Debunking the Myth: Are Nearly Half of Lisbon's Residents Foreigners?

Social Media Claims

Recent social media posts claim that almost 50% of Lisbon's population in 2021 were not Portuguese. These assertions, originating from a Facebook post dated November 27, have garnered significant attention with numerous likes and shares. The post cites the Annual Report of the Aliens and Borders Service (SEF) as its source.

Analyzing the SEF Report

According to the SEF's 2021 Annual Report, there were 294,736 foreigners residing in the Lisbon district. Meanwhile, data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) indicated that the total population of the district was 2,287,869. From these figures, it can be calculated that foreigners comprised only 12.88% of the population—far from the claimed 50%.

Breakdown of Foreign Residents in Lisbon

When focusing specifically on the Lisbon municipality, the SEF report shows there were 108,894 foreigners. The 2021 Census recorded 544,851 residents in the municipality, leading to a percentage of 19.99% of foreigners—again, significantly lower than the 50% claim.

Conclusion

The assertion that “around 50% of Lisbon's inhabitants in 2021 were not Portuguese” is false. Official data from institutions like the INE and SEF confirm that the actual numbers of foreign residents do not exceed 20%. This misinformation has been classified as incorrect by the Observador fact-checking system, and it aligns with Facebook's classification of this content as false.

Note

This content was selected by Observador as part of a fact-checking partnership with Facebook.