LISBON, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The number of habitants in Portugal dropped in 2016 by 31,757 people, reflecting a worrying population decrease, the Portuguese National Statistics Institute (INE) revealed on Friday.
According to the statistics, there were 10,309,573 people in Portugal on December 31 last year, 31,757 fewer than the year before, translating to a negative growth rate of 0.31 percent.
The Portuguese population has decreased by 264,000 people in the last seven years, according to the INE.
Portugal is one of the most affected countries by the EU demographic problem as fertility rates continue to drop and the aging population threatens economic growth.
Tens of thousands of people have emigrated in recent years in search of jobs since the outbreak of an economic crisis, which forced the country to ask for a 78 billion euro (87.3 billion U.S. dollars) bailout in 2011.
