Portugal is among the European countries that provides least support to families.
A report by the Observatório de Famílias highlights one of the worst aspects of ongoing policies of austerity: the biting social crisis. Between 2009 and 2012, over half-a-million children and youngsters lost their right to state benefits.
Statistics also show categorically that Portuguese families are getting smaller and couples are having fewer children. These days, it is rare for a couple to have over two children.
An example of the change in society is the fact that in 2011, couples without children represented 24% of the population, while in 1960, they only accounted for 15%.
Also, the country shows signs of growing progressively older and numerous families (families with three children or more) are becoming scarcer. In fact, households with over five people represent only 2% of the current population.
