Summary
Accordingly to the demographic indicators for 2006, there have been 105 449 live births and 101 990 deaths of residents in Portugal, corresponding to a natural increase of 0.03%. The population grew by 0.28% mainly due to net international migration that increased by 0.25%.Although Portuguese population are still growing it is also ageing. Due to the declining fertility and the improving survival at older ages, the ageing index, which is the ratio of older people (aged 65 and over) to young people (aged under 15), rose from 110 in 2005 to 112 in 2006. The number of marriages solemnised in Portugal during 2006 (47 857) decreased and the number of divorces increased (23 935), translating into an increase of the number of divorces per number of marriages (46 divorces per 100 marriages in 2005 to 48 in 2006).