Map of Portugal | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: 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 loss of its Brazilian colony in 1822. 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 entered the EC in 1985.


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Location: Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area
Total: 92,080 km²
Land: 91,640 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Indiana
Comparative note: Includes Azores and Madeira Islands

Land boundaries: Total 1,214 km, Spain 1,214 km

Coastline: 1,793 km

Maritime claims
Continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: Maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south

Terrain: Mountainous north of the Tagus, rolling plains in south
Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Highest point: Ponta do Pico in Azores 2,351 m

Elevation

Natural resources:

Land use
Arable land: 32%
Permanent crops: 6%
Permanent pastures: 6%
Forests and woodland: 40%
Other: 16%

Irrigated land: 6,340 km² (1989 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


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Population:
Growth rate:

Nationality
Noun: Portuguese (singular and plural)
Adjective: Portuguese

Ethnic groups: Homogeneous Mediterranean stock in mainland, Azores, Madeira Islands; citizens of black African descent who immigrated to mainland during decolonization number less than 100,000

Languages: Portuguese

Religions:

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years:
15-64 years:
65 years and over:

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate:

Birth rate:

Death rate:

Net migration rate:

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas
Current issues Natural hazards: Azores subject to severe earthquakes
International agreements: party to_Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified_Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
International agreements note: Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
All ages:

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 75.31 years (1996 est.), 75.53 years (1995 est.)
Male: 71.52 years 91,996 est.), 72.11 years (1995 est.)
Female: 79.31 years (1996 est.), 79.16 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate:

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
Total population: 85%
Male: 89%
Female: 82%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Portuguese Republic
Conventional short form: Portugal
Local long form: Republica Portuguesa
Local short form: Portugal

Government type: Republic

Capital: Lisbon

Administrative divisions: 18 districts (distritos, singular_distrito) and 2 autonomous regions* (regioes autonomas, singular_regiao autonoma; Aveiro, Acores (Azores)*, Beja, Braga, Braganca, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Evora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisboa, Madeira*, Portalegre, Porto, Santarem, Setubal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Viseu Dependent Areas:Macau (scheduled to become a Special Administrative Region of China on 20 December 1999)

Dependent areas

Independence: 1140 (independent republic proclaimed 5 October 1910)

National holiday: Day of Portugal, 10 June (1580)

Constitution: 25 April 1976, revised 30 October 1982 and 1 June 1989

Legal system: Civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Jorge SAMPAIO (since 9 March 1996) was elected for a five-year term by universal suffrage; election last held 14 January 1996 (next to be held NA January 2001); results_Jorge SAMPAIO (Socialist) 53.8%, Anibal CAVACO SILVA (Conservative) 46.2%
Head of government: Prime Minister Antonio Manuel de Oliviera GUTERRES (since 28 October 1995) was appointed by the president following the October 1995 legislative elections Council of State:Acts as a consultative body to the president
Cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president on recommendation of the prime minister

Legislative branch: Unicameral Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia Da Republica):Elections last held 1 October 1995 (next to be held NA October 1999; results_PSD 34.0%, PS 43.8%, CDU 8.6%, CDS/PP 9.1%; seats_(230 total) PSD 88, PS 112, CDU 15, CDS/PP 15

Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Supremo Tribunal de Justica)

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: AfDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UPU, WCL, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation

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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Portugal's short-term economic fundamentals are strong_the economy grew by 2.8% in 1995, with similar growth expected in 1996 and 1997, and unemployment is among the lowest in the EU. The Socialist government has pledged its dedication both to meeting the Maastricht monetary convergence criteria and to increasing social spending, including provision of a guaranteed minimum income. The government's 1996 budget, passed in March 1996, includes a budget deficit target of 4.2%, to be attained largely through cuts in non-social-service government spending and income from an ambitious privatization program. As for the long run, Portugal hopes for a steady modernization of its capital plant, its work force, and its infrastructure in order to catch up with the productivity and income levels of the Big Four economies of Western Europe.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: Accounts for 5% of GDP; small, inefficient farms; imports more than half of food needs; major crops_grain, potatoes, olives, grapes; livestock sector_sheep, cattle, goats, poultry, meat, dairy products

Industries:

Industrial production growth rate: Growth rate 2.1% (1995 est.), 1.5% (1994 est.), accounts for 30.6% of GDP

Labor force: 4.24 million (1994 est.)
By occupation services: 54.5%
By occupation manufacturing: 24.4%
By occupation forestry fisheries: 11.2%
By occupation construction: 8.3%
By occupation utilites: 1.0%
By occupation mining: 0.5% (1992)

Unemployment rate:

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $31 billion
Expenditures: $41 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1994)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: Calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports:
Commodities:
Partners:

Imports
Total value:

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Portuguese escudos (Esc) per US$1_151.61 (January 1996), 149.97 (1995), 165.99 (1994), 160.80 (1993), 135.00 (1992), 144.48 (1991), 142.55 (1990; in 1993 the escudo was devaluated several times


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Electricity
Capacity: 8,220,000 kW
Production: 29.5 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 2,642 kWh (1993)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system: 2,236,411 telephone (1993 est.)
Domestic: generally adequate integrated network of coaxial cables, open wire and microwave radio relay, domestic satellite earth stations; nationwide GSM mobile phone system
International: 6 submarine cables; satellite earth stations_3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter to Azores; note_an earth station for Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean Region) is planned

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $1.9 billion, 2.4% of GDP (1995), $2.4 billion, 2.9% of GDP (1994)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 67
With paved runways over 3047 m: 5
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 8
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 3
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3 (1995 est.)
With paved runways under 914 m: 30

Heliports

Pipelines: Crude oil 22 km; petroleum products 58 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 820 km navigable; relatively unimportant to national economy, used by shallow-draft craft limited to 300 metric-ton cargo capacity

Merchant marine
Total: 72 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 795,725 GRT/1,418,538 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 7, cargo 35, chemical tanker 5, container 5, liquefied gas tanker 4, oil tanker 12, passenger-cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1, short-sea passenger 1
Note: Portugal has created a captive register on M.htma for Portuguese-owned ships; ships on the Madeira Register (MAR) will have taxation and crewing benefits of a flag of convenience; in addition, Portugal owns 25 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 155,776 DWT that operate under Panamanian and Maltese registry

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: Increasingly important gateway country for Latin American cocaine entering the European market; transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Europe