Portugal - Population, total

The value for Population, total in Portugal was 10,297,080 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 10,573,100 in 2010 and a minimum value of 8,630,430 in 1972.

Definition: Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

Source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2019 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Popu

See also:

Year Value
1960 8,857,716
1961 8,929,316
1962 8,993,985
1963 9,030,355
1964 9,035,365
1965 8,998,595
1966 8,930,990
1967 8,874,520
1968 8,836,650
1969 8,757,705
1970 8,680,431
1971 8,643,756
1972 8,630,430
1973 8,633,100
1974 8,754,365
1975 9,093,470
1976 9,355,810
1977 9,455,675
1978 9,558,250
1979 9,661,265
1980 9,766,312
1981 9,851,362
1982 9,911,771
1983 9,957,865
1984 9,996,232
1985 10,023,610
1986 10,032,730
1987 10,030,030
1988 10,019,610
1989 10,005,000
1990 9,983,218
1991 9,960,235
1992 9,952,494
1993 9,964,675
1994 9,991,525
1995 10,026,180
1996 10,063,950
1997 10,108,980
1998 10,160,200
1999 10,217,830
2000 10,289,900
2001 10,362,720
2002 10,419,630
2003 10,458,820
2004 10,483,860
2005 10,503,330
2006 10,522,290
2007 10,542,960
2008 10,558,180
2009 10,568,250
2010 10,573,100
2011 10,557,560
2012 10,514,840
2013 10,457,300
2014 10,401,060
2015 10,358,080
2016 10,325,450
2017 10,300,300
2018 10,283,820
2019 10,286,260
2020 10,297,080

Development Relevance: Increases in human population, whether as a result of immigration or more births than deaths, can impact natural resources and social infrastructure. This can place pressure on a country's sustainability. A significant growth in population will negatively impact the availability of land for agricultural production, and will aggravate demand for food, energy, water, social services, and infrastructure. On the other hand, decreasing population size - a result of fewer births than deaths, and people moving out of a country - can impact a government's commitment to maintain services and infrastructure.

Limitations and Exceptions: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack (i) reliable recent census data, and (ii) pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data, are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in both the model and the data. In the UN estimates the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used; therefore interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. Because future trends cannot be known with certainty, population projections have a wide range of uncertainty.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Population estimates are usually based on national population censuses. Estimates for the years before and after the census are interpolations or extrapolations based on demographic models. Errors and undercounting occur even in high-income countries. In developing countries errors may be substantial because of limits in the transport, communications, and other resources required to conduct and analyze a full census. The quality and reliability of official demographic data are also affected by public trust in the government, government commitment to full and accurate enumeration, confidentiality and protection against misuse of census data, and census agencies' independence from political influence. Moreover, comparability of population indicators is limited by differences in the concepts, definitions, collection procedures, and estimation methods used by national statistical agencies and other organizations that collect the data. The currentness of a census and the availability of complementary data from surveys or registration systems are objective ways to judge demographic data quality. Some European countries' registration systems offer complete information on population in the absence of a census. The United Nations Statistics Division monitors the completeness of vital registration systems. Some developing countries have made progress over the last 60 years, but others still have deficiencies in civil registration systems. International migration is the only other factor besides birth and death rates that directly determines a country's population growth. Estimating migration is difficult. At any time many people are located outside their home country as tourists, workers, or refugees or for other reasons. Standards for the duration and purpose of international moves that qualify as migration vary, and estimates require information on flows into and out of countries that is difficult to collect. Population projections, starting from a base year are projected forward using assumptions of mortality, fertility, and migration by age and sex through 2050, based on the UN Population Division's World Population Prospects database medium variant.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Population