Portuguese in Iceland (Icelandic: Portúgölfsk fólk á Íslandi) are citizens and residents of Iceland who are of Portuguese descent.
Portuguese people in Iceland (also known as Portuguese Icelanders/ Icelandic-Portuguese Community or, in Portuguese, known as Portugueses na Islândia / Comunidade portuguesa na Islândia/ Luso-islandeses) are the citizens or residents of Iceland whose ethnic origins lie in Portugal.
About 1,406 Portuguese people livie in Iceland as of 2022. In addition, 122 people of Portuguese descent have acquired Icelandic citizenship since 2000, for a total of at least 1,528 people of recent Portuguese background. The Portuguese represent 0.39% of the country's population.[3][2]
History
The Portuguese community in the country 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.[4][5] Portuguese emigration has increased particularly in the last years and in 2022 alone 360 Portuguese entered the country.[6] The two countries maintain a strong relationship of mutual respect and are both NATO members.[7]
The Portuguese community in Iceland retains strong ties with its homeland and, between 2000 and 2021, it has sent approximately 7.1 million euros (€) to Portugal in remittances. In the same timeframe, Icelanders in Portugal (numbering around 170 individuals)[10] have sent approximately €0.97 million to Iceland.[11]