According to the “Estimates of Portuguese Emigration 2024”, prepared by the Emigration Observatory, 65,000 Portuguese emigrated in 2024, 5,000 fewer than the previous year.

The document states that Switzerland remains the main destination and that entries of Portuguese into all countries decreased, with the exception of Germany, Belgium, the United States and Australia.

The number of Portuguese emigrants was the lowest since 2021, a year in which it was also 65,000, rising to 70,000 in 2022 and the same number in 2023.

Inês Vidigal, executive coordinator of the Emigration Observatory, responsible for the report, told Lusa that, despite the recorded decrease, the indicators still point to "stabilisation".

"I don't think it will decrease much more. I think we will maintain values ​​around 65,000, 70,000 in the coming years," she said.

The geographer stated that the United Kingdom accounts for approximately 45% of the decrease in Portuguese emigration, and this decline is due to "the increased difficulties that Portuguese people now face in entering the United Kingdom" following its departure from the European Union in 2020.

The document states that Portuguese emigration to the United Kingdom decreased by 37% between 2023 and 2024, after already having been declining, going from over 32,000 in 2015 to less than 3,000 in 2024.

Main destinations

Switzerland, Spain, and France were the main destinations for Portuguese emigration last year, as had also been the case in 2023.

According to the document, in 2024, 12,388 Portuguese entered Switzerland and 11,332 entered Spain. The data from France, the country with the largest Portuguese community, still refers to 2023 (7,426), but Inês Vidigal believes the figures shouldn't be very different.

Germany, where 7,410 Portuguese emigrated, registered the largest increase: 1,035 more than in 2023.

Belgium, the United States, and Australia also received more Portuguese immigrants in 2024 than in the previous year, while the other 15 countries identified in the report registered decreases in the number of these citizens entering the country.

The Portuguese continue to represent the largest foreign community in Luxembourg, accounting for 13.5% of foreign arrivals.

In 2024, 3,469 Portuguese emigrated to that country, still 169 fewer than in the previous year.