Portugal is the second EU country with the highest proportion of elderly people and the third with the lowest proportion of young people

Portugal will lose people in the coming years. In 2024, 10,749,635 people resided in the country, and by 2028, the resident population is projected to decrease to 8,216,0151. The data is being released this Friday, July 11, by the National Institute of Statistics, in celebration of World Population Day, which is celebrated today.

The data paint a picture of a country that is becoming increasingly gray . Let's take a look. In 1970, 8,663,252 people resided in Portugal. In 1994, the population reached 10 million (10,008,659). Thirty years later, in 2024, the resident population reached 10,749,635 (10,639,726 in 2023). All told, in 54 years, the country registered a 21.4% increase, corresponding to 2,086,383 more people.

Between 1970 and 2024, the proportion of elderly people more than doubled, while the proportion of young people decreased by about half. According to the INE, the population aged 0 to 14 years decreased from 28.5% to 12.6% of the total resident population; while people aged 65 and over increased from 9.7% to 24.3%.

For every 100 young people living in Portugal in 1970, there were only 34 elderly people. By 2024, the number had increased to 192.4.

"Between 1970 and 2024, as a result of the decline in birth rates and increased longevity, the population experienced a double aging process, reflecting a transformation in the age structure of the Portuguese population," explains the INE. During this period, it adds, the median age of the resident population, which divides the population into two equal groups, increased from 29.7 to 47.3 years for the total population (from 27.9 to 45.5 years for men; and from 31.2 to 48.9 years for women).

By 2080, the resident population is projected to decrease to 8,216,0151.

IMMIGRANTS: INE data for the year 2023 show that of the 10.6 million residents in the country, 1,045,398 were foreign nationals, representing 9.8% of the total. A dozen years earlier, in 2011, non-national residents represented just 3.9% of the total, just over four hundred thousand, or 413,011 people to be exact.

PORTUGAL IN THE WORLD. In 2023, Portugal was the second country in the European Union (EU27) with the highest proportion of elderly people (24.1%), surpassed only by Italy (24.3%). Both figures are above the EU average: 21.6%.

In contrast, Portugal had the third lowest proportion of young people (12.8%), immediately after Italy (12.2%) and Malta (12.3%). In this respect, the country also had figures below the European average of 14.6%. Luxembourg and Ireland were, in 2023, the only Member States where the proportion of young people was higher than that of older people.

Regarding the renewal rate of the working-age population, in 2023, only five member states had values ​​above 100.

The overlapping of the age pyramids for Portugal and the EU27, for the year 2023, reveals the double demographic aging, at the base and at the top, more evident for Portugal than for the European Union as a whole.

“The configuration of the two pyramids reflects the higher proportion of elderly people (65 and over), the lower proportion of young people (0 to 14 years of age) and people of working age (15 to 64 years of age) in Portugal compared to the EU27”, explains INE.

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in 2025, the world population is expected to reach the mark of around 8.2 billion, and is expected to grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and 10.9 billion in 2100.

Methodology . Resident population estimates follow the cohort component method, based on the census concept of resident population, and are calculated by sex and age, down to the geographic breakdown of the municipality. The calculation is based on the natural and migratory demographic components, and information from other INE statistical operations: live births, deaths, and emigration and immigration estimates.