Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0296/02969.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 34KB | 560 lines

$Unique_ID{COW02969}
$Pretitle{381}
$Title{Portugal
Chapter 4A.   Population and Living Conditions}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Sallie M. Hicks}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{population
portugal
percent
districts
lisbon
proportion
per
north
number
areas}
$Date{1976}
$Log{Figure 13.*0296901.scf
Figure 14.*0296902.scf
Figure 15.*0296903.scf
Table 1.*0296901.tab
Table 2.*0296902.tab
}
Country:     Portugal
Book:        Portugal, A Country Study
Author:      Sallie M. Hicks
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1976

Chapter 4A.   Population and Living Conditions

     By the time of the official census in 1970 the resident population of
Portugal was 8,663,252, a decrease of 226,140 from the total population in
1960. Unusually heavy emigration during the decade accounted for the decline.
Districts have experienced uneven patterns of growth; the population in
certain district has increased as much as fivefold since the first official
census in 1864, whereas that of others has decreased or increased only
slightly. In general districts along the coast have shown the greatest
population growth since 1864.

     Between 1960 and 1970 district capitals and urban-industrial centers
along the coast were the only areas where population rose. The great influx
of migrants to the cities created acute housing shortages and forced many
workers into substandard housing or into peripheral areas where transportation
was poor. Within the cities barracas (shantytowns) sprang up. Sanitation was
poor both in these barracas and throughout the country.

     The proportion of women in the total population and in the working force
was growing as was the number of persons in the upper age-groups. The
emigration of young men seeking work in Western European industrial countries
was the major reason for this change in the population structure. In the 1960s
most of these young men were agricultural workers, and their departure caused
agricultural wages to rise. More men from the industrial and services sectors
had begun emigrating by the 1970s, and the departure of these skilled workers
was becoming a serious deterrent to internal development. Most emigrants were
from northern Portugal. Before 1960 Brazil had been the most favored
destination, but during the 1960s and 1970s the majority of emigrants-both
legal and illegal-went to European countries.

     Many young men left Portugal to seek higher wages, but many others,
particularly from the north, left because there was no alternative. Excessive
fragmentation of the land dictated that the eldest son inherit the property
to ensure its economic viability. Other sons were forced to seek their
fortunes elsewhere. This created a shortage of men that in turn affected
patterns of marriage and fertility. Many women were forced to remain single
or to spend long periods of time separated from their husbands.

     Birthrates and infant mortality rates in Portugal were among the highest
in Europe-testifying to the poor health conditions still prevalent in 1970.
Fatal diseases common among the young were enteritis, diarrhea, and pneumonia.
Whereas death rates were about average by European standards, life expectancy
was lower. Contagious diseases (among them tuberculosis, typhoid fever, and
diphtheria) still existed in Portugal despite vaccination and eradication
programs conducted by the government.

     Although the numbers of doctors and medical facilities had been
increasing since 1960, by European standards they were small, and there was
maldistribution of personnel and facilities. Over half of all doctors were
located in the cities of Lisbon and Porto. Folk medicine continued to play
an important role in the lives of rural Portuguese but did not preclude the
use of modern medical practices.

     By early 1976 rampant inflation had affected most consumer goods. Meat
had become very expensive, and there were shortages of butter and milk. Even
fish and eggs, staples of the Portuguese diet, had become scarce and had risen
in price. In many cases rising wages were not sufficient to keep pace with
inflation; in others, too sharp an increase in wages coupled with a general
decline in productivity resulted in large-scale layoffs and closure of some
factories. Unemployment was high-a situation aggravated by the return of about
800,000 Portuguese settlers from Africa.

     The welfare system was undergoing a transformation in 1976. Before the
revolution of April 1974 welfare benefits were unevenly distributed.
Traditionally almsgiving and stealing substituted for the lack of social
assistance programs in the rural areas.

POPULATION

     The first official census of the Portuguese population was taken in 1864.
Further censuses were taken at irregular intervals until 1920, when the
National Institute of Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estatistica)
regularized the collection of data and began conducting a census of the
population every ten years. In addition to the official census the institute
compiles volumes of annual and monthly statistics summarizing demographic,
social, and economic data. Many of the figures presented are abstracted and
estimated from more specialized volumes of statistics on emigration, housing,
and the like. Until the census of 1970 two separate sections of statistics
were compiled. The first covered metropolitan Portugal, including Madeira and
the Azores, and the second dealt with Portugal's overseas territories.

Population Structure

     The estimated population in 1976 was 8,944,000, an increase of more than
280,000 since the official census of 1970. The increase was attributed to the
large number of settlers who had returned to the homeland from Africa during
the period. The overall population was more than double that of 1864, the
year of the first census. Since that date more than 90 percent of the total
has resided in continental Portugal.

     Until 1960 the population increased, although the rate of growth was not
always steady (see table 1). The period between 1960 and 1970 is particularly
significant in that Portugal witnessed a drop in population. Apparently the
decrease was unanticipated. Annual estimates had indicated an increase to
over 9 million by 1969. Unusually heavy emigration, however, drew off a large
portion of the population. More than 46 percent of all emigrants since 1864,
or 1,033,030 people, left Portugal during the period from 1960 through 1970.
The restricted job market in Portugal and the desire of many young men to
avoid compulsory military service in the colonial wars had a bearing on
the heavy emigration of the 1960s, but the booming economies of many Western
European countries and the liberalization of United States and Canadian
immigration requirements also accounted, in part, for the dramatic increase
in the number of emigrants.

     A more detailed look at population data over time and by district
reveals that population trends were by no means uniform throughout Portugal.
Two districts decreased in absolute numbers from 1864 to 1970: Guarda, a
district in the northern interior (the Beira Alta region), decreased sligthly,
and Horta, a district in the Azores, lost approximately one-third of its
population. The populations of only seven of the remaining twenty districts
increased by two times or more. Of those on the continent, all lay on the
coast except for Santarem, which had an outlet to the sea through the Tejo
estuary. All were also part of what could be termed Portugal's industrial
belt. The populations of Aveiro, Leiria, and Santarem more than doubled; that
of Porto tripled; Lisbon's population increased by approximately
four-and-one-half times; and Setubal had a population in 1970 more than five
times greater than its 1864 total. Of the island districts Funchal (in
Madeira) increased by nearly two-and-one-third times. The mainland districts
in the far north and the northern interior witnessed the least overall
population increase. Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Braganca, and Viseu gr