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Reduction in infant mortality takes Portugal out of Europe’s tail

Reduction in infant mortality takes Portugal out of Europe’s tail

In 50 years of democracy, Portugal has gone from the last place in the European Union where the most children die to being one of the 10 countries with the lowest infant mortality rate, according to statistics released today.

“Portugal was the country in the European Union where most children died under the age of one, and in 2022 the country was in the top 10 countries with the lowest infant mortality rate,” says Pordata’s “50 years of democracy in numbers”.

According to the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation’s statistical database, in 1974, 38 children under the age of one died in Portugal for every 1,000 births, compared to an average of 21 in the European Union.

“In 2022, Portugal was in the ‘top’ 10 countries with the lowest infant mortality rate, at 2.6, while the European average was 3.3,” says the Pordata document, which illustrates the “profound changes that have taken place” in the country in various areas, such as health, demographics, modernization, education, transport, work and social protection, over the last half century.

The data released today also shows that, in 1970, only 38% of births took place in health facilities, but five years later, this figure was already 61% and, today, “practically all children are born” in Portuguese hospitals.

Between 1974 and 2022, the number of births in Portugal dropped significantly, from almost 172,000 to around 83,000.

The changes in the health system “are also associated with the modernization of services and the growth in the number of professionals”, Pordata also points out, adding that in the last five decades, the number of doctors has increased almost fivefold and the number of nurses almost fourfold.

In 1975, 11,000 professionals were registered with the Portuguese Medical Association and, in 2022, there were around 60,000. Nurses, on the other hand, numbered almost 19,000 and are now around 82,000, according to Pordata.

As for living conditions, the statistics show that, 50 years ago, 53% of homes in Portugal didn’t have running water, 42% didn’t have toilets, 40% didn’t have sewers and 36% didn’t have electricity, while today, at least 98% of homes already have these facilities.

“It should also be noted that the 1981 census recorded more than 46,000 non-classical family dwellings, such as shacks, where around 126,000 people lived. In the 2021 census, there were 4,000 non-classical family dwellings, where 11,000 people lived,” says Pordata.

In 50 years, the number of homes for habitual residence has also doubled and there are 15 times more homes for secondary residence, the portrait points out, warning that “in recent years, the increase in house prices has revived the debate on housing” in the country.

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