Why are Swedes moving to Portugal?

• 27 February, 23

The usual pull factors of climate and cost of living are surprisingly not the only factors for Swedish citizens looking to move to Portugal.

According to the study “Heading for a “Better Life”? Why Swedes Move to Portugal” by Daniel Rauhut and published in the Nordic Journal of Migration Research, the majority of respondents to the study cited “disenchantment with Sweden, political correctness and a perceived collapse of the Swedish welfare system” as the reason behind their move from Sweden to Portugal. However away from dissatisfaction with Sweden, the positive of aspects of Portugal also shine through as reasons behind the move.

The study involved in depth interviews with Swedes permanently living in Portugal to discover what made them take the plunge, while also attempting to find out the type of people who are making the move south.

Swedes in Portugal

While there has been a long tradition of British, Irish and German citizen choosing to move to Portugal permanently, this trend from Sweden has been more recent. Statistics from INE show that there has been a marked increase in the number of Swedish citizens choosing Portugal in recent years.

The INE data shows that there was a very gradual increase in the number of Swedes in Portugal from 2000, from just over 1,000 to almost 1,500 in 2007. There was then a sharp decline in 2008, in line with the global financial crisis, and then the gradual increase again until 2015 when number began to rise sharply up to a peak of 4,900 in 2019.

The latest data which shows numbers form 2017, shows that Swedes moving to Portugal are clustered around the Algarve (30.2%) and Lisbon (30.8%) and this number is predicted to have increased further as more people from Sweden choose Portugal as their new home.

Cre: Portugalnews