Portuguese in Norway

Portuguese in Norway (portugisiske nordmenn) are citizens and residents of Norway and its external territories who are of Portuguese descent. Portuguese in Norway (also known as Portuguese Norwegians/ Norwegian-Portuguese Community or, in Portuguese, known as Portugueses na Noruega / Comunidade portuguesa na Noruega / Luso-noruegueses) are the citizens or residents of Norway whose ethnic origins lie in Portugal.

Portuguese Norwegians are Portuguese-born citizens with a Norwegian citizenship or Norwegian-born citizens of Portuguese ancestry or citizenship.

Demographics
According to official Portuguese estimates, 9,000 Portuguese people live in Norway as of 2020. On the other hand, according to official Norwegian estimates, there were 4,524 Portuguese in Norway in 2023. The discrepancy in numbers could be due to the fact that many Portuguese hold multiple citizenship, for instance, they are Portuguese-Brazilians or Luso-Indians. They thus represent between 0.08% and 0.16% of the country's population.

History
The Portuguese community in Norway has experienced considerable growth, especially after Brexit. Portuguese emigrants are in fact leaving the United Kingdom for Nordic countries: most of them are highly qualified and aged between 20 and 40, looking for better quality of life and economic stability.

Many Portuguese are opting for Norway especially after 2009, even though integration is often difficult because of cultural differences, language requirements and lack of job opportunities. Most Portuguese leaving for Norway are highly educated.

The two countries enjoy friendly relationships and mutual trust, witnessing increasing trade as well.

Footballers
In recent years many Portuguese international footballers have moved to Norway to play for Norwegian clubs: in 2023 these included Nelsinho Correira (Elverum), Jorge Vieira (Fram), Rafael Veloso (Gjøvik-Lyn), Bernardo Morgado (IL Hødd), Cláudio Braga (Moss), Samuel Pedro (FK Jerv).

Remittances


The Portuguese community in Norway retains strong ties with its homeland and, between 2000 and 2021, it has sent approximately 78.43 million euros (€) to Portugal in remittances. In the same timeframe, Norwegians in Portugal (numbering around 1,100 individuals) have sent approximately €11.21 million to Norway.

Portuguese language
As of today, the Portuguese are part of a wider Portuguese-speaking community in Norway, comprising around 1,600 people from PALOP countries (the majority being from Angola and Cape Verde), Timor-Leste or Macau and around 11,060 Brazilians.

People from CPLP countries thus number around 25,300 people, accounting for 0.45% of the population of Norway.

The immigrant community of people coming from CPLP countries in Norway is the second largest found amongst the Nordic countries: in Finland there are a little more than 5,000 CPLP nationals (0.09% of the country's population), in Denmark there are around 11,000 CPLP nationals (0.19% of the country's population)  while in Iceland there are around 2,000 CPLP nationals (0.52% of the country's population),   and in Sweden 26,700 (0.25% of the population).