Following its heyday as a world
power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth
and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation
during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence in 1822 of Brazil as a
colony. A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy; for most of the next six
decades, repressive governments ran the country. In 1974, a left-wing
military coup installed broad democratic reforms. The following year,
Portugal granted independence to all of its African colonies. Portugal is
a founding member of NATO and entered the EC (now the EU) in 1986.
Geography
Portugal
Location:
Southwestern Europe, bordering
the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain
Geographic coordinates:
39 30 N, 8 00 W
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 92,391 sq km
land: 91,951 sq km water: 440 sq km note:
includes Azores and Madeira Islands
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Indiana
Land boundaries:
total: 1,214 km
border countries: Spain 1,214 km
Coastline:
1,793 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200
nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of
exploitation
Climate:
maritime temperate; cool and
rainy in north, warmer and drier in south
Terrain:
mountainous north of the Tagus
River, rolling plains in south
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic
Ocean 0 m highest point: Ponta do Pico (Pico or Pico Alto) on
Ilha do Pico in the Azores 2,351 m
total: 11.09 cu km/yr
(10%/12%/78%) per capita: 1,056 cu m/yr (1998)
Natural hazards:
Azores subject to severe
earthquakes
Environment - current issues:
soil erosion; air pollution
caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in
coastal areas
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Environmental
Modification
Geography - note:
Azores and Madeira Islands
occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of
Gibraltar
total: 39.1 years
male: 37 years female: 41.3 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.305% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
10.45 births/1,000 population
(2008 est.)
Death rate:
10.62 deaths/1,000 population
(2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
3.23 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.07
male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female 15-64
years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7
male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2008
est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.85 deaths/1,000
live births male: 5.31 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.04
years male: 74.78 years female: 81.53 years (2008
est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.49 children born/woman (2008
est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.4% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
22,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 1,000 (2003 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Portuguese
(singular and plural) adjective: Portuguese
Ethnic groups:
homogeneous Mediterranean
stock; citizens of black African descent who immigrated to mainland during
decolonization number less than 100,000; since 1990 East Europeans have
entered Portugal
Religions:
Roman Catholic 84.5%, other
Christian 2.2%, other 0.3%, unknown 9%, none 3.9% (2001 census)
Languages:
Portuguese (official),
Mirandese (official - but locally used)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and
over can read and write total population: 93.3%
male: 95.5% female: 91.3% (2003 est.)
Government
Portugal
Country name:
conventional long form:
Portuguese Republic conventional short form: Portugal
local long form: Republica Portuguesa local short
form: Portugal
Government type:
republic; parliamentary
democracy
Capital:
name: Lisbon
geographic coordinates: 38 43 N, 9 08 W time
difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard
Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March;
ends last Sunday in October
1143 (Kingdom of Portugal
recognized); 5 October 1910 (republic proclaimed)
National holiday:
Portugal Day (Day of Portugal),
10 June (1580); note - also called Camoes Day, the day that revered
national poet Luis de Camoes (1524-80) died
Constitution:
adopted 2 April 1976; note -
subsequent revisions of the Constitution placed the military under strict
civilian control, trimmed the powers of the president, and laid the
groundwork for a stable, pluralistic liberal democracy; as well, they
allowed for the privatization of nationalized firms and the
government-owned communications media
Legal system:
based on civil law system; the
Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Anibal CAVACO SILVA (since 9 March 2006) head of
government: Prime Minister Jose SOCRATES Carvalho Pinto de Sousa
(since 12 March 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed
by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
note: there is also a Council of State that acts as a
consultative body to the president elections: president elected
by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
election last held 22 January 2006 (next to be held in January 2011);
following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or
leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the
president election results: Anibal CAVACO SILVA elected
president; percent of vote - Anibal CAVACO SILVA 50.6%, Manuel ALEGRE
20.7%, Mario Alberto Nobre Lopes SOARES 14.3%, Jeronimo DE SOUSA 8.5%,
Franciso LOUCA 5.3%
Legislative branch:
unicameral Assembly of the
Republic or Assembleia da Republica (230 seats; members are elected by
popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 20
February 2005 (next to be held in Fall 2009) election results:
percent of vote by party - PS 45.1%, PSD 28.7%, CDU 7.6%, CDS/PP 7.3%, BE
6.4%, other 4.9%; seats by party - PS 121, PSD 75, CDU 14, CDS/PP 12, BE 8
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Supremo
Tribunal de Justica (judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da
Magistratura)
Political parties and leaders:
Democratic and Social
Center/Popular Party or CDS/PP [Paulo PORTAS]; Green Ecologist Party (The
Greens) or PEV [leadership commission elected by members]; Portuguese
Communist Party or PCP [Jeronimo DE SOUSA]; Portuguese Socialist Party or
PS [Jose SOCRATES Carvalho Pinto de Sousa]; Social Democratic Party or PSD
[Luis Filipe MENEZES]; The Left Bloc or BE [Franciso Anacleto LOUCA];
Unitarian Democratic Coalition or CDU [Jeronimo DE SOUSA] (includes PCP
and PEV)
chief of mission:
Ambassador Joao DE VALLERA chancery: 2012 Massachusetts Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 350-5400
FAX: [1] (202) 462-3726 consulate(s) general:
Boston, New York, Newark (New Jersey), San Francisco
consulate(s): New Bedford (Massachusetts), Providence (Rhode
Island)
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Thomas F. STEPHENSON embassy: Avenida das Forcas
Armadas, 1600-081 Lisbon mailing address: Apartado 43033,
1601-301 Lisboa; PSC 83, APO AE 09726 telephone: [351] (21)
727-3300 FAX: [351] (21) 726-9109 consulate(s):
Ponta Delgada (Azores)
Flag description:
two vertical bands of green
(hoist side, two-fifths) and red (three-fifths) with the Portuguese coat
of arms centered on the dividing line
Economy
Portugal
Economy - overview:
Portugal has become a
diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the
European Community in 1986. Over the past two decades, successive
governments have privatized many state-controlled firms and liberalized
key areas of the economy, including the financial and telecommunications
sectors. The country qualified for the European Monetary Union (EMU) in
1998 and began circulating the euro on 1 January 2002 along with 11 other
EU member economies. Economic growth had been above the EU average for
much of the 1990s, but fell back in 2001-07. GDP per capita stands at
roughly two-thirds of the EU-27 average. A poor educational system, in
particular, has been an obstacle to greater productivity and growth.
Portugal has been increasingly overshadowed by lower-cost producers in
Central Europe and Asia as a target for foreign direct investment. The
budget deficit surged to an all-time high of 6% of GDP in 2005, but the
government reduced the deficit to 2.6% in 2007 - a year ahead of
Portugal's targeted schedule. Nonetheless, the government faces tough
choices in its attempts to boost Portugal's economic competitiveness while
keeping the budget deficit within the eurozone's 3%-of-GDP ceiling.
textiles, clothing, footwear,
wood and cork, paper, chemicals, auto-parts manufacturing, base metals,
diary products, wine and other foods, porcelain and ceramics, glassware,
technology, telecommunications; ship construction and refurbishment;
tourism
agricultural products, food
products, oil products, chemical products, plastics and rubber, skins and
leather, wood and cork, wood pulp and paper, textile materials, clothing,
footwear, minerals and mineral products, base metals, machinery and tools,
vehicles and other transport material, and optical and precision
Exports - partners:
Spain 26.5%, Germany 12.9%,
France 12%, UK 6.7%, US 6.1% (2006)
Imports:
$72.19 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.)
Imports - commodities:
agricultural products, food
products, oil products, chemical products, plastics and rubber, skins and
leather, wood and cork, wood pulp and paper, textile materials, clothing,
footwear, minerals and mineral products, base metals, machinery and tools,
vehicles and other transport material, and optical and precision
instruments, computer accessories and parts, semi-conductors and related
devices, household goods, passenger cars new and used, and wine products
euros per US dollar - 0.7345
(2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications
Portugal
Telephones - main lines in use:
4.231 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
12.226 million (2006)
Telephone system:
general assessment:
Portugal's telephone system has achieved a state-of-the-art network with
broadband, high-speed capabilities domestic: integrated network
of coaxial cables, open-wire, microwave radio relay, and domestic
satellite earth stations international: country code - 351; a
combination of submarine cables provide connectivity to Europe, North and
East Africa, South Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the US; satellite
earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA
Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter to Azores (1998)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 47, FM 172 (many are
repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998)
Radios:
3.02 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
62 (plus 166 repeaters;
includes Azores and Madeira Islands) (1995)
Televisions:
3.31 million (1997)
Internet country code:
.pt
Internet hosts:
836,616 (2007)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
16 (2000)
Internet users:
3.213 million (2006)
Transportation
Portugal
Airports:
66 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 44 over
3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m:
5 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 12 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 22 914 to
1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 21 (2007)
Pipelines:
gas 1,098 km; oil 11 km;
refined products 188 km (2007)
Railways:
total: 2,786 km
broad gauge: 2,603 km 1.668-m gauge (1,351 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 183 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)
Roadways:
total: 78,470 km
paved: 67,484 km (includes 2,002 km of expressways)
unpaved: 10,986 km (2004)
Waterways:
210 km (on Douro River from
Porto) (2006)
Merchant marine:
total: 117 ships (1000
GRT or over) 1,022,783 GRT/1,287,951 DWT by type: bulk carrier
10, cargo 37, carrier 1, chemical tanker 16, container 6, liquefied gas 9,
passenger 10, passenger/cargo 10, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 1,
specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 10 foreign-owned: 80
(Belgium 9, Denmark 3, Germany 22, Greece 4, Italy 11, Japan 10, Malta 1,
Mexico 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 3, Spain 10, Sweden 2, Switzerland 2, US
1) registered in other countries: 15 (Cyprus 1, Hong Kong 1,
Malta 3, Panama 9, St Vincent and The Grenadines 1) (2007)
Ports and terminals:
Leixoes, Lisbon, Setubal, Sines
Military
Portugal
Military branches:
Army, Navy (Marinha Portuguesa;
includes Marine Corps), Air Force (Forca Aerea Portuguesa, FAP), National
Republican Guard (Guarda Nacional Republicana) (2005)
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary
military service; compulsory military service ended in 2004; women serve
in the armed forces, on naval ships since 1993, but are prohibited from
serving in some combatant specialties (2005)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49:
2,573,913 females age 16-49: 2,498,262 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49:
2,099,647 females age 16-49: 2,060,559 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 16-49: 64,910
females age 16-49: 58,599 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2.3% (2005 est.)
Transnational Issues
Portugal
Disputes - international:
Portugal does not recognize
Spanish sovereignty over the territory of Olivenza based on a difference
of interpretation of the 1815 Congress of Vienna and the 1801 Treaty of
Badajoz
Illicit drugs:
seizing record amounts of Latin
American cocaine destined for Europe; a European gateway for Southwest
Asian heroin; transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Europe;
consumer of Southwest Asian heroin
