The modest decline observed in 2024 is primarily attributable to the recessive effects of Brexit on Portuguese emigration to the United Kingdom, which decreased by 37% between 2023 and 2024. This flow, now very limited – having fallen from over 32,000 in 2015 to fewer than 3,000 in 2024 – is unlikely to continue to exert a significant influence on the overall evolution of Portuguese emigration in the coming years. Consequently, total emigration is expected to stabilise at levels close to current figures, between 60,000 and 65,000 per year. In 2024, Switzerland (12,388 entries) and Spain (11,332) remained the main destinations for Portuguese emigration. France is likely to have been the third main destination, although data for 2024 are not yet available (in 2023, 7,426 Portuguese entered the country). Among the remaining destinations, Germany (7,410 entries), Belgium (5,471), the Netherlands (4,795) and Luxembourg (3,469) also merit mention.    

Cite as Vidigal, Inês (2025), “65,000 Portuguese emigrated in 2024", Observatório da Emigração. http://observatorioemigracao.pt/np4EN/10584.html