Yesterday, the PS-Madeira had a political initiative, as part of the pre-campaign for the regional elections, dedicated to migration issues, with a special focus on the conditions that Madeira offers or should offer to those who wish to return. In this context, Sérgio Gonçalves stated: “The objective of the PS is to present concrete solutions to welcome emigrants who continue to return to the Region.” But are there many Madeirans who have lived abroad and returned to Madeira?
The assessment of the accuracy of the statement by the President of the PS-Madeira will focus, in particular, on the dimension of the number of people who, having lived abroad, already reside in Madeira and less those who currently do or express the intention to do so . Even so, it is possible to say that, between 2011 and 2021, 8,710 more people left the Region than those who entered. But, from 2018 to 2021, 5,199 more entered than those who left, which indicates the return of many.
Let us focus, then, on the number of Portuguese who reside in Madeira, but who have already lived abroad. Once again, we resorted to official numbers, in this case, resulting from the 2021 population census.
The figures collected by INE – National Institute of Statistics, with the collaboration of DREM – Regional Statistics Directorate of Madeira, reveal that 51,711 Portuguese reside in Madeira, who have already lived abroad, which means that they have lived outside Portugal for a continuous period of at least one year.
In addition to the analysis by municipality (see table below), it is important to highlight the parish of Ribeira da Janela, where half of the population (49.5%) has lived abroad.
Thus, Sérgio Gonçalves’ statement is true. In addition to the fact that there are many Madeirans who have already lived abroad and now live in Madeira, there are many others who continue to return.