In 40 years Portugal has managed to go from the most fecund country in Europe to the one with the lowest birth rate.
This dire situation was outlined and discussed at a conference held by the National Council of Ethics for the Life Sciences (CNECV) entitled "Demographics, Birth and Public Policy" using statistical data from Pordata.
The Portuguese population increased by 1.7 million between 1960 and 2010 but "last year hit a record of low for births with 89,841” a number significantly lower than the 107,598 recorded in 2011 which itself was a poor year, according to demographics expert Maria João Valente Rosa.
Against this backdrop, the researcher concluded that “to be born in Portugal is to be born into an aged country” and that the country is "aging at an accelerated rate."
Back in 1970 the country was the most youthful in Europe but now it is home for one of the oldest populations in the world, certainly the oldest in Europe.
This sign of an aging population is seen in the average age of its population, which in 1960 was 28 years old, compared to 42 years old in 2011.
Fewer immigrants and a strong flow of working age people leaving the country, some 10,000 a month, are steering the republic towards the nightmare scenario faced by many developed nations – fewer taxpayers supporting an increasing number of pensioners.
