[Note: The number of the male population has been corrected to 120,996 people.]

In 2023

Resident population of the Autonomous Region of Madeira exceeded 256,000 persons, recording the largest increase in the last five years

On December 31^st, 2023, the resident population of the Autonomous Region of Madeira (ARM) was estimated at 256,622 persons (120,996 men and 135,626 women). The Region maintained, for the fifth consecutive year, the population growth trend, 2,552 more persons compared to 2022 (254,070 persons, 119,404 men and 134,666 women). Notably, this was the most significant increase observed in the last five years, with the total resident population reaching the highest level since 2015.

In 2023, the net migration (+3,592), which is the difference between those who came from outside to reside in the Region and those who left (no longer being residents here), played a decisive role in increasing the resident population of the Region, offsetting the unfavourable natural change (the difference between live births and deaths), which changed from -1,345 in 2022 to -1,040 in 2023.

The crude rate of increase (which combines the migratory effect with the natural effect) was positive at +10.0‰ (+5.4‰ in 2022). This rate was mainly driven by a positive migratory rate (14.1‰), which outweighed the negative crude rate of natural increase (-4.1‰).

The largest population increases in relative terms were observed in the municipalities of Porto Santo (37.0‰) and São Vicente (21.3‰). It is worth noting that all municipalities showed a positive effective growth rate.

The population density of the ARM in 2023 stood at 320,3 inhabitants per km². Funchal had the highest value (1,411.2 pop/km²) and Porto Moniz had the lowest (305 pop/km²).

In the reference year, the proportion of young persons (15 years old and under) decreased to 12.2% of the total population (12.5% in 2022), while the proportion of the population aged 65 and over rose to 20.9% (20.5% in 2022). This resulted in an ageing ratio of 171.5 elderly persons per 100 young persons (164.4 in 2022). The highest values of this indicator were observed in Porto Moniz (338.9) and Santana (301.9), while Santa Cruz (109.1) and Câmara de Lobos (113.3) had the lowest values, with the number of elderly persons exceeding the number of young persons in all municipalities.

The demographic ageing trend is reflected in the changing profile of population pyramids in the Region from 2013 to 2023. The base of the pyramid has narrowed, reflecting a decline in population size due to lower birth rates, while the top has widened, indicating an increase in the number of elderly persons due to higher life expectancy.

The total fertility rate, expressed as the average number of children per woman of childbearing age (15-49 years old), decreased to 1.22 children per woman (1.24 in 2022), significantly below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman.

In 2023, there were 1,747 live births, children of mothers residing in the Region, 11 fewer children than in 2022, corresponding to a crude birth rate of 6.8 live births per thousand persons (6.9‰, in 2022).

The number of deaths of residents in the Region in 2023 was 2,787, a decrease of 317 deaths (-10.2%) compared to 2022. The crude death rate reached 10.9 per thousand persons, lower than in 2022 (12.3 ‰).

The crude marriage rate remained at 4.5 marriages per 1,000 persons in 2023. The crude widowhood rate was lower than the one found in the previous year (4.4 widowers per thousand persons in 2023 and 4.0 in 2023).

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