According to data provided by the National Statistics Institute (INE), on 31 December 2024, the resident population in Madeira was 259,440 people, of which 123,222 were men and 136,218 were women.

According to information from DREM, this region “maintained, for the sixth consecutive year, the population growth trend, with 2,818 more people compared to 2023 (256,622 people, 120,996 men and 135,626 women)”, pointing out that this “population total is the highest since 2014”.

The analysis highlights that the net migration recorded in 2024 (+3,599), “corresponding to the difference between individuals who came from outside to live in the Region and those who left, ceasing to be residents, was decisive for the increase in the resident population this year, being the highest since it was recorded by the INE (1981)”.

DREM considers that “this balance offsets the unfavourable evolution of the natural balance (difference between live births and deaths), which, although negative, improved compared to 2023, going from -1,040 to -781”.

It also highlights that the largest population increases in relative terms were recorded in the municipalities of São Vicente, Porto Santo and Porto Moniz, with all municipalities showing a positive effective growth rate.

The note states that, in 2024, the population density of the region was 323.9 inhabitants per square kilometre, with Funchal being the municipality with the highest value (1,418.6 inhabitants/KM2), in contrast to Porto Moniz, which had the lowest (31.3 inhabitants/Km2).

The proportion of young people (population under 15 years old) decreased again in 2024, representing 11.9% of the total population (12.2% in 2023), while the aging index, which relates the number of elderly people per 100 young people, increased again, reaching 178.7 people.

“The lowest values ​​were observed in Santa Cruz (116.1) and Câmara de Lobos (117.4), and in all municipalities the number of elderly people exceeds the number of young people”.

As for the median age of the population living in the region, which corresponds to the age that divides the population into two groups of equal size, it went from 46.9 years (2023) to 47.2 years (2024).

The average number of children per woman of childbearing age (15-49 years), as measured by the synthetic fertility rate, increased to 1.25 children per woman (1.22 in 2023), “remaining considerably below the value needed to ensure generational replacement (2.1 children per woman of childbearing age)”, the document states.

Last year, there were 1,793 live births to mothers residing in the Region, 46 more children (+2.6%) compared to 2023, corresponding to a gross birth rate of 6.9 live births per thousand inhabitants.

In terms of marriages, the number reached its highest level in the last 17 years (1,225 marriages), corresponding to a gross marriage rate of 4.7 marriages per thousand inhabitants in 2024.

The number of marriages dissolved due to the death of one of the spouses reached its lowest level since records began (in 1981), with 932 marriages dissolved due to death.

“As a result, the gross widowhood rate reached a historic low of 3.6 widowers per thousand inhabitants in 2024, decreasing compared to 2023 (4 widowers per thousand inhabitants),” the analysis adds.