One minute Portugal heads the unflattering group known as PIIGS, the next, we have regional groupings called NUTs. Even worse, the country is on the road to extinction, with a population declining exponentially and the prospect of a nation full of ancient wrinklies by 2060.
The latest scare stories came this week, first from a university lecturer who warned demographics were rapidly descending to those ‘enjoyed’ in the Middle Ages (and not much was enjoyed in the Middle Ages…) and then from the deadpan institute of statistics, who talked about a population decline that would extend across all the NUTS II regions…
Is there any good news? Well, yes there is: the glorious Algarve where the sun shines 300 days a year is actually the only place where the population is set to grow. Lisbon, too, is showing some good results: no growth but people will be holding on to their NUTs and maintaining population levels.
Elsewhere sadly it is all dire, with a rapidly ageing population that has been stripped of its pensions, if not its NUTs.
