One in 10 citizens living in Portugal last year was born abroad, representing a 24% increase in the share of migrants compared to 2012, according to a report on migration presented by the OECD on Monday.
The most represented nationalities among migrants in Portugal in 2022 were Brazilian, which made up a quarter of the total of around 1.1 million migrants in the country, followed by Angolan, which represented a 14% share.
In third place was France, from where 9% of migrants left for Portugal last year, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ‘Perspective on International Migration 2023’ report.
In total, migrants in Portugal made up 10.7% of the entire population, according to the document presented this Monday.
OECD analysts report that Portugal received 94,000 new long-term or permanent migrants in 2021 – according to the most recent data – although they add that this number included changes in status, meaning it includes some of the people already in lived in the country. .
According to the OECD report, this number consists of 28.3% of migrants benefiting from free mobility, that is to say they come mainly from the Schengen area in Europe, with almost half (41.2%) coming to live in Portugal to work. and a quarter (24.7%) for family reasons, where they accompany or join an already resident migrant worker.
Of the total number of migrants in Portugal, only 1% are higher education students from third countries and 0.3% are humanitarian migrants.
Brazil was also the most represented nationality among those arriving in 2021, but in this group it was followed by India and Belgium.
Of the fifteen most important countries of origin, Germany recorded the largest increase (+1,400 people) and Brazil the largest decrease (-2,800).
By 2022, the number of first asylum seekers increased by 47%, reaching approximately 2,000 asylum seekers, but the majority were not from Ukraine, but from Afghanistan.
The second country from which most asylum seekers in Portugal came was India, only after Ukraine, with 200 registered applications, excluding beneficiaries of temporary protection.
Last year, the number of migrants arriving in OECD countries reached an unprecedented figure, with more than six million people, not including Ukrainian refugees.
The number, presented today in the OECD’s annual migration report, represents an increase of 26% compared to 2021 and 14% compared to 2019, the last year before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Founded in 1961 to promote economic progress and world trade, the OECD is an intergovernmental organization of 38 member states, including Portugal, committed to defending democracy and the market economy, seeking integrated responses to common problems and the coordination of national and international problems. policy.
Most OECD members have highly developed economies, which together account for more than 60% of the wealth created worldwide.
Source: DN
