Portugal's population declining as foreigners go home

Portugal is losing inhabitants at a rate not witnessed since 1992 in a sustained and worrying trend.

More and more people are leaving their home countries for a life abroad yet fewer and fewer are choosing Portugal as the destination in which to live and work.

Between 2010 and 2013 the number of inhabitants in Portugal dropped by a naet 146,000, according to data from Pordata on the Manuel dos Santos Foundation website dedicated to population statistics.

The main reason for the overall drop is a perfect storm created by a large number of people leaving the country, locals and immigrants,  who are not being replaced by more immigrants.

In 2013, a recorded 128,108 people emigrated from a resident population in Portugal of 10.4 million. Many of these were foreigners living in Portugal who decided to return to their countries of origin or another country.

These returnees have exacerbated the overall decline created by local Portuguese moving abroad, currently running at 3% per year.

Brazilians are the largest community in Portugal, followed by Cape Verde, Ukrainian and Romanian but with many giving up and going home, coupled with the decline in the birth rate during the recession, the situation looks bleak.

A decreasing workforce is swiftly being obliged to pay for an increasing number of pensioners while paying for a state that refuses to reduce its spending levels to an agreed Troika formula.

Comments  

+2 #5 PeeGee 2015-02-09 08:14

The authorities do not know the real numbers of Portuguese who have left , especially to other EU countries . And as can be seen at the Airport in Lisbon everyday , thousands get on planes or Angola , Brazil and other places .
The do not inform the authorities they have left , so who knows what the real Portuguese population is .
Probably Portugal has lost over 1 million of its citizens since the start of the crtisis , so consumption and GDP will fall even more .

-1 #4 Martin. 2014-12-23 18:15

Although of importance all year round; but particularly so at this time of festive cheer ... all locals reading this should be aware that ...

"both a puppy and a Briton are for life .... not just for Christmas "

+6 #3 rob gale 2014-12-23 11:43

Can anyone blame people leaving with the level of corruption from top to bottom in government businesses and the police and the council staff on bonuses for fining citizens maybe a real revolution ?  

+4 #2 chez 2014-12-23 10:48

Quoting Mr John:

are the governments that stupid and removed from reality,,

Short answer...YES!

-1 #1 Mr John 2014-12-23 02:45

What an excellent story, it should be front page news but many of us Portuguese already know the story,, this will create big problems in years to come, the population will be small yet older, who will take care of the aging population when the government runs out of money?

A good case study is Japan, similar story but much higher level of care and respect for older people in society. What contrast of cultures i see,, i spend summer in Portugal then go to Thailand when it's cold, in any city in any supermarket and after school there you will see hoards of children and young people milling around everywhere, it's great to see, i love seeing young people full of life, here in Portugal you only see old people everywhere so i wonder where is the next generation that will take over, are the governments that stupid and removed from reality,, it's a worrying fact we face.

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