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The Population of Chaves |
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The population of the Concelho (an administrative area of 600 sq km which includes rural areas) was 43,668 in the last census taken in 2001. According to data from 1960 the population was 40,409, so the increase in over forty years has been negligible. What has happened is that the villages have lost population and the urban area of Chaves has gained. Only 5 of the 47 freguesias or villages have gained population. The urban area, which includes the freguesias (parishes) of Madalena and Santa Maria Maior, had, in the 1991 census, a population of about 13,000. In 2001 this had increased to 14,260. In 1940 it had 9,662, but as late as 1960 it had 13,775. Thus today the population is still a little above the level of 1960. If we wanted to be more realistic about classifying the population of urban Chaves we should probably expand our definition of the urban area and include several freguesias, which at one time were separated from the town but are now, for all intents and purposes, joined to it. Many people who work in Chaves now live in these villages, which are dotted with new homes. Using this expanded definition of the urban area we should include Outeiro Seco (3,435), Samaiões (1,353), Sanjurge (373), São Pedro de Agostém (1,513), Vilar de Nantes (2117), and Santo Estévão (632), giving urban Chaves a population of around 24,000. The rural area includes 50 freguesias, several of which are quite large villages: Vidago, Outeiro Seco, Vila Verde da Raia, and Faiões to name a few. Some of these villages have almost one thousand inhabitants and one, Vidago, (pop. 1186 in 2001) has all the appearance of a small town with a separate fire department, health clinic, modern bakeries, and fairly large grocery stores.. The
population is decreasing in the rural areas-- as in all of
Tras-os-Montes--as people migrate to the towns, usually those nearby or,
less and less nowadays as the economic situation of the country improves,
to France or Switzerland. It
is likewise increasing slightly in the urban area. It
is also an old population (15.7%),more so in the villages than in the
towns--and one that is poorly educated.
A handful of people have finished university, and in the villages
many of the old people are illiterate (14.7% of total population in the concelho;
22.6% of population over 25,compared with 17.57% over 25 in country as a
whole). Among the older
generation a fourth grade education or less is the norm (70% of total
population), while among twenty to thirty year olds a high school
diploma (7% of total population) is still the exception rather than the
rule. It is still a common
sight to see older village people sign at the bank or at the post office
with their thumbprint. The population of Chaves is, as would be expected of a rural community in the interior, primarily homogeneous in its ethnic makeup. A look at a list of names in any school would find that 99% are Portuguese surnames. In one school I saw 100% Portuguese surnames. Chaves has attracted few foreigners. According to immigration service statistics there are 163 legal residents in the concelho(2000). Many of these are Portuguese who have returned to the motherland, but have kept their foreign citizenship. This is especially the case with the 71 Americans and the 97 Brazilians. The Americans listed, with the exception of this writer, all have Portuguese surnames. The only authentic Americans in the town are the omnipresent Mormon missionaries, who walking in pairs, with their trench coats, white shirts, nametags, and squeaky-clean haircuts, seem to be extraterrestrials in this rural community. Not surprisingly there are few blacks. If
we follow the list of official residents, based on country of origin,
there are only 22 black aliens in a population of 43,000.
Of course there are some black and mulatto residents who are
Portuguese, either because they were born in Portugal or because they
came after the 1974 revolution. Most
of the blacks are poor, but since perhaps they are so few and tend to be
inconspicuous there is little racism. A recent phenomenon has been the influx of Eastern Europeans, especially from the Ukraine. It is not uncommon to see groups of them walking on the streets or drinking in the park on Sunday. So far these men have little influence on the local community since they keep to themselves and rarely speak Portuguese. Signs of the times are that my hairdresser and the man who washes my car at the gas station are both Ukranians. The Population of the District of Vila Real | Population Table Two
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