Foreigners residing in Portugal increase around 40%
Provisional data from the 2021 Census released this Thursday reveal an increase of 40.6 percent of people of foreign nationality residing in Portugal, which now represent 5.4% of the total population.
At the time of Census2021, 555,299 people of foreign nationality resided in Portugal, a figure higher than the 3.7% recorded in 2011, concludes the National Statistics Institute (INE), in the data released this Thursday.
Among foreigners residing in Portugal, 452,231 (81.4% of the total) are nationals of countries that are not part of the European Union.
According to INE, a foreign population reinforced the “relative importance” in the seven statistical units evaluated in the Census – North, Centre, Metropolitan Area of Lisbon, Alentejo, Algarve, Azores and Madeira -, revealing “greater representation” in the Algarve and in Lisbon Metropolitan Area, with 14.7% and 8.9% respectively.
In fact, “the vast majority” of municipalities with the highest presence of foreign population are located in the south of the country, namely in the Algarve region and in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area.
Odemira (28.6%), Aljezur (26.3%), Vila do Bispo (26.1%), Lagos (23.4%) and Albufeira (20.4%) are the municipalities where a foreign population is more representative , according to the data.
On the opposite side, there are 13 municipalities where the number of foreigners is less than 1% of the resident population, with Barrancos and Mesão Frio (both 0.5%) and Gavião (0.6%) registering the lowest values.
The Autonomous Region of the Azores is the territory with the fewest foreigners (1.5% of the resident population).
Portugal has 10 344 802 inhabitants, 2.1% less than 10 years ago
Portugal has 10 344 802 inhabitants and has lost 217 376 people in the last 10 years, a percentage of 2.1 percent that results from a negative natural balance of 250 066 people.
Divorced people increase, married people decrease
Provisional data from the 2021 Census released this Thursday reveal an increase in divorces and a decrease in marriages, with 43.4% of singles among the population residing in Portugal.
“In the last 10 years, the relative importance of the divorced population has increased”, concludes the National Institute of Statistics (INE), no item dedicated to “marital status” contained in the document released this Thursday.
The population with “married” marital status currently represents 41.1%, a reduction of 2.1 percentage points from 2011.
The “divorced” marital status category was reported by 8.0% of residents in Portugal, an increase of two percentage points compared to previous Censuses.
INE notes that the percentage of divorced persons is, “for the first time, higher than the value of the population with a widowed marital status”, which, according to provisional data, is 7.5%.
An analysis of marital status by sex reveals “some differences between men and women”, with men having a higher number among singles and women being more represented among widowers.
“The proportion of single men is 46.8%, compared to 40.2% of single women. The proportion of widowed women is 11.7%, while widowed men are only 3.0%”, he explains the INE.
Increase in schooling in the last decade, 21.3% have secondary education
The level of education in Portugal has increased in Portugal and 21.3% of the population now has secondary education, as well as the number of residents with higher education.
According to provisional results released this Thursday, in 2021 21.3% of residents in Portugal had secondary or post-secondary education, an increase compared to the 11.8% registered in 2011.
There was also a significant growth at the level of higher education, and the 2021 Censuses show that the percentage of population with previous higher education courses rose from 11.8% to 17.4%.
Population aged 65 and over increased by 20.6%
The number of people aged 65 and over has increased by 20.6% in the last 10 years and today represents 23.4% of the Portuguese population.
INE also points out that the imbalance in the volume of the population of both sexes has increased in the last decade, with a ratio of 90.7 men for every 100 women, 0.8 points less than in 2011.
One third of households have two people and one room has a
A third of households in Portugal have two people, while a quarter are people living alone, disclosed INE, which registers a general decrease in the size of households in the last decade.
In 2021, there are 4,149,668 private households and 5,476 institutional households.
Half of the population is concentrated in just 31 municipalities
About half of the population residing in Portugal is concentrated in just 31 municipalities, according to provisional data from Census 2021.
The imbalances in the distribution of the population across the territory have “emphasized”, notes the INE, noting that “the demographic evolution of the last decade at the level of the municipality allows us to verify that the territories entering the interior of the country lose population and that the municipalities that register population growth are located on the coast”.
Furthermore, according to the data, there is “a concentration” around Lisbon and in the Algarve region.
“In this way, the country’s patterns of littoralization and the movement of population concentration near the capital were accentuated, phenomena that have been reinforced in recent decades”, refers.
This is the second phase of the release of provisional results of the 2021 Census, anticipating the forecast data of 28 February 2022, after the release of preliminary results on 28 July.
Oleiros, Alcoutim and Almeida are the oldest municipalities and Ribeira Grande, Lagoa and Santa Cruz the youngest
Oleiros, Castelo Branco district, Alcoutim (Faro) and Almeida (Guarda), are the Portuguese municipalities with the oldest population, while Ribeira Grande and Lagoa, in the Azores, and Santa Cruz (Madeira) are the youngest.
Number of houses increases, but the “pace” is much lower “
Portugal registered “a slight growth” in buildings and occupation for housing, but at a “lower pace” than in previous decades, with 70% of those being occupied by the owner, although renting increased by 16% compared to 2011, according to INE.
According to the Provisional Results of the 2021 Census, “the number of residential buildings is 3,573,416 and the required de is 5,981,485, values that, compared to 2011, represent an increase of 0.8% and 1.7%, respectively”.
INE notes that “the growth of the housing stock between 2011 and 2021 is forgotten, less than that verified in the previous decade, when the values were situated in the order of 12% for buildings and 16% for damaged ones”.