 36,809 in 2025, that indicates that Portugal is restricting the number of immigrants since 2025.
Where do Portugal´s new foreign residents come from?
The majority of people immigrating to Portugal come from non-EU countries, mostly from Portuguese-speaking countries, and to a lesser extent from India.
Here are the Top 10 countries from which Portugal´s new foreign residents are coming from:
1 - Brazil
The No. 1 main source country for people immigrating to Portugal is Brazil, with 574,195 new foreign residents in 2025.
2 - Angola
The 2nd main source country for people immigrating to Portugal is Angola, with 103,140 new foreign residents in 2025.
3 - India
The 3rd main source country for people immigrating to Portugal is India, with 93,683 new foreign residents in 2025.
4 - Cabo Verde
The 4th main source country for people immigrating to Portugal is Cabo Verde, with 76,099 new foreign residents in 2025.
5 - Nepal
The 5th main source country for people immigrating to Portugal is Nepal, with 56,866 new foreign residents in 2025.
6 - Bangladesh
The 6th main source country for people immigrating to Portugal is Bangladesh, with 52,724 new foreign residents in 2025.
7 - Guinea-Bissau
The 7th main source country for people immigrating to Portugal is Guinea-Bissau, with 53,555 new foreign residents in 2025.
8 - Ukraine
The 8th main source country for people immigrating to Portugal is Ukraine, with 47,514 new foreign residents in 2025.
9 - São Tomé and Príncipe
The 9th main source country for people immigrating to Portugal is São Tomé and Príncipe, with 46,731 new foreign residents in 2025.
10 - Pakistan
The 10th main source country for people immigrating to Portugal is Pakistan, with 39,638 new foreign residents in 2025.
What is Portugal´s immigration versus population decline paradox?
While the number of foreign residents in Portugal increased by a total of approximately 850,000 since 2021, the increase in Portuguese born residents during that period was only around 825,000 people.
The population of Portuguese born residents living in Portugal declined between 2022 and 2025, with a higher number of deaths compared to births.
Despite Portugal´s aging population that should have led to lower dempgraphics, the population increased due to immigration, reversing the natural population decline trend. The immigration influx of working-age people helped to alleviate the decline in the workforce, leading to a situation where there are more people available in the working-age population.
What is Portugal´s aging index?
While the median age of the resident population in Portugal was 45.8 years old in 2025, Portugal´s population aging index reached 188.8 elderly people for every 100 young people.
