Portuguese are increasingly opting for de facto unions. According to Census data, cited by Pordata, since 2001 this is a choice that has been 'gaining ground'.

But how many people actually live together without getting married? Twenty years ago, out of a total of 8,699,515 residents aged 15 or over, 381,120 were 'married without registration', that is, in a de facto union.

The value had a (great) rise in the following decade, with 729,832 living in these 'terms' of 8,989,849 residents in 2011. The trend was verified once again in the 2021 Census, where, from a resident population of 9,011,878 people, 1,008,604 were in a de facto relationship.

In short, "more than a million people live", according to the most recent data, "in de facto union", underlines Pordata. This is "an increase of 38% in 10 years".


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