Lisbon and Coastline Absorb Majority of Portugal's 1.5 Million Foreign Residents
Portugal's Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) has announced in its 2024 Migration and Asylum Report that the official number of foreign residents in the country has reached 1.544 million. The publication of these figures occurred on the same day that the President of the Republic promulgated the new Foreigners' Law, indicating a period of significant focus on immigration policy and administration. The report clarifies that this number includes individuals with valid residence titles, those with ongoing regularization processes, and others under specific authorizations, such as Temporary Protection status.
According to the official statistics from the end of 2024, the resident foreign population is heavily concentrated along the country's coastline. The districts of Lisbon, Faro, Setúbal, and Porto are home to a combined 1,100,670 foreign residents, representing 71.3% of the total immigrant population. This concentration highlights the powerful draw of Portugal's main economic and lifestyle hubs for new arrivals. The data provides a clear map of where demand for housing is likely to be most acute, a critical piece of information for developers and housing authorities alike. For a deeper dive into these areas, our Lisbon neighborhoods guide offers detailed local profiles.
The Lisbon Metropolitan Area stands out as the epicenter of this demographic trend. Nine of the twelve municipalities with the highest number of foreign residents are located within this area, which is home to 614,486 immigrants, or nearly 40% of the national total. This intense concentration in the capital region puts sustained pressure on its housing stock and public services, a factor that is central to municipal and national policy discussions. The demographic profile of these residents, with 85.5% being of working age (18-64), further amplifies the need for available housing and related infrastructure.
The report also details the composition of the foreign population. At the close of 2024, 1,096,170 individuals held a valid residence title. An additional 286,302 applications for Expressions of Interest were pending, and 61,242 people were registered under Temporary Protection. AIMA notes that the figures also include individuals with expired titles who have already paid for renewal, providing a broad administrative snapshot of the foreign population. Navigating the complexities of these residency and property acquisition rules often requires expert help, and many foreign nationals seek out English-speaking real estate lawyers for assistance.
Need Expert Guidance?
Get personalized insights from verified real estate professionals, lawyers, architects, and more.
In terms of nationality, Brazilians remain the largest community, accounting for 31.4% of all foreign residents. A notable shift in migration patterns is the rise of India to the second-largest nationality, indicating a growing influx from the Indian subcontinent. Significant growth was also recorded from other member states of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) and various European nations. This diversification of origins contributes to a more cosmopolitan social fabric but also presents new challenges for integration and service provision.
AIMA officials caution that the report's figures should be interpreted as a measure of administrative activity rather than a direct count of real-time migration flows. The number of residence permits granted reflects the state's processing capacity. The report also includes a statistical revision that adjusted the total for 2023 upwards to 1,304,833, altering the historical data series and providing a more accurate baseline for tracking future trends. These demographic shifts are a core component of any analysis of the property sector, as detailed in our market intelligence and analysis blog.
The data underscores a clear and sustained trend: Portugal, and particularly its major urban and coastal centers, continues to be a primary destination for a growing and diverse international population. This reality shapes everything from national economic policy to local urban planning, with the housing market at the very center of the discussion. Get expert guidance for international property buyers at realestate-lisbon.com.