Birth
The Portuguese archipelago has had a low fertility rate and declining birth rate since the 2000s, despite a slight increase in the number of births that has continued since 2016. a total of 1,747 babies were born in 2023, the majority of them outside marriage (62.7% vs. 59.5% in the rest of the country). As in other European countries, Madeirans are having children later and later, with the average age at first childbirth now 30. Women are also having fewer children (the average number of children per woman is lower than the national average), in line with the decline in the Portuguese population over recent decades.
Wedding
In terms of unions, the average age at first marriage varies between 31.3 years (for women) and 33.4 years (for men). In 2023, 1,137 marriages were celebrated in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, representing a slight decrease of 0.2% on the previous year (1,139 marriages). Of the total number of marriages over this period, 94.6% were between men and women, with the remaining 5.4% between same-sex couples. Finally, 76.4% of these unions were civil marriages, compared with 23.3% celebrated according to the Catholic rite. The average age at first marriage has risen to 33.5 for women and 35.4 for men (33.4 and 34.9 respectively in 2022).
Family
The notion of family remains very important here, perhaps more so than elsewhere. It has its drawbacks, and can be a straitjacket for some, but it links the generations. However, attitudes are changing. In 2011, the date of the last census, single-parent households accounted for 19.7% of all households in Madeira, 14.9% higher than the national figure. Blended families accounted for 6.2% of all couples with children. Statistics also show that the average number of people per family is falling (2.85 per family).
Schooling
It has risen significantly over the last 20 years. However, Madeira remains one of the country's least-educated regions, second only to the Azores archipelago, with an enrolment rate of 17.4%. The Autonomous Region of Madeira remains one of Portugal's least qualified regions (almost 40% of the population has a basic level of schooling), with a dropout rate also higher than the national average. In 2016, 23.2% of 18-24 year-olds had left school without completing secondary education. But let's take a look back at the progress made in recent years: in 1998, 24.8% of the population aged 15 and over had no schooling at all. By 2018, this number had fallen dramatically to 7.4%. Enrolment of young people in secondary and post-secondary education has also risen from 8.9% to 20.2%, and from 2.6% to 15.9% in higher education.
