More than 12% of people living in Portugal, aged between 16 and 74, are from immigrant backgroundshow the latest data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), which have just been published, and refer to 2021. Of these, more than a third (36.7%) were born in the one of the Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP), refers to this emphasis on the Situation of migrants and their direct descendants on the labor market. This percentage concerns 7679.2 people of this age group who resided in Portugal in 2021.
Breaking down the percentages, the 12.4% of people with an immigrant background break down as follows: 7.6% are first generation immigrants, i.e. people born outside Portugal, and 4, 8% are descendants of immigrants, ie at least one of the parents was born outside Portugal. The figures are almost identical to those of 2014, when there was 12.9% with context (except that of these, 9.2% were immigrants and 3.7% descendants of immigrants).
According to the INE, the composition of the first-generation immigrant population reflects historical ties with other countries. Angola, France, Brazil, Mozambique and Venezuela are the main birthplaces of this population group. About 70.4% speak Portuguese. And of the total number of immigrants, only 7.7% arrived in Portugal less than ten years ago. Moreover, more than a third came to Portugal more than 40 years ago, between 1972 and 1981, which reflects the preponderance of the migratory process after decolonization. The main reasons for migration were family, including family reunification.
The vast majority of immigrants were born outside the European Union (69.7%): 21.5% in Angola, 19.3% in France, 9.8% in Brazil and 34.9% of other nationalities. The immigrant population and its descendants are younger (49.3% are between 16 and 39 years old) and better educated (32.6% have completed higher education) than the non-immigrant population. context immigration (where only 23.8% have it).
Regarding the place of residence, the majority live mainly in urban areas (about 79.7%), slightly more than those who do not have this origin (72.8%), and live mainly in the area Metropolitan Lisbon (37.4%), North (26.4%) and Center (21.9%).
“Most unfavorable” situation
The data do not show substantial differences between those with an immigrant and non-immigrant background, aged 25-64, compared to in the labor market. But the descendants of immigrants are in a “worse” situation compared to immigrants: 73.6% are employed, 6.7% less than immigrants and 9.6% are unemployed (whereas among immigrants this percentage is 5.9%).
Of the total number of immigrants and their descendants, approximately 10% indicate having experienced discrimination at work, a percentage that rises to 11.3% compared to immigrants. There are more women than men reporting this discrimination, as well as those aged 40-54 and living in Portugal for 40-49 years.
In addition, a third of immigrants say they have a job that requires fewer skills than they had before coming to Portugal. The majority of employed immigrants aged 25 to 64 did not have a job before coming to Portugal (78.3%), as most of them arrived in Portugal at a young age, notes the INE.