Demographic dynamics and the ageing of the Portuguese population
Portuguese society today is one of the oldest in the world. This study, the result of a partnership between the University of Lisbon's Institute for Ageing and Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos, aimed to describe and analyse the changes in the age structures of the Portuguese population between 1950 and 2011, interpret the demographic causes of the changes in these structures and in the Portuguese population and formulate perspectives and calculate projections for how they are likely to change in the future. To this end, it looked at multiple issues, such as:
- The concept of demographic ageing
- Ageing and the changes in the demographic structures of the Portuguese population
- The impact of emigration and immigration on the demographic dynamics of the Portuguese population
- The changes in the birth rate and in fertility patterns in Portugal
- The changes in marriage and divorce in Portugal
- The changes in mortality in Portugal
- Regional asymmetries in the different demographic indicators in Portugal
- Comparing the demographic dynamics of the Portuguese population with those of its European partners
To carry out this research project, the team led by Mário Leston Bandeira reorganised the demographic information and data available in the Portuguese Population Censuses and Demographic Statistics from 1950 to 2011. It was therefore necessary to reconcile the changes in territorial organisation and the organisation of demographic data in order to create uninterrupted series according to age and sex and by Nuts II and Nuts III. In this way, a new database was built.
Once this continuous re-reading of the characteristics and dynamics of the Portuguese population has been presented, this study concludes with a reflection on possible future scenarios for the Portuguese people and their impact on the country's social reality. FFMS has thus once again sought to contribute to more informed debate on one of the most important issues for the future of Portuguese society.
