In 2022

Foreign population residing in the Autonomous Region of Madeira reached a record high

In 2022, the foreign population residing in the Autonomous Region of Madeira (ARM) as of December 31, 2022, totalled 11,793 persons. This marked the highest number since 2008, which was the first year for which data was available. This figure represents a 13.3% increase compared to 2021, with an additional 1,388 persons.

The foreign population accounted for 4.7% of the total resident population in the region in 2022, which amounted to 253,259 persons. Most of the foreign population held residence permits (11,792), with only one person holding a long-term visa.

The nationals of Venezuela (19.7%), the United Kingdom (11.8%), Germany (9.4%), Brazil (9.2%), and Italy (5.5%) continued to be the main foreign communities residing in the region. Among these five nationalities, it is noteworthy that the German nationality saw the largest increase, with 218 more persons (a 24.5% increase) holding residence permits (from 888 in 2021 to 1,106 in 2022). Furthermore, persons of German nationality were the primary contributors to the increase in the foreign population in the region between 2021 and 2022, accounting for a 2.1 percentage point (pp) increase out of the aforementioned 13.3%. Following them were nationals from the United Kingdom, São Tomé and Príncipe, and the United States of America, contributing 1.7 pp, 1.3 pp, and 1.2 pp, respectively, to the same increase. On the other hand, the number of Venezuelan nationals decreased by 1.3% between 2021 and 2022, from 2,353 to 2,323, respectively.

The majority of the foreign population is concentrated in Funchal (51.1% of the total in the region), followed by Santa Cruz (13.3%) and Calheta (10.0%). In terms of gender, there is a slight preponderance of females (50.4%) over males (49.6%).

The municipalities where the foreign population has the highest proportion of residents are Calheta (10.7%), Porto Santo (8.5%), Ponta do Sol (6.5%), and Funchal (5.7%).

Back

• Prev
• Next