But fertility rate is by no means worst overall
Portugal has a fertility rate of 1.4, below the required 2.1 for the replacement of generations, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report released today.
Hong Kong (0.8), Singapore (1.0), San Marino (1.1), Macau (1.1), Aruba (1.2), Malta (1.2), China (1.2), Bosnia and Herzegovina (1.3), Puerto Rico (1.3), Cyprus (1.3), Japan (1.3), Italy (1.3) and Jamaica (1.3) are the countries and territories with fertility records even worse than Portugal.
The report shows that 23% of Portuguese are over 65 years old; 38% are between zero and 24 years old, while 64% are between the ages of 15 and 24.
UNFPA notes that average global life expectancy reached 72.8 years old in 2019 – an increase of almost nine years since 1990 – and is expected to reach 77.2 years by 2050.
In Portugal average life expectancy is 85 years for women and 80 years for men.
In an analysis on sexual health, contraceptive methods, gender and rights, the report indicates that in the last four years the prevalence rate of contraceptive use by Portuguese women between 15 and 49 years is 51% for all and 63% for those who are married or in a consensual union.
Regarding the number of births to teenage mothers, between 15 and 19 years of age, Portugal appears, between 2000 and 2021, with six cases in every thousand girls.
The report also shows that the country reaches 100% in the indicator referring to births carried out by qualified health professionals and registers 12 deaths per 100,000 births, a figure similar to that of the richest countries.
With regard to domestic violence, with data for 2018, the UNFPA points out that Portugal accounts for only 4%, below the global average of 13%.
UNFPA argued today that family planning and fertility should not be a tool of demography, refuting the idea that “too many people are born” defending measures for a change in mentality, as well as the strengthening of the power of women and the protection of their rights.
According to the report the world population will reach eight billion people by November 2022 and this year India will surpass China’s population for the first time.
LUSA
