Portugal, as the other countries of Southern Europe, witnessed a substantial progress of population ageing. Due
to the low fertility and the increasing of the longevity, older persons outnumbered young persons. As a result of
differences in population growth, the regions exhibited strong asymmetries in the levels of ageing.
This paper is merely a descriptive analysis of the current situation of demographic ageing and its past and future trends.

keywords: population ageing, age structure, regional asymmetries.