Portugal’s Migration Boom and High EU Inclusion Ranking: What Residents and Expats Need to Know

A speech in Strasbourg has reignited Portugal’s oldest conversation: what does it mean to be Portuguese when the country’s DNA has always been a passport-stamp collection? President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa told MEPs that Portugal’s strength is its diversity—a message that resonated across party lines and offered a timely reminder of how far the nation has travelled since joining the European project.

At a glance

• 40 years after accession to the then-EEC, Portugal returns to Brussels as a poster-child for integration.

• Marcelo argues there are “no pure Portuguese, only diverse Portuguese.”

• Recent INE data show a population bump driven by migration, not births.

• Eurostat ranks Portugal 3rd in Europe on diversity, equity and inclusion metrics.

• Mainstream parties—from PS to PSD and CDS—hailed the speech; hardliners were less enthused.

Portuguese identity redefined in Strasbourg

The President opened with a history lesson: the first Portuguese king drew bloodlines from León, Burgundy and beyond, foreshadowing an identity that would never be monolithic. He reminded lawmakers that the kingdom later absorbed influences from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Oceania, shaping a country that is simultaneously European, Atlantic and global. The applause grew louder when Marcelo declared there are “no genetic gatekeepers” to being Portuguese—only a shared commitment to language, culture and democracy. For a Parliament wrestling with its own enlargement dilemmas, Portugal’s narrative of embracing multiplicity felt like a roadmap.

A demographic snapshot: who calls Portugal home today?

INE’s latest tables help quantify the President’s rhetoric. As of December 2024, 10.75 M residents live in Portugal—an annual rise of roughly 110 k. That gain was fuelled entirely by a positive migration balance of 143 k, offsetting a negative natural balance of –34 k. Foreign nationals now represent 5.2 % of the population, up from 3.7 % just a decade ago. Brazilians remain the largest foreign community (about 37 % of non-nationals), while arrivals from India, Nepal and Ukraine have surged since 2022. An EY/Financial Times index placed Portugal third out of nine EU countries for diversity, equity and inclusion, citing strong gender parity, cultural openness and employee networks. In other words, Marcelo’s story is not nostalgia; it is statistically visible on Lisbon’s metro at rush hour.

Political echo in Lisbon and Brussels

Reaction was largely upbeat. PS, PSD and CDS issued near-identical statements praising a speech that “captures the soul of modern Portugal.” Madeira MEP Sérgio Gonçalves called it “mobilising and sincere,” noting that colleagues from Spain, Germany and Poland queued to congratulate the President. European Parliament chief Roberta Metsola highlighted Portugal and Spain as “bridges to Latin America and Africa,” flipping a once-peripheral geography into strategic value. On the other side, Chega and PCP complained the address glossed over domestic inequalities, yet their critiques were drowned out by the broader consensus that European integration has paid dividends: from GDP growth to structural funds that rebuilt everything from Porto’s metro to Alqueva’s irrigation canals.

From 1986 to 2026: four decades that rewrote the map

Marcelo’s larger point was historical perspective. Before 1986, independence relied on oceans and empire. After accession, the country anchored itself to a single market, cohesion funds and Schengen mobility. That shift re-channeled talent from caravels to start-ups in Aveiro’s tech hub and research labs in Braga. The President credited Mário Soares and Felipe González for locking Iberia into an EU that delivered “freedom, democracy and social justice.” He also stressed that the most dramatic change may be psychological: Portugal now sees its neighbour Spain not as a rival, but as a partner in bilingual tourism corridors and cross-border green energy projects.

Beyond nostalgia: the tasks still ahead

The Strasbourg applause does not erase looming challenges. Portugal must translate its growing mosaic of cultures into equal access to jobs, housing and political representation. The new Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) is still ironing out back-office delays that leave thousands waiting for residence cards. Rural depopulation persists even as cities grapple with rent inflation fuelled by digital nomads. Marcelo hinted that the EU’s next funds cycle—and Lisbon’s own 2030 climate targets—could be the arena where diversity becomes not just a fact but a competitive edge. For now, the takeaway is clear: surrendering Europe, the President warned, would mean “turning our back on an irreplaceable part of ourselves.” Few in the hemicycle, or back home in Portugal, sounded eager to test that proposition.