Demographics of Portugal

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Portugal, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Demographics of Portugal
Population pyramid of Portugal in 2023
PopulationIncrease 10,421,117 (2021)
Growth rate0.3% (2021)
Birth rate7.6 births/1,000 population
Death rate12.0 deaths/1,000 population
Life expectancy81.5 years
 • male78.37 years
 • female84.79 years
Fertility rate1.35 children
Infant mortality rate2.4 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate0.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Sex ratio
Total0.9 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth1.05 male(s)/female
Nationality
NationalityPortuguese
Major ethnicPortuguese - 95%
Language
OfficialPortuguese

As of 31 December 2021, Portugal had 10,421,117 inhabitants.[1]

Portugal is a fairly linguistically and religiously homogeneous country. Ethnically, the Portuguese people form 95% of the total population in Portugal. The Portuguese people are mainly a combination of ancient paleolithic populations, and the proto-Celtic, Celtic and Iberian tribes, para-Celtic Lusitanians. Some other groups, like the Romans, Germanic (Visigoths, Suevi, Buri, Alans and Vandals) and later the Moorish (Arabs and Berber), Sephardic Jewish, and the French also passed through the country.

Today, Ukrainians, Moldovans, Romanians, Russians, Bulgarians, Brazilians, Venezuelans and members of PALOP countries (Portuguese-speaking African countries) are the main immigrants and form the major foreign communities in the country.[2] Portuguese is spoken throughout the country, with only the villages of Miranda do Douro's Mirandese language recognised as a locally co-official language.

Total fertility rate from 1850 to 1899
Population pyramid from 1950 to 2020

The total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman. It is based on fairly good data for the entire period. Sources: Our World In Data and Gapminder Foundation.[3]

Years18501851185218531854185518561857185818591860[3]
Total Fertility Rate in Portugal4.54.474.444.414.384.354.334.34.274.244.21
Years1861186218631864186518661867186818691870[3]
Total Fertility Rate in Portugal4.184.154.124.094.14.114.124.144.154.16
Years1871187218731874187518761877187818791880[3]
Total Fertility Rate in Portugal4.174.184.194.24.214.224.234.244.234.22
Years1881188218831884188518861887188818891890[3]
Total Fertility Rate in Portugal4.914.194.184.174.164.154.384.34.384.24
Years189118921893189418951896189718981899[3]
Total Fertility Rate in Portugal4.164.064.153.863.93.93.953.933.89

[4]

Vital statistics since 1900
[5][6]
[7][8][9]		 Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rates[fn 1][3][10][11][12]
1900 5,410,000 165,245 110,330 54,915 30.5 20.3 10.2 3.96
1901 5,460,000 170,773 114,130 56,643 31.3 20.9 10.4 4.07
1902 5,490,000 176,029 108,378 67,651 32.0 19.7 12.4 4.16
1903 5,560,000 183,138 111,685 71,453 33.0 20.1 12.9 4.29
1904 5,600,000 176,726 105,572 71,154 31.6 18.9 12.7 4.11
1905 5,660,000 179,746 112,756 66,990 31.8 20.0 11.8 4.13
1906 5,690,000 182,920 125,243 57,677 32.1 22.0 10.1 4.17
1907 5,730,000 176,417 113,254 63,163 30.7 19.7 11.0 3.99
1908 5,790,000 175,268 115,876 59,392 30.3 20.0 10.2 3.94
1909 5,850,000 174,753 112,421 62,332 29.9 19.2 10.8 3.89
1910 5,890,000 186,953 113,161 73,792 31.7 19.2 12.5 4.12
1911 5,960,000 230,033 130,900 99,133 38.6 22.0 16.6 5.02
1912 5,960,000 207,870 119,578 88,292 34.9 20.1 14.8 4.54
1913 5,970,000 193,906 123,054 70,852 32.5 20.6 11.9 4.22
1914 5,980,000 188,479 115,526 72,953 31.5 19.3 12.0 4.09
1915 5,990,000 195,225 122,513 72,712 32.6 20.5 12.0 4.24
1916 6,000,000 192,780 129,389 63,391 32.1 21.6 10.7 4.17
1917 6,000,000 188,391 134,082 54,309 31.4 22.3 9.1 4.08
1918 6,020,000 178,687 248,978 -70,291 29.7 41.4 -11.6 3.86
1919 6,020,000 166,162 152,856 13,306 27.6 25.4 2.2 3.59
1920 6,040,000 202,908 142,862 60,046 33.6 23.7 9.9 4.37
1921 6,070,000 197,022 126,316 70,706 32.4 20.8 11.7 4.21
1922 6,170,000 203,727 125,747 77,980 33.1 20.4 12.6 4.3
1923 6,240,000 207,172 141,775 65,397 33.2 22.7 10.5 4.32
1924 6,310,000 207,440 126,052 81,388 32.8 20.0 12.8 4.26
1925 6,370,000 208,434 117,413 91,021 32.6 18.4 14.3 4.24
1926 6,470,000 214,633 127,959 86,674 33.5 19.8 13.4 4.36
1927 6,550,000 199,399 123,382 76,017 31.0 18.8 11.6 4.03
1928 6,620,000 211,314 124,088 87,226 31.9 18.7 13.2 4.15
1929 6,720,000 200,874 118,824 82,050 29.9 17.7 12.2 3.89
1930 6,804,000 202,529 116,352 86,177 29.7 17.1 12.7 3.86
1931 6,860,000 204,120 115,225 88,895 29.7 16.8 13.0 3.86
1932 6,968,000 208,062 118,895 89,167 29.9 17.1 12.8 3.89
1933 7,057,000 204,315 120,996 83,319 28.9 17.2 11.8 3.88
1934 7,147,000 203,158 118,539 84,619 28.4 16.6 11.8 3.74
1935 7,237,000 203,943 123,051 80,892 28.2 17.0 11.2 3.59
1936 7,326,000 205,615 119,003 86,612 28.1 16.2 11.8 3.45
1937 7,416,000 198,217 117,291 80,926 26.7 15.8 10.9 3.39
1938 7,506,000 199,467 115,331 84,136 26.6 15.4 11.2 3.34
1939 7,595,000 198,888 116,075 82,813 26.2 15.3 10.9 3.28
1940 7,696,000 187,892 120,486 67,406 24.4 15.7 8.8 3.22
1941 7,750,000 184,336 134,937 49,399 23.8 17.4 6.4 3.12
1942 7,810,000 187,503 126,531 60,972 24.0 16.1 7.8 3.14
1943 7,890,000 198,101 121,887 76,214 25.1 15.3 9.7 3.27
1944 7,960,000 201,373 119,275 82,098 25.3 14.8 10.3 3.28
1945 8,040,000 209,131 115,596 93,535 26.0 14.2 11.6 3.39
1946 8,100,000 205,825 120,800 85,025 25.4 14.9 10.5 3.29
1947 8,180,000 200,488 110,437 90,051 24.5 13.5 11.0 3.14
1948 8,262,000 220,981 107,576 113,405 26.7 13.0 13.7 3.42
1949 8,333,000 212,260 117,499 94,761 25.5 14.1 11.4 3.23
1950 8,405,000 205,163 102,798 102,365 24.4 12.2 12.2 3.1
1951 8,459,000 207,870 105,473 102,397 24.6 12.5 12.1 3.1
1952 8,496,000 211,213 100,486 110,727 24.9 11.8 13.0 3.1
1953 8,534,000 202,135 97,460 104,675 23.7 11.4 12.3 3.1
1954 8,570,000 197,536 95,088 102,448 23.0 11.1 12.0 3.1
1955 8,610,000 209,790 99,472 110,318 24.4 11.6 12.8 3.1
1956 8,647,000 202,667 106,919 95,748 23.4 12.4 11.1 3.11
1957 8,680,000 211,494 101,784 109,710 24.4 11.7 12.6 3.12
1958 8,725,000 212,467 91,891 120,576 24.4 10.5 13.8 3.13
1959 8,826,000 213,062 97,754 115,308 24.3 11.1 13.1 3.15
1960 8,865,000 213,895 95,009 118,886 23.9 10.6 13.3 3.16
1961 8,929,000 217,516 99,590 117,926 24.3 11.1 13.2 3.18
1962 8,994,000 220,200 96,864 123,336 24.4 10.7 13.7 3.18
1963 9,031,000 212,152 98,011 114,141 23.4 10.8 12.6 3.19
1964 9,034,000 217,136 96,878 120,258 23.8 10.6 13.2 3.19
1965 8,999,000 210,299 95,187 115,112 23.0 10.4 12.6 3.18
1966 8,931,000 206,940 100,088 106,852 22.7 11.0 12 3.16
1967 8,875,000 202,061 95,816 106,245 22.2 10.5 11.7 3.13
1968 8,837,000 194,962 94,661 100,301 21.4 10.4 11.0 3.09
1969 8,758,000 189,739 101,088 88,651 20.9 11.1 9.7 3.05
1970 8,663,252 180,690 92,854 87,836 20.9 10.7 10.1 2.99
1971 8,624,258 181,243 98,355 82,888 21.0 11.4 9.6 2.99
1972 8,636,603 174,685 90,025 84,660 20.2 10.4 9.8 2.85
1973 8,629,598 172,324 95,239 77,085 20.0 11.0 8.9 2.76
1974 8,879,127 171,979 96,837 75,142 19.4 10.9 8.5 2.69
1975 9,307,815 179,648 97,750 81,898 19.3 10.5 8.8 2.75
1976 9,403,809 186,712 101,843 84,869 19.9 10.8 9.0 2.81
1977 9,507,536 181,064 95,917 85,147 19.0 10.1 9.0 2.68
1978 9,608,959 167,467 96,042 71,425 17.4 10.0 7.4 2.45
1979 9,713,570 160,311 92,566 67,745 16.5 9.5 7.0 2.31
1980 9,818,980 158,309 94,794 63,515 16.1 9.7 6.5 2.25
1981 9,883,670 152,071 95,728 56,343 15.4 9.7 5.7 2.13
1982 9,939,871 151,002 92,379 58,623 15.2 9.3 5.9 2.08
1983 9,975,859 144,296 96,179 48,117 14.5 9.6 4.8 1.96
1984 10,016,605 142,783 96,975 45,808 14.3 9.7 4.6 1.91
1985 10,030,621 130,450 97,085 33,365 13.0 9.7 3.3 1.73
1986 10,034,846 126,715 95,521 31,194 12.6 9.5 3.1 1.67
1987 10,025,215 123,179 95,102 28,077 12.3 9.5 2.8 1.63
1988 10,014,005 122,093 97,844 24,249 12.2 9.8 2.4 1.62
1989 9,995,995 118,483 95,743 22,740 11.9 9.6 2.3 1.58
1990 9,970,441 116,321 102,768 13,553 11.7 10.3 1.4 1.57
1991 9,950,029 116,299 103,882 12,417 11.7 10.4 1.2 1.56
1992 9,954,958 114,924 100,638 14,286 11.5 10.1 1.4 1.54
1993 9,974,391 113,960 105,950 8,010 11.4 10.6 0.8 1.52
1994 10,008,659 109,227 99,232 9,995 10.9 9.9 1.0 1.45
1995 10,043,693 107,097 103,475 3,622 10.7 10.3 0.4 1.41
1996 10,084,196 110,261 106,881 3,380 10.9 10.6 0.3 1.45
1997 10,133,758 112,933 104,778 8,155 11.1 10.3 0.8 1.47
1998 10,186,634 113,384 106,198 7,186 11.1 10.4 0.7 1.48
1999 10,249,022 116,002 107,871 8,131 11.3 10.5 0.8 1.51
2000 10,330,774 120,008 105,364 14,644 11.6 10.2 1.4 1.55
2001 10,394,669 112,774 105,092 7,682 10.8 10.1 0.7 1.45
2002 10,444,592 114,383 106,258 8,125 11.0 10.2 0.8 1.47
2003 10,473,050 112,515 108,795 3,720 10.7 10.4 0.4 1.44
2004 10,494,672 109,298 102,012 7,286 10.4 9.7 0.7 1.41
2005 10,511,988 109,399 107,464 1,935 10.4 10.2 0.2 1.42
2006 10,532,588 105,449 101,990 3,459 10.0 9.7 0.3 1.38
2007 10,553,339 102,492 103,512 -1,020 9.7 9.8 -0.1 1.35
2008 10,563,014 104,594 104,280 314 9.9 9.9 0.0 1.40
2009 10,573,479 99,491 104,434 -4,943 9.4 9.9 -0.5 1.35
2010 10,572,721 101,381 105,954 -4,573 9.6 10.0 -0.4 1.39
2011 10,558,950 96,856 102,848 -5,992 9.2 9.8 -0.6 1.35
2012 10,503,889 89,841 107,612 -17,771 8.6 10.3 -1.7 1.28
2013 10,444,092 82,787 106,554 -23,767 7.9 10.2 -2.3 1.21
2014 10,395,121 82,367 104,843 -22,476 7.9 10.1 -2.2 1.23
2015 10,368,554 85,500 108,539 -23,039 8.3 10.5 -2.2 1.30
2016 10,344,478 87,126 110,573 -23,447 8.5 10.7 -2.3 1.36
2017 10,335,770 86,154 109,758 -23,604 8.4 10.7 -2.3 1.37
2018 10,333,496 87,020 113,051 -26,031 8.5 11.0 -2.5 1.41
2019 10,375,395 86,579 111,843 -25,264 8.4 10.9 -2.4 1.42
2020 10,394,297 84,530 123,396 -38,866 8.2 12.0 -3.8 1.40
2021 10,421,117 79,582 125,185 -45,390 7.7 12.1 -4.4 1.34
2022 83,915 124,872 -40,957

Current vital statistics

Source:[13]

Period Live births Deaths Natural increase
January - March 2022 19,342 33,258 -13,849
January - March 2023 20,385 33,282 -12,897
Difference Increase +1,043 (+5.4%) Steady +24 (+0.1%) Increase +952

Maps
  • Population density by municipality in Portugal (2020).
    Population density by municipality in Portugal (2020).
  • Population by municipality in Portugal (2020).
    Population by municipality in Portugal (2020).
  • Population change by municipality in Portugal between 2001 and 2011.
    Population change by municipality in Portugal between 2001 and 2011.
  • Population change by municipality in Portugal between 2011 and 2020.
    Population change by municipality in Portugal between 2011 and 2020.

Other demographic statistics
Population Census
YearPop.±%
1422 1,043,274—    
1527 1,262,376+21.0%
1636 1,100,000−12.9%
1736 2,143,368+94.9%
1770 2,850,444+33.0%
1776 3,352,310+17.6%
1801 2,931,930−12.5%
1811 2,876,602−1.9%
1838 3,200,000+11.2%
1849 3,411,454+6.6%
1864 4,188,419+22.8%
1878 4,550,699+8.6%
1890 5,049,729+11.0%
YearPop.±%
1900 5,423,132+7.4%
1911 5,969,056+10.1%
1920 6,032,991+1.1%
1930 6,825,883+13.1%
1940 7,722,152+13.1%
1950 8,510,240+10.2%
1960 8,851,240+4.0%
1970 8,648,369−2.3%
1981 9,833,041+13.7%
1991 9,862,540+0.3%
2001 10,356,117+5.0%
2011 10,562,178+2.0%
2021 10,343,066−2.1%
Source: INE 2021[14][15][16] 1422, 1527 and 1636 only Adult male population.

The following demographic statistics are from the World Population Review.[17]

  • One birth every 7 minutes
  • One death every 5 minutes
  • One net migrant every 160 minutes
  • Net loss of one person every 14 minutes

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.[12]

Population
10,302,674 (July 2020 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years: 13.58% (male 716,102 /female 682,582)
15-24 years: 10.94% (male 580,074 /female 547,122)
25-54 years: 41.49% (male 2,109,693 /female 2,164,745)
55-64 years: 13.08% (male 615,925 /female 731,334)
65 years and over: 20.92% (male 860,198 /female 1,294,899) (2020 est.)
Median age
total: 44.6 years. Country comparison to the world: 13th
male: 42.7 years
female: 46.5 years (2020 est.)
Birth rate
8.2 births/1,000 population (2020 est.) Country comparison to the world: 221st
Death rate
11.7 deaths/1,000 population (2020 est.) Country comparison to the world: 25th
Total fertility rate
1.41 children born/woman (2020 est.) Country comparison to the world: 216th
Net migration rate
0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2020 est.) Country comparison to the world: 71st
Population growth rate
+0.1 (2020 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth
30.5 years (2020 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
Life expectancy in Portugal since 1940
Life expectancy in Portugal since 1960 by gender
Period Life expectancy in
Years		 Period Life expectancy in
Years
1950–1955 60.3 1985–1990 74.0
1955–1960 62.4 1990–1995 74.9
1960–1965 64.5 1995–2000 76.0
1965–1970 66.4 2000–2005 77.6
1970–1975 68.3 2005–2010 79.3
1975–1980 70.4 2010–2015 80.5
1980–1985 72.5 2015-2019 82.0

Source: UN World Population Prospects[18]

Religions

Roman Catholic 81%, other Christian 3.3%, other (includes Jewish, Muslim, other) 0.6%, none 6.8%, unspecified 8.3% note: represents population 15 years of age and older (2011 est.)

Infant mortality rate
total: 2.6 deaths/1,000 live births. Country comparison to the world: 219th
male: 3.0 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 2.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2020 est.)
Infant mortality rate
Year Deaths/1,000 live births
20005.5
20015.0
20025.0
20034.1
20043.8
20053.5
20063.3
20073.4
20083.3
20093.6
20102.5
2011
20124.6
20174.3
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 55.8
youth dependency ratio: 20.3
elderly dependency ratio: 35.5
potential support ratio: 2.8 (2020 est.)
Urbanization
urban population: 66.3% of total population (2020)
rate of urbanization: 0.47% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)

total population: 96.1%
male: 97.4%
female: 95.1% (2018 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 17 years
male: 17 years
female: 17 years (2018)
Unemployment, youth ages 15–24
total: 20.3%. Country comparison to the world: 66th
male: 19.8%
female: 20.9% (2018 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15–24 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
24–54 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
54–65 years: 0.84 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female
total population: 0.90 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Urban organization

Metropolitan areas and agglomerations

As of 2001 Census, Portugal had two significant agglomerations: Lisbon Metropolitan Region (3.34 million inhabitants) and Northern Littoral Urban-Metropolitan Region (or Porto Metropolitan Agglomeration) with 2.99 million people, the later with a polycentric nature.[19] These broader agglomerations are distinct from the political metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto – Grande Área Metropolitana de Lisboa (2,9 million) and Grande Área Metropolitana do Porto (1,7 million). Together they hold 45% of the total population.

Population density of Portugal, per km2:
  0–49
  50–99
  100–299
  300–599
  600+
ImageCityMetropolitan areaSubregionCore municipality
Lisbon 2,870,208 [20] 1,975,791[20] 545,796[20]
Porto 1,736,228[20] 1,278,210[20] 231,800[20]

Largest urban areas

When considering the number of inhabitants in consistent single urban areas, de facto cities in mainland Portugal, per the new with increased density of human-created structures, and excluding suburban and rural areas, Portugal has two cities with about one million inhabitants each (Lisbon and Porto), ten others with more than 50,000 inhabitants and 14 cities with populations between 20,000 and 40,000 inhabitants.[19]

Note: the following table does not include cities in the Portuguese islands of Madeira and Azores in mid-Atlantic Ocean.

CityMetropolitan AreaAgglomeration
Cities with about 50,000 inh. (2001 Census)
Leiria
Amora Lisbon Metropolitan Region
Portimão
Faro
Évora
Cities with about 40,000 inh. (2001 Census)
Viana do Castelo
Covilhã
Castelo Branco
Santarém Lisbon Metropolitan Region
Alverca do Ribatejo Lisbon Metropolitan Region
Vila Nova de Famalicão Northern Littoral Urban-Metropolitan Region
Figueira da Foz
Guarda
Caldas da Rainha Lisbon Metropolitan Region
Olhão
Santo Tirso Greater Porto Northern Littoral Urban-Metropolitan Region
Vila Real
Póvoa de Santa Iria Greater Lisbon Lisbon Metropolitan Region

Largest cities

Portugal has 151 localities with city status (cidade). Every city is included into a municipality (município). This is a list of population by city, which means that it refers to the number of inhabitants in the city proper, excluding inhabitants from the same municipality but living outside the urban area of the city in other civil parishes (freguesias) of the municipality. In some cases, the entire municipality and the city proper cover the same territory.[21]

Rank City name Population Metropolitan area Subregion
1Lisbon547,631Greater Metropolitan Area of LisbonGrande Lisboa
2Porto237,584Greater Metropolitan Area of PortoGrande Porto
3Vila Nova de Gaia186,503Greater Metropolitan Area of PortoGrande Porto
4Amadora175,135Greater Metropolitan Area of LisbonGrande Lisboa
5Braga143,532Greater Metropolitan Area of MinhoCávado
6Funchal111,892Madeira
7Coimbra102,455Greater Metropolitan Area of CoimbraBaixo Mondego
8Setúbal90,640Greater Metropolitan Area of LisbonPenínsula de Setúbal
9Almada89,533Greater Metropolitan Area of LisbonPenínsula de Setúbal
10Agualva-Cacém79,805Greater Metropolitan Area of LisbonGrande Lisboa
11Queluz75,179Greater Metropolitan Area of LisbonGrande Lisboa
12Guimarães66,912Ave
13Viseu66,143Dão-Lafões
14Rio Tinto64,815Greater Metropolitan Area of PortoGrande Porto
15Aveiro61,752Baixo Vouga
16Odivelas59,559Greater Metropolitan Area of LisbonGrande Lisboa
17Matosinhos49,486Greater Metropolitan Area of PortoGrande Porto
18Amora48,629Greater Metropolitan Area of LisbonPenínsula de Setúbal
19Ponta Delgada46,102Açores
20Portimão45,431Algarve
21Faro44,099Algarve
22Leiria42,745Pinhal Litoral
23Póvoa de Varzim42,396Greater Metropolitan Area of PortoGrande Porto
24Évora41,159Alentejo Central
25Barreiro40,859Greater Metropolitan Area of LisbonPenínsula de Setúbal
26Maia40,134Greater Metropolitan Area of PortoGrande Porto
27Ermesinde38,798Greater Metropolitan Area of PortoGrande Porto
28Viana do Castelo38,045Alto Minho
29Covilhã36,226Cova da Beira
30Castelo Branco35,242Beira Interior Sul

Largest municipalities by population
The 20 most and the 20 least populated municipalities of Portugal. The metropolitan areas of Lisbon, Porto, Minho and Coimbra are visible.

Denotes the number of inhabitants in the municipality area; area is in km2; only for populations of over 100,000 inhabitants.[20]

Rank Municipality Population Land Area Density Metropolitan area
1Lisbon545,7961006,458Greater Metropolitan Area of Lisbon
2Sintra385,606319.21,184Greater Metropolitan Area of Lisbon
3Vila Nova de Gaia303,824170.81,770Greater Metropolitan Area of Porto
4Porto231,80041.35,753Greater Metropolitan Area of Porto
5Cascais214,12497.42,119Greater Metropolitan Area of Lisbon
6Loures201,590167.21,211Greater Metropolitan Area of Lisbon
7Braga193,324183.2991
8Almada177,23870.02,486Greater Metropolitan Area of Lisbon
9Matosinhos172,55762.22,821Greater Metropolitan Area of Porto
10Oeiras171,65845.73,766Greater Metropolitan Area of Lisbon
11Amadora171,45423.87,359Greater Metropolitan Area of Lisbon
12Seixal166,507 95.51,657Greater Metropolitan Area of Lisbon
13Gondomar164,257133.31,261Greater Metropolitan Area of Porto
14Guimarães156,830241.3655
15Odivelas148,03426.45,475Greater Metropolitan Area of Lisbon
16Coimbra140,816319.0450
17Vila Franca de Xira137,529317.7431Greater Metropolitan Area of Lisbon
18Santa Maria da Feira136,674215.1648Greater Metropolitan Area of Porto
19Maia134,97783.71,617Greater Metropolitan Area of Porto
20Vila Nova de Famalicão133,534201.7664
21Leiria128,603564.7225
22Setúbal123,496171.9705Greater Metropolitan Area of Lisbon
23Barcelos116,752378.9318
24Funchal105,78275.71,478

People
Main article: Portuguese people

Nationality
noun: Portuguese (singular and plural)
adjective: Portuguese

Languages
Main article: Portuguese language

The main language spoken as first language by the overwhelming majority of the population is Portuguese.[22] Other autochthonous languages spoken include:

Immigration
Main article: Immigration to Portugal
Portuguese and foreign born population pyramid in 2021

In 1992, 1.3% of the population was foreign, by 2021 the number had grown to almost 7% or 698,887 people.[32]

Since the independence of the former African colonies, Portugal saw a steady immigration from Africa, most notably Cape Verde, Angola and Guinea-Bissau, but also São Tomé and Príncipe, Mozambique and former Portuguese India in Asia.

Portugal saw migration waves due to labor shortages since 1999, first from Eastern Europe (1999–2002), in two distinctive groups, a Slav (Ukraine, Russia and Bulgaria) and an East Latin (Romania and Moldova), that stopped and started declining as the labour market became saturated.

Since 2003, most of the immigrants came from Brazil, China and the Indian subcontinent. Family reunification was seen as important for a successful integration in the country, thus the government eased it, and in 2006, more than 6 in 10 new immigrants were family members of legal foreign residents in the country.[33]

There is also a significant number of elderly Western European residents in search of quality of life, namely from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.

More recently, there is significant migration from the former Portuguese colony of Brazil, as since 2017 more than 30,000 Brazilians immigrate to Portugal annually.

Below is a summary table of the main foreign nationalities present in Portugal according to the latest SEFSTAT data.[32] As of December 31, 2021, there were 698,536 legally resident people in Portugal with foreign citizenship (about 7% of the population). These include both citizens born in Portugal with foreign citizenship and foreign immigrants. Descendants of immigrants are excluded (Portugal, like many European countries, does not collect data on ethnicity) and those who, regardless of place of birth or citizenship at birth, were Portuguese citizens (see also Portuguese nationality law). Among the latter are also naturalized citizens whose data are reported in the next table.

Largest groups of foreign residents
Nationality Population (2021)[32]
 Brazil 204,694
 United Kingdom 41,932
 Cape Verde 34,093
European Union Italy 30,819
 India 30,251
European Union Romania 28,911
 Ukraine 27,195
European Union France 26,719
 Angola 25,802
 China 22,782
   Nepal 21,545
 Guinea-Bissau 20,357
European Union Spain 18,546
European Union Germany 18,340
 São Tomé and Príncipe 11,234
European Union Netherlands 11,013
 Bangladesh 10,936
 Venezuela 8,296
 Pakistan 7,499
European Union Bulgaria 6,491
European Union Belgium 5,657
European Union Sweden 5,486
 Moldova 5,177
 Russia 5,156
 Mozambique 3,803
European Union Poland 3,651
European Union Ireland 3,327
 Switzerland 3,179
 Morocco 2,136
 Thailand 1,795
 South Africa 1,748
 Colombia 1,690
 Senegal 1,673
European Union Denmark 1,528
European Union Austria 1,467
 Iran 1,431
 Turkey 1,363
 Canada 1,271
 Cuba 1,264
 Guinea 1,204
 Uzbekistan 1,201
 Syria 1,191
European Union Finland 1,157
 Philippines 1,107
European Union Hungary 1,059
 Norway 1,052
Other countries (below 1,000) 30,929
Foreign-born naturalised citizens in Portugal by 2020.

Below is a summary table of Portuguese citizenship acquisitions recorded between 2008 and 2021 for countries having recorded at least 1,000 naturalizations during the given timespan. During this period, 321,614 people (3.09% of the current Portuguese population) obtained Portuguese citizenship according to the latest Eurostat data. These people are not counted among foreigners (see above table) as they are Portuguese citizens in all respects.[34]

Acquisition of Portuguese citizenship
Nationality Acquisitions of Citizenship

(2008-2021)[34]

 Brazil 83,309
 Cape Verde 52,884
 Ukraine 30,925
 Guinea-Bissau 25,948
 Angola 24,207
 Moldova 19,055
 São Tomé and Príncipe 14,350
 India 11,098
 Romania 6,662
 Russia 5,324
   Nepal 5,258
 Pakistan 4,866
 Bangladesh 4,423
 Guinea 3,588
 Mozambique 2,800
 Morocco 2,254
 Senegal 2,211
 Venezuela 2,152
 Israel 1,826
 China 1,752
 Bulgaria 1,088
 Georgia 1,047
Other countries (less than 1,000 acquisitions of Portuguese citizenship in 2008-2021) 14,587

Ethnic minorities and persons with disabilities
See also: Immigration to Portugal, Racism in Portugal, and Romani people in Portugal

Portugal does not collect ethnicity or racial data of its population.[35]

Anti-racism laws prohibit and penalize racial discrimination in housing, business, and health services.

Discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the provision of other state services is illegal. The law mandates access to public buildings and to newly built private buildings for such persons.

Religion

Religion in Portugal (Census 2021)[36]

  Roman Catholicism (80.20%)
  Protestantism (2.13%)
  Jehovah's Witnesses (0.72%)
  Eastern Orthodoxy (0.69%)
  Other Christian (1.04%)
  Islam (0.42%)
  Hinduism (0.22%)
  Buddhism (0.19%)
  Judaism (0.03%)
  Other religion (0.28%)
  No religion (14.09%)
Main articles: Religion in Portugal, Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church, and Our Lady of Fátima

The great majority of the Portuguese population belongs to the Roman Catholic Church. Religious observance remains strong in northern areas, with the population of Lisbon and southern areas generally less devout.

Religious minorities include a little over 400,000 Protestants and Mormons[37][38][39] (3.84% of the total population).

There are also about 100,000 Muslims[40] (1%) and 45,000 Hindus[41][42][43] (0.43%), most of whom came from Goa, a former Portuguese colony on the west coast of India (Some Muslims also came from former two Portuguese African colonies with important Muslim minorities: Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique).

There are also about 1,500 Jews,[44] 2,000 Baha'i[45] and 35,000 Sikh[41] (0.34%)

Portugal is also home to about 17,000 Buddhists,[46] mostly Chinese from Macau and a few Indians from Goa.

Portugal is still one of the most religious countries in Europe, most Portuguese believe with certainty in the Existence of God and religion plays an important role in the life of most Portuguese.[47][48] According to the Pew Research Center, 40% of Portuguese Catholics pray daily.[49]

Maps

Religion by municipality according with the 2021 Census.

Percentage of Catholics by municipality.
Percentage of Other Christians by municipality.
Percentage of Other religions (Non-Christians) by municipality.
Percentage of non religious by municipality.

Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.62%
male: 99.55%
female: 99.63% (2015)[50]

See also

Notes
  1. In fertility rates, 2.1 and above is a stable population and has been marked blue, 2 and below leads to an aging population and the result is that the population decreases.

References
  1. "A população residente em Portugal aumentou pelo terceiro ano consecutivo - 2021". ine.pt. INE. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  2. "Portugal Ethnic Groups | Study.com". Study.com. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  3. Max Roser (2014), "Total Fertility Rate around the world over the last centuries", Our World In Data, Gapminder Foundation
  4. Note: Crude migration change (per 1000) is a trend analysis, an extrapolation based average population change (current year minus previous) minus natural change of the current year (see table vital statistics). As average population is an estimate of the population in the middle of the year and not end of the year.
  5. B.R. Mitchell. European historical statistics, 1750–1975.
  6. "United Nations. Demographic Yearbook 1948" (PDF). Unstats.un.org. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  7. "Statistics Portugal". Ine.pt. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  8. "PORDATA – População residente: total e por sexo". Pordata.pt. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  9. "A população residente em Portugal aumentou pelo terceiro ano consecutivo - 2021". ine.pt. INE. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  10. "2011 WORLD POPULATION DATA SHEET" (PDF). Prb.org. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  11. "2012 – Negative birth rate decreases further – Portugal – Portuguese American Journal". Portuguese-american-journal.com. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  12. "World Factbook EUROPE : PORTUGAL", The World Factbook, 12 July 2018
  13. "Em 2022, registaram-se 83915 nados-vivos, mais 5,2% do que em 2021 - Janeiro de 2023". Instituto Nacional de Estatística. Statistics Portugal. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  14. Nuno Valério (coord.), Estatísticas Históricas Portuguesas, Vol. I, pp. 33, 37 e 51. INE, 2001. (PDF: 4,18 MB)
  15. INE, CENSOS 2021 Censos 2021 - Divulgação dos Resultados Preliminares - 2021, 28 July 2021.
  16. INE, Estimativas de População Residente, Portugal, NUTS II, NUTS III e Municípios – 2006, Informação à Comunicação Social, 3 August 2007.
  17. World Population Review: Portugal Population 2018, 14 June 2018
  18. "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  19. Fernando Nunes da Silva (2005), Alta Velocidade em Portugal, Desenvolvimento Regional, CENSUR, IST Archived 24 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  20. "Definitive Results of the 2021 Census". ine.pt. INE. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  21. UMA POPULAÇÃO QUE SE URBANIZA, Uma avaliação recente – Cidades, 2004 Archived 6 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine Nuno Pires Soares, Instituto Geográfico Português (Geographic Institute of Portugal)
  22. Union, Publications Office of the European (20 June 2013). "Europeans and their languages : special Eurobarometer. 386, June 2012". op.europa.eu. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  23. Portugal, Rádio e Televisão de. "Mais de 95% da etnia cigana em Portugal vive abaixo do limiar da pobreza". Mais de 95% da etnia cigana em Portugal vive abaixo do limiar da pobreza (in Portuguese). Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  24. Portuguesa, Observatório da Língua (31 July 2021). "A língua mirandesa é língua oficial em Portugal desde 1999". Observatório da Língua Portuguesa (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  25. "Língua Mirandesa". Casa de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro de Lisboa (in European Portuguese). 31 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  26. SAPO. "Têm menos de 20 anos e sentem-se mais livres por falar mirandês". SAPO 24 (in Portuguese). Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  27. Assim se fala o mirandês (in Portuguese), retrieved 11 May 2023
  28. Rodrigues, Elisabete (7 February 2020). "O Barranquenho quer ser a 3ª língua oficial de Portugal". Sul Informação (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  29. "A luta de Vera Ferreira para salvar o minderico". O MIRANTE | A luta de Vera Ferreira para salvar o minderico. (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  30. Vicente, Manuel Fernandes. "Minderico renasce com apoio da Volkswagen a línguas ameaçadas". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  31. "Língua Gestual Portuguesa (LGP)". Associação Portuguesa de Surdos (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  32. Rifa2021
  33. Imigração: Novos imigrantes legais em Portugal aumentaram 50% em 2006 – OCDE Archived 10 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine – RTP.pt
  34. "Eurostat".
  35. Shendruk, Amanda (8 July 2021). "Are you even trying to stop racism if you don't collect data on race?". Quartz. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  36. "Censos 2021. Católicos diminuem, mas ainda são mais de 80% dos portugueses". RTP. 23 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  37. Henriques, Joana Gorjão. "O crescimento discreto dos mórmones em Portugal". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  38. Lusa, Agência. "Aliança Evangélica comemora cem anos e diz haver 400 mil protestantes em Portugal". Observador (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  39. "2022 bate recorde de novas igrejas, em especial evangélicas e graças aos cidadãos brasileiros". www.dn.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  40. ""A comunidade muçulmana em Portugal dá-nos uma grande tranquilidade na prevenção do terrorismo"". www.dn.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  41. "Uma comunidade indiana em Portugal diversa e dialogante na fé". SIC Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  42. ""Os meus filhos são hindus, portugueses e até rezam a ave-maria"". www.dn.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  43. "Cerca de 50.000 nepaleses entraram em Portugal nos últimos anos". www.dn.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  44. "Por que judeus estão voltando a Portugal séculos após antepassados serem expulsos e massacrados". BBC News Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  45. "Portugal - Bahaipedia, an encyclopedia about the Bahá'í Faith". bahaipedia.org. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  46. "Budismo em Portugal | União Budista". uniaobudista.pt. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  47. Portugueses são mais cristãos e vão mais à igreja do que o resto da Europa ocidental
  48. Portugal é dos países onde mais pessoas garantem que Deus existe
  49. Five Centuries After Reformation, Catholic-Protestant Divide in Western Europe Has Faded Pew Research Center.
  50. "Portugal". Uis.unesco.org. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.