INE, the National Institute of Estatistica, has just released the final figures of the population of Portugal for the year 2018. The demographic statistics of Portugal for 2018 confirm the downward trend since the economic crisis, with some changes . The negative natural balance is the largest in recent years, reflecting the rapid and deep aging of the Portuguese population, and skilled emigration has further increased, accelerating the brain drain. The statistics published this Friday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) reveal that the population of Portugal decreased again last year with a decrease of 14,410 inhabitants to reach a total of 10,276,617 people. Other trends recorded in previous years remain: 43,170 permanent residents entered Portugal, representing an increase of 17.8% compared to 2017. Also, 28,856 foreigners acquired Portuguese nationality, or 23.7% more than the year before. What are the statistics in detail of Portuguese demography? What are the numbers of immigration and emigration? Lisbob, the expatriate assistant in Portugal, tells you all about the latest figures in Portuguese demography.
Portugal continues to lose inhabitants and sees its population grow aging more and more
Immigration does not offset the worsening natural demographic balance
Every year at this time of the year, the INE reports on the demographic situation of Portugal and its evolution compared to previous years. The data generally taken into account for this portrait of the country concern the resident population (how many and who we are) and other phenomena that determine its evolution, such as birth rate, mortality and life expectancy. But also the migrations and the number of new Portuguese, by acquisition of nationality. These statistics always refer to the previous year in which they were published.
In 2018, once again, foreigners who came to settle in Portugal failed to compensate for the natural demographic balance, the difference between the number of births and the number of deaths. Portugal's natural balance was minus 25,280 for 2018, while the net migration (the difference between the number of people leaving Portugal and the number of newcomers) was again positive: 11,570 more people entered the country than they did not come out. In the end the Portuguese population has decreased by 14,410 inhabitants in 2018 to reach 10,276,617 people.
It should be noted that the natural demographic balance is the lowest of the last 6 years, confirming a worsening aging of the Portuguese population. In fact, between 2013 and 2018, the average age of Portugal's population increased from 43.1 to 45.2 years, and the number of young people (under 14 years old) decreased by 114.288 over the same period. period. The working-age population (aged 15 to 64) has also decreased: 210,778 fewer people, resulting in fewer social security contributions in the Portuguese state coffers.
The average age of Portugal's population increased from 43.1 to 45.2 years
The Lisbon metropolitan area is an exception
In the middle of this scenario, the Lisbon metropolitan area is an exception. It is indeed the only one in the whole of Portugal to record an effective population growth (+ 0.45%) compared to the previous year. The Alentejo is the opposite, recording a decrease of 0.91% in the number of its inhabitants. At the national level, the decline in the population was nonetheless less significant than that recorded the previous year: -0.14% against -0.18%.
With regard to the natural demographic balance, the Lisbon region is the only one in the country to also have positive values (+ 0.04%), which represents a difference of 1,013 more births than deaths. In the country as a whole, the natural growth rate was -0.25%, which corresponds to 25,980 more deaths than births.
On the other hand, with regard to net migration, the trend recorded the previous year is confirmed and amplified: there are more people who came to settle in Portugal than the opposite. This difference in favor of those who chose to live there increased from + 4,886 in 2017 to +11,570 in 2018. The various fiscal incentives (golden visa and non-habitual residence status) as well as the relaxation in the rules of Visas and residence permits have contributed to this trend. In 2013, at the height of the economic crisis, the situation was quite the opposite, with 36,232 nationals of the country having gone the other way.
