During the nineties, sociological studies about children knew a notorious boom in all Europe, and this change is also perceptible in Portugal. Their access to statistical visibility as an age group is a necessary condition to reinforce and encourage innovative theoretical and methodological approaches of childhood.
This article is an exploratory essay of Censos 2001 data, where children (and not adults) are the centre of gravity of the analysis. First, a socio-geographical profile of resident children (0-14 years) in Portugal is outlined: their evolution (1981-2001), territorial distribution, age structure and sex, nationality is considered.
Then, a portrait of the children’s families is presented through certain perspectives: distribution by family, type and phratry, civil status and education levels of fathers and mothers, labour status and hours worked by the mother. In a
third section, the school link is selected: pre-school attendance (for the 3-5 years old), academic failure and school drop-out (for the 14 years old) are discussed.

keywords: children, family, school