In 50 years, the population in Portugal has changed in several ways. It’s older but also more diverse. The family was transformed. We also welcome many more foreigners, as we continue to emigrate. Schooling became normalized, especially for women. The housing stock increased and improved, access to healthcare became widespread.
Getting older and older
The change is immediately visible in the number of births, which has fallen steadily since 1974. 50 years ago, 171,979 babies were registered, a number that has fallen by more than half, 83,671, in 2022.
The aging index reflects the weight of this new reality. There are now 184 elderly people for every 100 young people up to the age of 14, compared to 34 in the 1970s.
Portugal is today, along with Italy, the country in the European Union with the largest number of elderly people. In percentage, People over 65 represent 24 percent of the population, compared to 10 percent 50 years ago.
On the other hand, in 1974, children up to the age of 14 made up almost a third, 28 percent, of Portuguese people. Currently it is just 13 percent.
In the group between 15 and 64 years old, the variation is minimal, from 62 to 63 percent. Currently, those closest to 64 are however the most numerous.
If nothing interferes, the latter will soon widen the generational gap, when they move into the next age group, over 65 years old.
The emigration of younger Portuguese, of working and childbearing age, is likely to worsen the situation if nothing is done.
More and more alone
Although the Portuguese population has increased, from 8,754,365 in 1974, to 10,444,242 in 2022, mainly at the expense of immigration, people live more alone.
Families, statistics reveal, have become smaller, with an average of 2.5 members today, compared to 3.7 50 years ago.
According to Portuguese censuses, in the 1970s, 40 percent of families had three to four members, 22 percent had two and 28 percent had five or more. Only 10 percent counted just one person.
In 2021, families with three to four members had dropped to 36 percent, families with two people grew to 33 percent and families with one person were already a quarter, 25 percent. Those with five or more members represented only six percent.
The increase in families with one or two members may be linked to longevity. Many younger people today also prefer to live alone, or with non-family friends, as they transition into adulthood and before deciding to start a family.
On average, Portuguese men and women now get married, respectively, at the age of 34 and 35, not at 24 and 26, as 50 years ago. And the number of marriages fell by half. From 81,724 registrations in 1974, it dropped to 36,952 in 2022, of which, somewhat unthinkable then, 801 were between people of the same sex.
There are also more divorces. In 1974, one percent of marriages ended in separation, in 2021 that ratio was 59.5 percent.
In absolute numbers, 777 divorces were recorded in 1974. In 2022 there were 18,464, a number still lower than the sudden peak of 27,708, which marked 2002.
Emigrants and immigrants
Half a century after the 25th of April, Portugal continues to export people but now also it matters.
In 1974, Portugal had lost, in the previous 20 years, around 1.6 million nationals to emigration.
In 1974 there were 43,397 emigrants. In 2022, it is estimated that a total of 30,954 people will have left Portugal to live abroad for a period of one year or more, an increase of 23.4 percent compared to the 25,079 registered in 2021.
The majority of emigrants, 64.6 percent, were men, of which 95.4 percent had Portuguese nationality and 51.1 percent emigrated to a European Union country. Almost all, 93.5 percent, were people of working age.
According to the UN, currently around 2.3 million citizens born in Portugal currently reside outside the country. Of these, more than a third are not 40 years old.
Provisional estimates from the Emigration Observatory indicate that, in 2024, among those born in Portugal aged between 15 and 39, 30 percent will live abroad. There will be 850 thousand.
The weight of immigration is therefore taking on increased importance in the social panorama, especially because, in 2022, 14,000 of the 83,671 births in Portugal were registered in immigrant families. More than 5,600 of these pregnant women were Brazilian, according to the Brazilian newspaper The globe.
In 1974, the number of foreigners residing in Portugal corresponded to just 0.4 percent of the population, with 32,057 individuals. In 2022, it represented 7.5 percent, or 781,247 people, a number 24.5 times higher.
In 2022, data from INE showed that “117,843 people entered Portugal to reside for a period equal to or greater than one year”.
“Of these, 62.2 percent were men, 51.2 percent had foreign nationality. The majority, 59.3 percent, were born in a country outside the European Union. 70.2 percent previously resided in an Extra-Union country European Union and 77.9 percent were people of working age (15 to 64 years old)”, said the report from the National Statistics Institute.
But nothing beats the entry of 239,676 Brazilians, the overwhelming majority of the 268,758 citizens born in the Americas currently emigrated to Portugal. 50 years ago, there were 2,667.
Out of curiosity, and according to the National Statistics Institute, “it is estimated that, in the year 2022”, 21.3 percent more will have entered Portugal than in 2021 (97,119), and 30,954 permanent emigrants will have left , 23.4 percent more than in 2021 (25,079).
That year, the migration balance was positive for the sixth consecutive year.
In 2022, 46,229 foreigners acquired Portuguese nationality, a number 15.2 percent lower than the 54,537 in 2021: 20,844 acquisitions of nationality were for residents in Portugal and 25,385 for residents abroad.
Access to healthcare has become widespread
The healthcare sector has undergone considerable improvements over the last 50 years. Access to healthcare only became widespread in the period after April 25th, which explains the increase in average life expectancy.
In 1970, average life expectancy was 67 years. Currently, a person can expect to live, on average, until age 80.
The reality of deaths from disease has also changed, with the burden of cancer deaths almost doubling in 50 years. In 1975, cardiovascular diseases were the ones that killed the most (40%) and cancer came in second place, responsible for 12% of deaths. In 2021, deaths from cancer doubled to 22% and, conversely, deaths from circulatory diseases decreased to 26%.
In relation to health professionals, there are now many more than there were 50 years ago. In five decades, the number of doctors increased almost five times and the number of nurses almost four times. In 1975 there were 122 doctors and 205 nurses per 100 thousand inhabitants. In 2022, these numbers increased to 578 and 783, respectively.
But the area where the greatest impact of these transformations on health was seen was the deaths of children under one year old, which fell by more than 95% in 60 years. Portugal was the European Union country where the most children died under the age of one – 38 for every 1,000 births, when the EU average was 21. In 2022, infant mortality was a mere three percent and Portugal occupied the list of the ten countries with the lowest infant mortality rate.
A likely impact of the major change in childbirth care. In 1975, only 61 percent of these took place in hospitals or clinics, but in 2022, 99.8 percent of births took place in a clinical setting.
More houses and better living conditions
Between 1970 and 2021, the number of dwellings doubled, going from 2,702 to more than 5,970. In 1970 there were 30 houses per square kilometer. In 2021, there were 65 houses per square kilometer.
Furthermore, Pordata data also allows us to conclude that there are changes in relation to the type of housing. 50 years ago there were more homes used as regular homes than there are today and currently there are 15 times as many homes as secondary residences.
In 1970, 83% of houses were primary housing and only 3% were secondary housing. In 2021, of the total number of dwellings, 69% were habitual residences and 19% were second homes.
The number of vacant houses has also decreased over these 50 years, from 14% to 12%.
Housing conditions have also improved considerably. In 1970 there were 31,100 precarious dwellings on the mainland and approximately 25% of the population lived in buildings without any kind of safety, comfort, health and privacy indicators.
Approximately 53% of the population did not have running water in their homes, 36% did not have electricity and 40% did not have a sewage system. Currently, practically all houses have all these conditions.
Although precarious housing has