For centuries Portugal was a country of emigration (see Portuguese emigration). Only in the last fifty years has it also become a country of immigration, and in the last ten years so rapidly that its population has been transformed: foreign residents now number over a million and a half, more than 14% of the population, against fewer than 400,000 in 2017.
African Lisbon
The first big wave came after 1974, with the end of the empire. About half a million retornados, Portuguese living in Angola, Mozambique and the other colonies, returned within months to a poor country, in one of the fastest population movements in post-war Europe. With them, and in the following years, came thousands of Africans from the former colonies: Cape Verdeans, Angolans, Guineans, Mozambicans and São Toméans, often working in construction and services in a growing Lisbon.
So "African Lisbon" was born, concentrated mainly in suburban municipalities such as Amadora, Loures, Sintra and Seixal, in neighbourhoods that often began as shanty towns and were later rebuilt, such as Cova da Moura or Quinta do Mocho, now famous for its open-air street art gallery. This presence has deeply enriched the country's culture: the music of Cape Verde and Angola, kizomba, kuduro and the electronica of groups like Buraka Som Sistema, restaurants serving cachupa and muamba, and writing by Afro-Portuguese authors (see Portuguese music). At the same time, many people of African descent report discrimination in work, housing and dealings with the police.
The memory of slavery
The African presence in Portugal is much older: from the fifteenth century the country was one of the leading players in the Atlantic slave trade, and in the sixteenth century a significant share of Lisbon's inhabitants were of African origin. The first market for African slaves in Europe was held at Lagos in the Algarve in 1444, and a small museum now recalls it (see Lagos). The debate over how to remember this past, and colonialism in general, is increasingly lively.
Brazilians
The largest foreign community is Brazilian, numbering several hundred thousand. A first wave came in the 1990s and 2000s; a second, larger one in the last decade, drawn by the shared language, safety and job opportunities. The Brazilian presence is felt in language, music, shops and neighbourhood life, and relations between the two peoples, bound by a shared history, mix affection with mutual prejudice.
New arrivals
In recent years large numbers of workers have also come from South Asia, from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan, employed mainly in intensive farming in the Alentejo, restaurants and deliveries: Lisbon's Mouraria quarter, with its shops and mosques, has become the symbol of this new multi-ethnic Lisbon. They are joined by northern Europeans and Americans, drawn by the climate and, until 2024, by tax advantages for new residents, as well as retirees and digital workers, including many Italians (see working in Portugal).
The political debate
Until a few years ago Portugal was seen as a model of welcome, with some of the most open laws in Europe. The speed of arrivals, administrative difficulties (in 2023 the old SEF immigration service was replaced by the AIMA agency, swamped by hundreds of thousands of pending cases), the housing crisis and the rise of the Chega party have put immigration at the centre of debate. In 2025 stricter rules were approved on entry to seek work, family reunification and the time needed to obtain citizenship (see Portugal today). The fact remains that, with a rapidly ageing population, the country needs new workers.