Portugal loses population for the 9th year in a row

The population residing in Portugal decreased in 2018 for the ninth year in a row, despite registering a positive migration balance. Portuguese population is decreasing since 2010, no matter the consecutive eighteen years of increase.

According to the official data released by the National Institute of Statistics, the Portuguese population lost at least 14,400 people, decreasing to a total of 10,276,617, relative to 2017.

The tendency for decreasing population has been observed since 2010, reaching a peak between 2011 and 2014 – the years of the severe economic crisis that forced many to seek new opportunities abroad – and maintained its trajectory in 2018. The difference between those who are born and those who have died was the most negative of the last decade.

The decrease should be observed over the next years as the population is generally ageing. To paint a picture, the population under 15 in Portugal has decreased 16,300 while the 65+ population has increased 30,900. In 2018, one in two Portuguese was 45.2 years-old on average.

According to INE, the young population can decrease to less than 1,4M people by the end of this year as it is expected for this segment to continue decreasing in number. In 2074, INE estimates that Portugal will have less than 1M youngsters. A darker scenario is pointing to the loss of 2.4M until the year 2080.