The archipelago had 246,772 inhabitants in 2011 and lost 10,115 in the space of 10 years, equivalent to 4.1 percent, now having 236,657 residents. The region was the fourth in the country to lose the most population, after the Alentejo (6.9 percent), Madeira (6.2 percent) and Center (4.3 percent). The sharpest population decreases were recorded in the municipalities of Santa Cruz das Flores (11.7 percent), Northeast, on the island of São Miguel (11.4 percent), and Corvo (10.2 percent), the smallest island in the Azores.

The municipality of Madalena, on the island of Pico, was the exception, with a growth of 4.7 percent, from 6,049 residents to 6,332. Madalena was also the municipality of the country that recorded the largest increase in the number of housing for housing (13.5 percent). The Azores is the region of the country that recorded the largest increases in the number of buildings and housing for housing (2.8 percent). It was also in the archipelago that the average size of the highest aggregates (2.8 people) was found.

Despite the population reduction, the region recorded the second largest increase in the number of aggregates (4.5 percent), with 85,514 now. The average number of accommodations per building in the Azores is one of the lowest in the country (1.1), after the Alentejo. Between 2001 and 2011, the Azores had a resident population growth of 1.79 percent, although this increase occurred only in seven of the archipelago's 19 municipalities.