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The number of foreigners living in Portugal set historic record with a year-on-year increase of 13.9 percent in 2018, totaling 480,300, said a report presented on Friday.
The 2018 Immigration, Frontiers and Asylum Report (RIFA), released on the occasion of the 43rd Anniversary of Portugal’s Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF), indicates that the number of foreigners residing in Portugal has increased for the third year, adding that the Italians registered an increase of 45.9 percent compared to 2017, with 18,862 Italians living in the country.
However, Brazilians continue to be the largest foreign community in the country, with 105,423 citizens, representing more than a fifth of the total, the highest since 2012, with an increase of 23.4 percent in 2018 compared to 2017, said the report.
The RIFA indicated that citizens from France continue to increase, totaling 19,771, a rise of 29.1 percent.
The sustained growth of French people and Italians is contributed to “the perception of Portugal as a safe country and the tax advantages deriving from the regime for the non-habitual resident,” said the report.
The list of the top 10 nationalities residing in Portugal is Brazil (105,423), Cape Verde (34,663), Romania (30,908), Ukraine (29,218), the United Kingdom (26,445), China (25,357), France (19,771), Italy 18,862), Angola (18,382) and Guinea-Bissau (16,186).
The report noted that 81 percent of the foreigners living in Portugal are active population ageing between 25 and 44 years old, while 213,065 foreigners, nearly half of the total, live in Lisbon.