The Algarve has gained more than 70,000 residents since 2021, making it Portugal's fastest-growing region. The vast majority of these new residents did not move here from elsewhere in the country, and were not born here, but rather they moved to the region from abroad. There is zero room for doubt in recognising that immigration continues to reshape the country's southernmost region, bringing a set of complexities whilst also offsetting the effects of an ageing population.
Figures published by Portugal's National Statistics Institute (INE) show the region's population reached 578,032 at the end of 2025, an increase of 13.8 per cent over four years. No other Portuguese region recorded comparable growth, with the Setúbal Peninsula expanding by 12.8 per cent and Greater Lisbon by 10.6 per cent.
The increase has been driven overwhelmingly by overseas migration. Of the 70,102 additional residents recorded since 2021, almost 64,000 were foreign nationals, whilst the Portuguese population grew by just over 6,000.
Foreign citizens now account for 27.9 per cent of the Algarve's population, almost double the national average of 14 per cent and the highest share of any Portuguese region. Four years ago, they represented just under one in five residents.
The figures illustrate the Algarve's increasing dependence on international migration to sustain both population growth and its labour force. Despite the rapid rise in resident numbers, the region continues to record more deaths than births, with a natural population decline of 1,296 people in 2025. Positive net migration of 2,233 people was sufficient to keep overall population growth in positive territory, although expansion slowed sharply during the year.
After gaining almost 35,000 residents in 2022, growth eased to just 937 people in 2025, suggesting that the post-pandemic surge in migration may be beginning to moderate.
The demographic profile also points to longer-term structural challenges. The Algarve had 130,141 residents aged 65 or over at the end of 2025, compared with 72,851 children under the age of 15. The region's ageing index rose to 178.6 elderly residents for every 100 young people. While this remains below the national average, it continues an upward trend seen across much of Portugal.
Population growth has been concentrated in the Algarve's larger urban and coastal municipalities. Loulé remained the region's largest municipality with 94,447 residents, followed by Faro, Portimão and Albufeira. Albufeira recorded the fastest growth, with its population increasing by 22 per cent since 2021, reflecting sustained demand linked to tourism, real estate, and the service industry.
Only Alcoutim, in the sparsely populated interior, registered a decline in population over the four-year period.
The concentration of foreign residents is even more striking at municipal level. In Vila do Bispo, foreigners account for 41.7 per cent of residents, whilst the proportion exceeds 40 per cent in neighbouring Aljezur.
Albufeira, Lagos, and Loulé all report foreign populations of more than 30 per cent.
Loulé hosts the Algarve's largest foreign community in absolute terms, followed by Albufeira, Portimão, Faro and Lagos.
Brazilians remain by far the largest foreign nationality in the region, with almost 43,000 residents. British nationals form the second-largest community, followed by Indians, whilst sizeable populations from Ukraine, Nepal, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Cape Verde, Romania, Bangladesh, Guinea-Bissau, and Pakistan underline the increasingly diverse character of the Algarve's migration flows.
The figures point to a trend in the Algarve's economic model: population growth is not being generated naturally, but rather through migration. This flow of people appears to be an increasingly important determining factor of the region's outlook when it comes to labour supply, housing demand, and public services.
Source: INE
Photo credit: A Voz do Algarve
