“It is estimated that 70,000 Portuguese emigrated in 2023, the same number as in 2022, continuing the recovery of Portuguese emigration to levels close to those before the COVID-19 pandemic,” states the 2024 Portuguese Emigration report, which includes data from the previous year.
According to the document, prepared by the Emigration Observatory and the Migration Network, Research and Sociology Studies Center, and ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon, the recovery was not complete, as emigration to the United Kingdom fell by more than 40%, continuing the downward trend that began with Brexit (the UK’s exit from the European Union), and to France it decreased by 25%.
Still, Portuguese emigration exceeds pre-COVID levels in most of its main destinations. In 2023, Switzerland was again the top destination for Portuguese emigrants, with 12,652 entries, followed by Spain with 11,554.
Other notable countries include France (7,426), Germany (6,375), the Netherlands (4,892), the United Kingdom (4,414), Belgium (3,857), and Luxembourg (3,638). Following are Denmark (1,818), Mozambique (1,439), and Canada (1,005).
With fewer than 1,000 entries, destinations include the USA (890), Austria (778), Norway (709), Italy (702), Sweden (688), Brazil (547), Venezuela (532), Ireland (426), and Angola (381). At the bottom of the list are Australia (91) and Macau (53).
“Although Portuguese emigration has lost relative importance over the years, the impact of these flows in destination countries remains significant. In Luxembourg, for example, Portuguese represented about 13.5% of total immigrant entries, while in Macau the figure was 6%, and in Switzerland, 5.2%,” it detailed.
In 2023, Portuguese emigrants continued to be predominantly men of working age. However, some countries have a higher feminization rate, such as the United Kingdom (50.5%), France (50.4%), and Australia (46.2%).
The USA saw the largest increase in the number of emigrants acquiring nationality, with 1,896 applications, up 21.9% compared to 2022.
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