Figures released today by INE indicate an increase of 2,343 people (0.02 percent) in the resident population in 2020, which totaled 10,298,252 people, 5,439,503 women and 4,858,749 men.

The difference between deaths and births increased last year, with a negative natural balance of 38,931. The migratory balance of 41,274 people, positive for the fourth consecutive year, explains the "slight population increase", according to INE.

The number of children per woman of childbearing age dropped two-tenths in 2020 to 1.40, a reflection of the "reduction in birth rates" that year, adds the Portuguese statistical body.

The average age of women at the birth of a child was 31.6 years, 1.8 years more than in 2010, while the average age at first child increased from 2.1 years to 30.2 compared to 2010.

In 2020, the population aged even more, with a proportion of 167 elderly people (aged 65 and over) for every 100 young people (aged 0 to 14).

INE also states that the median age (which divides the population into two groups of the same size) increased from 45.5 to 45.8 years.

In 2019, Portugal already had the highest median third age in the European Union, whose average for that indicator is 43.9 years.

With regard to international migrations, "some dynamics" remained in the last year despite restrictions imposed by the covid-19 pandemic.