At the time of the 2021 Census, the Azores had 3346 foreigners residing in the region, which represents a decrease compared to 2011, according to the publication “What the Census says about the foreign population residing in Portugal”.

This publication, based on the results of the 16th General Population Census and 4th General Housing Census for 2021, reveals that foreigners residing in the Region represent 1.4 percent of the population of the archipelago, which amounts to 236,413 people.

It also points out that, in 2011, the Azores were the only NUTS II region in the country to experience a decrease in the number of foreign residents.

“Regarding 2011, with the exception of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, all NUTS II regions recorded an increase in the number of foreign residents. The North was the NUTS II region that showed the largest increase (80.2%), followed by the Center region, with 52.8%," the document highlights.

In Portugal, resided 542,165 people of foreign nationality, representing 5.2% of the total resident population.

In terms of geographical distribution, the Lisbon Metropolitan Area housed 46.9% of the total number of foreign residents in Portugal, followed by the North and the Center Region, with 17.1% and 15.5%, respectively. On the other hand, the Autonomous Region of the Azores hosted only 0.6% of the total foreign population.

According to the 2021 Census, the largest foreign community living in the Azores is the Brazilian community, with 639 people (19% of the foreigners living in the Azores). The German community is the second largest, with 10.9%, followed by the Chinese community, with 6.9%.

Also, at the national level, the largest foreign resident community is Brazilian, with 199,810 people (36.9%). The Angolan community is the second largest, with 5.8%, followed by Cabo Verde, with 5.0%.

Analyzing the country as a whole, the population of foreign citizens residing in Portugal is mostly women (276,593 women and 265,572 men).
Also, the foreign population residing in Portugal is younger than the Portuguese population, which is evidenced by the higher proportion of the working-age population and the lower proportion of the elderly population.

The elderly population of foreign nationality constitutes only 8.5% of its total, the amount being 24.3% for the Portuguese population.