The resident population in the Azores increased in 2023, but the natural balance was negative, so the migration balance justifies the increase. This is the conclusion of the 2023 Democratic Statistics report by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
“In 2023, the resident population in Portugal grew as a result of a positive migration balance that exceeded the negative natural balance. The trend towards demographic ageing continued, as a result of a reduction in the young and working-age population and an increase in the number of elderly people,” the report reads.
The resident population of the Azores also increased. According to the INE report, in 2023, the region had 241,025 inhabitants, 900 more than in 2022.
The effective growth rate was 0.37%, which is still lower than the national average of 1.16%.
The region even recorded the lowest growth rate in the country. Except for the Alentejo (0.42%) and the North (0.92%), all regions showed increases of over 1%.
While there has been gradual demographic growth over the last three years at the national level (0.26% in 2021, 0.91% in 2022, and 1.16% in 2023), this is not the case in the Azores.

In 2021, the region saw a 0.49% increase in residents. The following year, it rose to 0.56%, but in 2023, it fell to 0.37%.
This growth is explained by the migratory balance (the difference between permanent arrivals and departures in the region), since the natural balance (the difference between births and deaths) has been negative.
In 2023, the natural balance was -327 inhabitants, while the migration balance was 1,227.
However, the migration balance was lower than in previous years (1,500 in 2021 and 1,973 in 2022).
According to the report, the region even had “the lowest migration growth rate” in the country in 2023.
The number of births in the Azores fell from 2,068 in 2022 to 2,042 in 2023. Almost all regions recorded increases, except for the Azores, Madeira, and the North, but the region’s crude birth rate (8.5 per thousand inhabitants) remained above the national average (8.1 per thousand inhabitants).
As for the number of deaths, it fell from 2,712 to 2,369. The region even had the lowest crude death rate in the country (9.8 per thousand inhabitants).
The Azores also continue to lag behind the country in average life expectancy at birth. Despite a slight increase from 78.04 to 78.19 years between the 2020-2022 triennium and the 2021-2023 triennium, the figure is still well below the national average of 81.17 years.

in Diário Insular-José Lourenço, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADE.