Portugal vs Switzerland Demographics: Median age, Gender, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
Portugal vs Switzerland

Table

Year	Median age
	Portugal	Switzerland
1960	27.9	32.6
1961	28.1	32.4
1962	28.3	32
1963	28.5	31.7
1964	28.7	31.5
1965	28.8	31.6
1966	29	31.6
1967	29.1	31.6
1968	29.2	31.7
1969	29.4	31.7
1970	29.6	32
1971	29.7	32.2
1972	29.6	32.3
1973	29.6	32.5
1974	29.7	32.7
1975	29.7	33.1
1976	29.8	33.5
1977	29.9	33.8
1978	30	34.2
1979	30.3	34.5
1980	30.6	34.8
1981	30.8	35
1982	31.1	35.3
1983	31.4	35.6
1984	31.7	35.9
1985	32.1	36.1
1986	32.5	36.3
1987	32.9	36.5
1988	33.3	36.7
1989	33.7	36.8
1990	34.2	36.9
1991	34.6	36.9
1992	35	36.9
1993	35.4	37
1994	35.7	37.1
1995	36.1	37.3
1996	36.4	37.6
1997	36.8	37.9
1998	37.1	38.2
1999	37.4	38.4
2000	37.7	38.7
2001	38	39
2002	38.3	39.3
2003	38.6	39.6
2004	39	39.9
2005	39.4	40.3
2006	39.8	40.6
2007	40.2	40.9
2008	40.6	41.1
2009	41	41.3
2010	41.5	41.5
2011	41.9	41.6
2012	42.4	41.8
2013	42.9	42
2014	43.4	42.1
2015	43.8	42.2
2016	44.3	42.3
2017	44.7	42.4
2018	45.2	42.5
2019	45.6	42.6
2020	46.1	42.7
2021	46.5	42.8
2022	46.8	43
2023	47.2	43.4
2024	47.5	43.7
2025	47.9	43.9
2026	48.2	44.2
2027	48.5	44.5
2028	48.8	44.8
2029	49.1	45.1
2030	49.3	45.4
2031	49.5	45.7
2032	49.7	46
2033	49.9	46.3
2034	50	46.6
2035	50.1	46.9
2036	50.2	47.1
2037	50.2	47.4
2038	50.2	47.7
2039	50.1	48
2040	50.1	48.2
2041	50.1	48.4
2042	50	48.6
2043	49.9	48.7
2044	49.8	48.8
2045	49.7	48.9
2046	49.6	48.9
2047	49.5	48.9
2048	49.4	48.9
2049	49.4	48.8
2050	49.3	48.8

In 1960, the median age in Portugal was 27.9 years compared to 32.6 years in Switzerland. As of 2024, the median age had increased to 47.5 years in Portugal and to 43.7 years in Switzerland.

According to United Nations projections, the median age in Portugal is expected to increased to around 49.3 years by 2050 compared to 48.8 years in Switzerland. The aging demographics forecast is based on previous years' birth rates and increasing life expectancy.

Demographic pyramid: age and gender distribution

Table

Age range	Share of population
	Portugal		Switzerland
	Male	Female	Male	Female
0-4	2.1%	1.99%	2.48%	2.35%
5-9	2.16%	2.06%	2.61%	2.48%
10-14	2.3%	2.2%	2.58%	2.45%
15-19	2.54%	2.43%	2.52%	2.38%
20-24	2.75%	2.63%	2.62%	2.45%
25-29	2.71%	2.6%	3%	2.84%
30-34	2.7%	2.67%	3.48%	3.37%
35-39	2.78%	2.86%	3.62%	3.55%
40-44	3.24%	3.45%	3.59%	3.52%
45-49	3.69%	3.99%	3.39%	3.36%
50-54	3.57%	3.92%	3.52%	3.49%
55-59	3.37%	3.79%	3.77%	3.73%
60-64	3.24%	3.75%	3.42%	3.42%
65-69	2.99%	3.52%	2.69%	2.79%
70-74	2.69%	3.23%	2.16%	2.41%
75-79	2.18%	2.82%	1.89%	2.21%
80+	2.65%	4.46%	2.34%	3.52%

The chart above is a variation of a population pyramid and represents a comparison of age and gender structure. Portugal has low demographic potential with 33.8% of people in the 0-34 age group compared to 37.6% and similar potential in Switzerland.

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	Portugal			Switzerland
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	59.2%	46.6%	12.5%	52.1%	36.6%	15.6%
1961	59%	46.3%	12.7%	52.2%	36.5%	15.6%
1962	59.2%	46.3%	12.9%	52.4%	36.7%	15.7%
1963	59.4%	46.3%	13.1%	52.4%	36.7%	15.7%
1964	59.6%	46.4%	13.2%	52.6%	36.8%	15.8%
1965	60.3%	46.7%	13.6%	53%	36.9%	16.1%
1966	61%	47%	14%	53.5%	37.1%	16.4%
1967	61.5%	47.2%	14.3%	53.7%	37%	16.7%
1968	61.9%	47.3%	14.7%	53.8%	36.9%	16.9%
1969	62.2%	47.2%	15%	53.8%	36.6%	17.1%
1970	62%	46.5%	15.4%	54.1%	36.6%	17.5%
1971	61.6%	45.9%	15.8%	54.6%	36.7%	17.9%
1972	61.4%	45.5%	15.9%	54.6%	36.3%	18.2%
1973	61.1%	45%	16.1%	54.3%	35.8%	18.5%
1974	60.7%	44.4%	16.3%	54.1%	35.2%	18.9%
1975	60.6%	44.1%	16.6%	53.9%	34.5%	19.3%
1976	60.7%	43.8%	16.9%	53.5%	33.7%	19.8%
1977	60.6%	43.4%	17.1%	53.1%	32.8%	20.3%
1978	60.3%	42.9%	17.4%	52.4%	31.8%	20.6%
1979	59.7%	42.1%	17.6%	51.6%	30.8%	20.8%
1980	59.1%	41.2%	17.9%	50.6%	29.7%	20.9%
1981	58.3%	40.2%	18.1%	49.5%	28.8%	20.8%
1982	57.6%	39.3%	18.3%	48.5%	27.9%	20.6%
1983	56.8%	38.5%	18.3%	47.6%	27.1%	20.5%
1984	56%	37.6%	18.4%	46.9%	26.4%	20.5%
1985	55.3%	36.7%	18.6%	46.4%	25.8%	20.6%
1986	54.7%	35.8%	18.9%	46.2%	25.4%	20.8%
1987	54%	34.7%	19.3%	46.1%	25.1%	21%
1988	53.2%	33.5%	19.6%	46.1%	24.9%	21.1%
1989	52.4%	32.4%	20%	46.2%	24.9%	21.3%
1990	51.5%	31%	20.5%	46.4%	25%	21.3%
1991	50.5%	29.7%	20.8%	46.6%	25.2%	21.4%
1992	49.8%	28.6%	21.2%	46.9%	25.5%	21.4%
1993	49.3%	27.8%	21.6%	47.3%	25.8%	21.5%
1994	49%	27.1%	21.9%	47.6%	26%	21.6%
1995	48.6%	26.4%	22.2%	47.9%	26.1%	21.8%
1996	48.4%	25.8%	22.6%	48.2%	26.2%	22%
1997	48.3%	25.3%	22.9%	48.4%	26.2%	22.2%
1998	48.2%	24.9%	23.3%	48.5%	26.1%	22.4%
1999	48.2%	24.6%	23.6%	48.6%	26%	22.6%
2000	48.2%	24.3%	23.9%	48.6%	25.8%	22.8%
2001	48.4%	24.1%	24.3%	48.3%	25.4%	22.9%
2002	48.7%	24%	24.7%	47.8%	24.8%	23%
2003	49%	24%	25%	47.5%	24.5%	23%
2004	49.4%	23.9%	25.5%	47.3%	24.1%	23.1%
2005	49.7%	23.8%	25.8%	47%	23.7%	23.3%
2006	49.8%	23.7%	26.2%	46.9%	23.3%	23.6%
2007	50%	23.5%	26.5%	46.8%	22.9%	23.8%
2008	50.1%	23.3%	26.9%	46.7%	22.6%	24.1%
2009	50.5%	23.1%	27.3%	46.8%	22.4%	24.4%
2010	50.8%	22.9%	27.9%	47%	22.3%	24.7%
2011	51.3%	22.8%	28.5%	47.3%	22.2%	25.1%
2012	51.8%	22.7%	29.2%	47.7%	22.1%	25.5%
2013	52.5%	22.5%	29.9%	48%	22.1%	25.9%
2014	53.1%	22.3%	30.8%	48.4%	22.1%	26.3%
2015	53.5%	22%	31.6%	48.7%	22.1%	26.6%
2016	54.1%	21.7%	32.4%	49.1%	22.2%	26.9%
2017	54.8%	21.5%	33.3%	49.5%	22.3%	27.2%
2018	55.4%	21.3%	34.1%	50.1%	22.5%	27.6%
2019	56.1%	21.1%	34.9%	50.6%	22.6%	28%
2020	56.7%	20.9%	35.8%	51.1%	22.7%	28.3%
2021	57.3%	20.7%	36.6%	51.5%	22.8%	28.7%
2022	58%	20.5%	37.4%	52.2%	22.9%	29.2%
2023	58.7%	20.5%	38.3%	53%	23%	30%
2024	59.6%	20.4%	39.1%	53.8%	23%	30.8%

Age dependency is the ratio of people not in the labor force (children under 15 and adults 64+) to people aged 15 to 64.

Age dependency in Portugal increased from 49.4% to 59.6% between 2004 and 2024.

In Switzerland, the ratio of dependent people increased from 47.3% to 53.8% between 2004 and 2024 with a decreased share of young people and an increased proportion of people aged 65+.

Working age demographic

Table

Year	Working age population share
	Portugal	Switzerland
1960	62.8%	65.7%
1961	62.9%	65.7%
1962	62.8%	65.6%
1963	62.7%	65.6%
1964	62.7%	65.5%
1965	62.4%	65.4%
1966	62.1%	65.2%
1967	61.9%	65%
1968	61.8%	65%
1969	61.7%	65%
1970	61.7%	64.9%
1971	61.9%	64.7%
1972	61.9%	64.7%
1973	62.1%	64.8%
1974	62.2%	64.9%
1975	62.3%	65%
1976	62.2%	65.1%
1977	62.3%	65.3%
1978	62.4%	65.6%
1979	62.6%	66%
1980	62.9%	66.4%
1981	63.2%	66.9%
1982	63.5%	67.3%
1983	63.8%	67.7%
1984	64.1%	68.1%
1985	64.4%	68.3%
1986	64.6%	68.4%
1987	64.9%	68.5%
1988	65.3%	68.5%
1989	65.6%	68.4%
1990	66%	68.3%
1991	66.4%	68.2%
1992	66.8%	68.1%
1993	67%	67.9%
1994	67.1%	67.7%
1995	67.3%	67.6%
1996	67.4%	67.5%
1997	67.5%	67.4%
1998	67.5%	67.3%
1999	67.5%	67.3%
2000	67.5%	67.3%
2001	67.4%	67.4%
2002	67.2%	67.7%
2003	67.1%	67.8%
2004	66.9%	67.9%
2005	66.8%	68%
2006	66.7%	68.1%
2007	66.7%	68.1%
2008	66.6%	68.2%
2009	66.5%	68.1%
2010	66.3%	68%
2011	66.1%	67.9%
2012	65.9%	67.7%
2013	65.6%	67.6%
2014	65.3%	67.4%
2015	65.1%	67.3%
2016	64.9%	67.1%
2017	64.6%	66.9%
2018	64.4%	66.6%
2019	64.1%	66.4%
2020	63.8%	66.2%
2021	63.6%	66%
2022	63.3%	65.7%
2023	63%	65.4%
2024	62.7%	65%
2025	62.3%	64.7%
2026	62%	64.3%
2027	61.6%	63.9%
2028	61.2%	63.5%
2029	60.7%	63%
2030	60.3%	62.6%
2031	59.9%	62.2%
2032	59.5%	61.8%
2033	59.1%	61.4%
2034	58.7%	61.1%
2035	58.4%	60.8%
2036	57.9%	60.5%
2037	57.4%	60.2%
2038	57%	60%
2039	56.6%	59.8%
2040	56.1%	59.6%
2041	55.6%	59.4%
2042	55.2%	59.2%
2043	54.8%	58.9%
2044	54.5%	58.6%
2045	54.2%	58.3%
2046	53.9%	58%
2047	53.7%	57.6%
2048	53.6%	57.3%
2049	53.5%	57%
2050	53.5%	56.7%

Between 2004 and 2024, the share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 changed from 66.9% to 62.7% in Portugal and from 67.9% to 65% in Switzerland.

Share of young demographic (0-14 years old)

Table

Year	Share of people 0-14 years old
	Portugal	Switzerland
1960	29.3%	24%
1961	29.1%	24%
1962	29.1%	24.1%
1963	29.1%	24.1%
1964	29.1%	24.1%
1965	29.1%	24.1%
1966	29.2%	24.2%
1967	29.2%	24.1%
1968	29.2%	24%
1969	29.1%	23.8%
1970	28.7%	23.8%
1971	28.4%	23.7%
1972	28.2%	23.5%
1973	27.9%	23.2%
1974	27.7%	22.8%
1975	27.4%	22.4%
1976	27.2%	22%
1977	27.1%	21.4%
1978	26.8%	20.9%
1979	26.4%	20.3%
1980	25.9%	19.7%
1981	25.4%	19.2%
1982	25%	18.8%
1983	24.5%	18.3%
1984	24.1%	18%
1985	23.7%	17.6%
1986	23.1%	17.4%
1987	22.5%	17.2%
1988	21.9%	17.1%
1989	21.2%	17%
1990	20.5%	17.1%
1991	19.7%	17.2%
1992	19.1%	17.3%
1993	18.6%	17.5%
1994	18.2%	17.6%
1995	17.8%	17.6%
1996	17.4%	17.7%
1997	17.1%	17.6%
1998	16.8%	17.6%
1999	16.6%	17.5%
2000	16.4%	17.4%
2001	16.2%	17.1%
2002	16.1%	16.8%
2003	16.1%	16.6%
2004	16%	16.4%
2005	15.9%	16.1%
2006	15.8%	15.9%
2007	15.6%	15.6%
2008	15.5%	15.4%
2009	15.4%	15.3%
2010	15.2%	15.2%
2011	15%	15.1%
2012	14.9%	15%
2013	14.8%	14.9%
2014	14.6%	14.9%
2015	14.3%	14.9%
2016	14.1%	14.9%
2017	13.9%	14.9%
2018	13.7%	15%
2019	13.5%	15%
2020	13.3%	15.1%
2021	13.1%	15.1%
2022	13%	15.1%
2023	12.9%	15%
2024	12.8%	15%
2025	12.7%	14.9%
2026	12.6%	14.8%
2027	12.6%	14.7%
2028	12.6%	14.6%
2029	12.6%	14.5%
2030	12.7%	14.3%
2031	12.7%	14.1%
2032	12.7%	14%
2033	12.7%	13.8%
2034	12.7%	13.6%
2035	12.8%	13.5%
2036	12.9%	13.3%
2037	12.9%	13.2%
2038	13%	13.1%
2039	13%	13%
2040	13.1%	12.9%
2041	13.1%	12.8%
2042	13.2%	12.8%
2043	13.2%	12.7%
2044	13.3%	12.8%
2045	13.3%	12.8%
2046	13.4%	12.8%
2047	13.4%	12.9%
2048	13.4%	12.9%
2049	13.5%	13%
2050	13.5%	13.1%

The share of young people aged below 15 is 12.8% in Portugal and 15% in Switzerland. Birth rates in Portugal compared to Switzerland .

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	Portugal	Switzerland
1960	7.88%	10.2%
1961	8%	10.3%
1962	8.12%	10.3%
1963	8.23%	10.3%
1964	8.29%	10.4%
1965	8.48%	10.5%
1966	8.71%	10.7%
1967	8.86%	10.9%
1968	9.06%	11%
1969	9.25%	11.2%
1970	9.52%	11.4%
1971	9.75%	11.6%
1972	9.87%	11.8%
1973	10%	12%
1974	10.1%	12.3%
1975	10.3%	12.6%
1976	10.5%	12.9%
1977	10.7%	13.2%
1978	10.9%	13.5%
1979	11%	13.7%
1980	11.3%	13.9%
1981	11.4%	13.9%
1982	11.6%	13.9%
1983	11.7%	13.9%
1984	11.8%	14%
1985	12%	14.1%
1986	12.2%	14.2%
1987	12.5%	14.4%
1988	12.8%	14.5%
1989	13.2%	14.5%
1990	13.5%	14.6%
1991	13.8%	14.6%
1992	14.2%	14.6%
1993	14.4%	14.6%
1994	14.7%	14.7%
1995	15%	14.7%
1996	15.2%	14.8%
1997	15.5%	15%
1998	15.7%	15.1%
1999	15.9%	15.2%
2000	16.1%	15.3%
2001	16.4%	15.5%
2002	16.6%	15.5%
2003	16.8%	15.6%
2004	17%	15.7%
2005	17.3%	15.9%
2006	17.5%	16%
2007	17.7%	16.2%
2008	17.9%	16.4%
2009	18.2%	16.6%
2010	18.5%	16.8%
2011	18.9%	17.1%
2012	19.2%	17.3%
2013	19.6%	17.5%
2014	20.1%	17.7%
2015	20.6%	17.9%
2016	21%	18%
2017	21.5%	18.2%
2018	21.9%	18.4%
2019	22.4%	18.6%
2020	22.9%	18.8%
2021	23.3%	18.9%
2022	23.7%	19.2%
2023	24.1%	19.6%
2024	24.5%	20%
2025	24.9%	20.4%
2026	25.4%	20.9%
2027	25.8%	21.4%
2028	26.2%	21.9%
2029	26.6%	22.5%
2030	27%	23.1%
2031	27.4%	23.7%
2032	27.8%	24.2%
2033	28.2%	24.8%
2034	28.5%	25.3%
2035	28.9%	25.7%
2036	29.2%	26.2%
2037	29.6%	26.6%
2038	30%	26.9%
2039	30.4%	27.2%
2040	30.8%	27.5%
2041	31.3%	27.8%
2042	31.7%	28.1%
2043	32%	28.4%
2044	32.3%	28.6%
2045	32.5%	28.9%
2046	32.7%	29.2%
2047	32.9%	29.5%
2048	33%	29.7%
2049	33%	30%
2050	33%	30.2%

The share of older people aged 65 and over is 24.5% in Portugal and 20% in Switzerland. Life expectancy in Portugal compared to Switzerland .