Local Demographics in Lisbon

Good to Know

• Official Lisbon city population (658k, 2025) masks dramatically different picture of actual international presence—registered foreign residents reached 21.6% by 2022 but digital nomad and unregistered-visa populations add substantially more.
• Lisbon has experienced significant digital nomad migration, though monthly new arrivals have declined in recent years, reflecting both market saturation and policy changes (NHR tax regime elimination, Golden Visa real estate track ended).
• Brazilians are by far the largest foreign community, but British nationals are emerging as second-largest source of new foreign residents nationally, alongside substantial Indian, Nepalese, and other Asian communities.
• Lisbon's startup ecosystem ranks 6th in Europe and has attracted major international VC attention; strong presence in FinTech, SaaS, and deeptech. Web Summit annual conference is now based in the city.
• 61.1% of Portugal's officially registered foreign citizens live in Lisbon, Faro, or Setúbal districts, despite these three districts accounting for only 35.1% of Portugal's total population—Lisbon is by far the primary expat/international-resident hub.