OEm Country Reports is a periodical publication of studies on the characterization of Portuguese emigration to the main countries of destination. In each article the main indicators of the characterization of emigration to a specific destination, national or regional, are gathered and commented on. The selected destinations are based on countries to where the main flows of Portuguese emigration are directed, as well as those in which the population born in Portugal is more abundant.
Coordination Joana Azevedo Periodicity Biannual ISSN 2183-8291 (online)
Inês Vidigal
Portuguese emigration to the Netherlands is a relatively recent phenomenon, having, in 2019, reached the maximum number of Portuguese entries in Dutch territory this century. Regarding the origin of inflows into Dutch territory, Portugal was the 24th country of origin in 2020. The Portuguese in the Netherlands are mostly of working age, with the proportion of men slightly higher than women. The provinces of Zuid-Holland, Noord-Holland and Noord-Brabant are the areas with the highest presence of Portuguese, concentrating more than two thirds of all Portuguese living in the Netherlands. The analysis of the sectors of activity in which the Portuguese develop their professional activity shows that the sectors of administrative activities and support services, manufacturing, trade and repair of vehicles, accommodation and catering and scientific and technical consulting activities employed more than 72.1% of the active population in 2019.
Paulo Miguel Madeira, Bárbara Ferreira, Pedro Candeias, João Peixoto & Duval Fernandes
Brazil is the country with the largest and oldest tradition of Portuguese emigration, although in regression since the 1960s. After a century beginning around 500 entries per year, in 2010 Brazil became more attractive to the Portuguese, with an increase of 93% over the previous year. Brazil's economic growth in the first decade of the century, and the financial crisis together with the Troika's intervention in Portugal, may be factors that explain the growth of Portuguese emigration to this country, which peaked in 2013, with a value of approximately 3,000 entries. Comparing three waves of Portuguese emigration to Brazil, there is a progressive increase in the schooling of Portuguese emigrants, with a recent emigration where qualified activities predominate among those arriving in the first decade of the century.
José Carlos Marques, Pedro Góis, Pedro Candeias & Bárbara Ferreira
Portuguese emigration to France has been present in national history for the last 100 years, not something new for the Portuguese. The 60s and 70s were marked by mass emigration of Portuguese to this country, and France was the main country of destination of Portuguese emigration for several years. After the carnation revolution, France always maintains very high values regarding the flow of Portuguese entries, especially in migratory modalities such as family reunion and seasonal emigration. After the economic crisis of 2007/2008, Portuguese emigration to France intensified again, although at lower levels than in other European countries. While Portuguese emigration to this country was mostly composed of low levels of qualification and training and participation in underprivileged sectors of activity, in the 21st century, it began to assume a greater diversity of formative and educational profiles.
Pedro Candeias
Portuguese emigration to Germany goes back to the 1960s, during the period of the formal guest worker program. This influx began to decrease from 1974 but recovered with a new breath with the fall of the Berlin wall. It reached its peak in the mid-1990s and then declined until the mid-2000s. Since then and until 2013 it has been growing. In 2015 lived in Germany 133,929 Portuguese citizens. The Portuguese in Germany are largely of working age with a slightly higher proportion of men than women. Based on the stock of Portuguese, there seem to have been three waves of migration to Germany — one that arrived more than 40 years ago, another between 20 and 25 years ago, and a more recent one that has been in Germany for less than 4 years. More than half of the Portuguese live in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia and in Baden-Württemberg.
José Carlos Marques
Portuguese emigration to Switzerland has shown significant numbers since the middle of the 1980’s. After a slight decrease over the last years of the 20th century, the flow of Portuguese citizens to Switzerland intensified from 2002 onwards, being this country, between 2008 and 2010, the main destination of Portuguese emigration. The maintenance of a high number of inflows, along with a lower level of outflows, turned Switzerland into the second largest destination of Portuguese emigration in Europe and the Portuguese community in this country the third largest community of immigrants. In the last years, from 2013 to 2015, the flow of Portuguese citizens to Switzerland recorded an important decrease that is not reflected in the total number of Portuguese residents who continued to present a positive evolution.
Inês Espírito-Santo & Rui Pena Pires
Over 160 thousand people born in Portugal lives in the US. This population is aging and in decline due to the substantial reduction of emigration from Portugal in recent years. The entry of no more than one thousand new Portuguese immigrants per year in the past decade was not enough to compensate for mortality and movements of return and reemigration. In addition to aging, the Portuguese population in the US has very low educational and professional qualification levels when compared to other immigrant populations in the country.
Filipa Pinho & Rui Pena Pires
Between 2004 and 2008, Spain was the major country of destination for the Portuguese outflows. Both the 2008 world financial crisis and the Spanish real estate crisis had a huge impact in the Portuguese inflows, due to the fast and intense growth in the unemployment rate. The emigration from Portugal to Spain decreased abruptly in 2008 and, after re-emigration and return, also decreased the number of Portuguese living in Spain. In 2008, Spain ranked just sixth among the major countries of destination for Portuguese emigration.
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