Ageing alone? The future of the Portuguese Population in discussion?

Abstract

Population projections significance is recognized all around the world, being used by different governments with the intention to suppress the necessity of having more information about the diverse demographic issues, and Portugal is not an exception. Additionally, the fact that Southern Europe is in economic crisis and that Portugal was the second country from the south, after Greece, in economic collapse, resulted in a strong impact not only in the family context, but also its sustainability itself. Trying to answer questions like: Will be the country economically sustainable in the future? Is Portugal going to decline total population?, or, How these changes will influence the households structures in the future?, we intend to elaborate a cohort component projection, for a medium term period (next 20 years), that will allow us to identify the Portuguese population structure in the future and, at the same time, evaluate the possible changes that the country will have to face.