Portugal in numbers does not reveal everything that has changed because it leaves mentalities aside. But the numbers always serve to show that those who induce them are no longer the same society.
On the day that Portuguese democracy celebrates its 50th anniversary, Pordata, the statistical database of the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation, publishes a portrait that shows what Portugal was like in 1974 and the country it has become after five decades of democracy , giving clues about the challenges that still persist.
The country has aged. Between 1974 and 2022, the population in Portugal grew from 8.8 million to 10.4 million and the demographic profile changed: there are fewer children and young people under the age of 15 (-45%) and the number of people almost tripled aged 65 or over (+190%) .
In five decades, Portugal was the European Union country where the senior population increased the most and the 3rd country that lost the most children and young people. It was also the EU country that most reversed the position of its aging index: from 1st country with fewer elderly people by young people to 2nd with more elderly people per young people.
“Demographic aging not only means that seniors have a greater weight compared to children and young people, but also that we have fewer children and live longer. Today, a 65-year-old person can expect to live an average of 20 more years, seven more than five decades ago”, says the study.
The composition of the population also changed and Portuguese society became more cosmopolitan. In 1974, the number of foreigners living in the country was reduced and today the foreign community represents 7.5% of residents. Of particular note, with greater numerical importance, are Brazilian citizens (240 thousand) and the United Kingdom (45 thousand).
Families also changed. In 1975, divorces between Catholic marriages became permitted. In almost 50 years, divorces have increased 24 times and marriages have fallen by half. With the secularization of society, Catholic marriages are losing importance: in 1974, 8 out of every 10 marriages were celebrated by the Catholic Church and today they are less than 3 out of every 10. On the other hand, de facto unions are on the rise. According to the 2021 Census, more than one million people were in a civil union that year (11% compared to 4% in 2001). And, in 2010, the first same-sex marriages were registered.
As a result of the secularization of society, today, 6 out of 10 babies are born out of wedlock. 50 years ago, these babies represented 7% of births, despite the more than 15 thousand babies born, on average, every year, to unmarried fathers and mothers.
The increase in education, greater participation of women in the job market and widespread access to contraceptive methods contributed to the postponement of maternity plans and the “shrinking” of families. Today, a family is made up, on average, of 2.5 people and, in 1970, it was made up of 3.7 people. The proportion of large families, with 5 or more members, drops by 22 percentage points and the proportion of people living alone increases (by 15 percentage points).
The average age of first marriage has advanced by around 10 years, women have their first child, on average, seven years later. In these five decades, births fell by half (172 thousand to 84 thousand) and Portugal went from the 4th EU country with the highest gross birth rate to the 5th with the lowest gross birth rate, after countries like Italy or Spain.
It was only during the democratic period that access to healthcare became widespread, allowing greater longevity and quality of life. One of the areas where these transformations had the greatest impact was on the survival of babies. The evolution of maternal and child care and the evolution of socioeconomic conditions explain the unprecedented decline in infant mortality. In 1974, Portugal was the country in the European Union where the most children died under the age of one: 38 for every 1,000 births (the EU average was 21). In 2022, Portugal occupied the top ten of countries with the lowest infant mortality rate (2.6‰, with the European average being 3.3‰). It is worth remembering that, in 1970, only 38% of births took place in health establishments. Five years later, this figure was already 61% and, currently, practically all children are born in hospitals.
These transformations in the health system are also associated with the modernization of services and the growth in the number of health professionals. In five decades, the number of doctors increased almost 5 times, and the number of nurses almost 4 times. In 2021, 564 doctors and 771 nurses were registered with the respective professional associations for every 100 thousand inhabitants. However, the 2021 Census records