PORTUGAL registers 182 elderly (aged 65 and up) for every 100 young person (aged up to 14) to become the fastest ageing country in the European Union (EU), said a study published by the Contemporary Portugal Database Pordata yesterday.

In the past three decades, the elderly population tripled in the country, Xinhua reported, based on data from the Portuguese National Statistics Institute (INE) and published by Publico newspaper.

In 1990, Portugal logged 66 elderly person for every 100 young people.

Portugal has recorded an annual ageing rate of 3.6%, higher than all EU countries, the study noted.

Jorge Malheiros, researcher at the Centre for Geographical Studies of the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning at the University of Lisbon, said the accelerated growth of the ageing rate in Portugal is the result of the departure of young people from the country and the entry of foreigners who are already retired.

“This should not be understood as something dramatic,” said the specialist in migration and demography. But he also warned that “societies need the energy of young people”.

“We have to learn to live with an older society,” said Malheiros. – Bernama, August 22, 2022.