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 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 entered the EC in 1985.


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

Geographic coordinates: 39 30 N 8 00 W

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 92,391 km²
Land: 91,951 km²
Water: 440 km²
Note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands
Comparative: slightly smaller than Indiana

Land boundaries
Total: 1,214 km
Border countries: (1) Spain 1,214 km

Coastline: 1793 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 24 NM
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 River rolling plains in south

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: Ponta do Pico (Pico or Pico Alto) on Ilha do Pico in the Azores 2,351 m

Natural resources: fish forests (cork) tungsten iron ore uranium ore marble arable land: hydro power

Land use
Arable land: 26%
Permanent crops: 9%
Permanent pastures: 9%
Forests and woodland: 36%
Other: 20% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 6,300 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: Azores subject to severe earthquakes

Geography
Note: Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar


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Population: 10,066,253 (July 2001 est.)
Growth rate: 0.18% (2001 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

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

Languages: Portuguese

Religions: Roman Catholic 94% Protestant (1995)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 16.96% (male 877,379; female 830,242)
15-64 years: 67.42% (male 3,321,473; female 3,465,481)
65 years and over: 15.62% (male 637,207; female 934,471) (2001 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.18% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 11.51 births/1000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 10.21 deaths/1000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.5 migrant(s)/1000 population (2001 est.)

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
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, 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
International agreements signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.07 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.06 male/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male/female
Total population: 0.92 male/female (2001 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 5.94 deaths/1000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 75.94 years
Male: 72.44 years
Female: 79.68 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.48 children born/woman (2001 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.74% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: 36,000 (1999 est.)
Deaths: 280 (1999 est.)

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
Total population: 87.4%
Male: NA%
Female: NA%

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: parliamentary democracy

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

Independence: 1140 (independent republic proclaimed 5 October 1910)

National holiday: Portugal Day 10 June (1580)

Constitution: 25 April 1976 revised 30 October 1982 1 June 1989 5 November 1992 and 3 September 1997

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)
Head of government: Prime Minister Antonio Manuel de Oliviera GUTERRES (since 28 October 1995)
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; election last held 14 January 2001 (next to be held NA January 2006); 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: Jorge SAMPAIO re-elected president; percent of vote - Jorge SAMPAIO (Socialist) 55.8%, Joaquim FERREIRA Do Amaral (Social Democrat) 34.5%, Antonio ABREU (Communist) 5.1%

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 10 October 1999 (next to be held by NA October 2003)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PS 115, PSD 81, PCP 15, PP 15, PEV 2, The Left Bloc 2

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura)

Political parties and leaders: The Greens or PEV [leader NA]; Popular Party or PP [Paulo PORTAS]; Portuguese Communist Party/United Democratic Coalition or PCP/CDU [Carlos CARVALHAS]; Portuguese Socialist Party or PS [Antonio GUTERRES]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [leader vacant]; The Left Bloc [no leader]

International organization participation: AfDB Australia Group BIS CCC CE CERN EAPC EBRD ECE ECLAC EIB EMU ESA EU FAO IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICFTU ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO Inmarsat Intelsat Interpol IOC IOM ISO ITU LAIA (observer) MINURSO NAM (guest) NATO NEA NSG OAS (observer) OECD OPCW OSCE PCA UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNMIBH UNMIK UNMOP UNTAET UPU WCL WEU WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Joao Alberto Bacelar ROCHA PARIS
In the us chancery: 2,125 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 328-8,610
In the us fax: [1] (202) 462-3,726
In the us consulates general: Boston, New York, Newark (New Jersey), and San Francisco
In the us consulates: Los Angeles, New Bedford (Massachusetts), Providence (Rhode Island)
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Gerald S. MCGOWAN
From the us embassy: Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600 Lisbon
From the us mailing address: PSC 83, APO AE 9,726
From the us telephone: [351] (21) 727-3,300
From the us fax: [351] (21) 726-9,109
From the us consulates: 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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Portugal is an upcoming capitalist economy with a per capita GDP two-thirds that of the four big West European economies. The country qualified for the European Monetary Union (EMU) in 1998 and joined with 10 other European countries in launching the euro on 1 January 1999. The year 2000 was marked by moderation in growth inflation and unemployment. The country continues to run a sizable trade deficit. The government is working to reform the tax system to modernize capital plant and to increase the country's competitiveness in the increasingly integrated world markets. Growth is expected to fall off slightly in 2001. Improvement in the education sector is critical to the long-run catch-up process.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 2.7% (2000 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $15,800 (2000 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 4%
Industry: 36%
Services: 60% (1999 est.)

Agriculture products: grain potatoes olives grapes; sheep cattle goats poultry beef dairy products

Industries: textiles and footwear; wood pulp paper and cork; metalworking; oil refining; chemicals; fish canning; wine; tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 2.9% (1999 est.)

Labor force: 5 million (1999)
By occupation services: 60%
By occupation industry: 30%
By occupation agriculture: 10% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate: 4.3% (2000 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 3.1%
Highest 10: 28.4% (1995 est.)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $48.6 billion
Expenditures: $50.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $7.7 billion (2000 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2.8% (2000 est.)

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: $26.1 billion (f.o.b. 2000 est.)
Commodities: clothing and footwear machinery chemicals cork and paper products hides
Partners: EU 83% (Germany 20% Spain 18% France 14% UK 12% Netherlands 5% Benelux 5% Italy) US 5% (1999)

Imports: $41 billion (f.o.b. 2000 est.)
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment chemicals petroleum textiles agricultural products
Partners: EU 78% (Spain 25% Germany 15% France 11% Italy 8% UK 7% Netherlands 5%) US 3% Japan 3% (1998)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $13.1 billion (1997 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001) 1.0854 (2000) 0.9386 (1999); Portuguese escudos per US dollar - 180.10 (1998) 175.31 (1997) 154.24 (1996)


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Electricity
Production: 41.696 billion kWh (1999)
Production by source fossil fuel: 79.97%
Production by source hydro: 17.25%
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Production by source other: 2.78% (1999)
Consumption: 37.915 billion kWh (1999)
Exports: 4.49 billion kWh (1999)
Imports: 3.628 billion kWh (1999)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 5.3 million (end 1998)
Mobile cellular: 3,074,194 (1999)

Telephone system
General assessment: undergoing rapid development in recent years, Portugal's telephone system, by the end of 1998, achieved a state-of-the-art network with broadband, high-speed capabilities and a main line telephone density of 53%
Domestic: integrated network of coaxial cables, open wire, microwave radio relay, and domestic satellite earth stations
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
Country code: .pt
Service providers isps: 16 (2000)
Users: 700,000 (2000)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $2.458 billion (FY97)
Percent of gdp: 2.6% (FY97)

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: 66 (2000 est.)
With paved runways total: 40
With paved runways over 3047 m: 5
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 9
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 17
With paved runways under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 26
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 25 (2000 est.)

Heliports

Pipelines
Note: the secondary lines for the natural gas pipeline that will be 300 km long have not yet been built

Railways
Total: 2,850 km
Broad gauge: 2,576 km 1.668-m gauge (623 km electrified; 426 km double track)
Narrow gauge: 274 km 1.000-m gauge (1998)

Roadways

Waterways
Note: relatively unimportant to national economy, used by shallow-draft craft limited to 300 metric-ton or less cargo capacity

Merchant marine
Total: 158 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,053,586 GRT/1,611,238 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 14, cargo 84, chemical tanker 16, container 10, liquefied gas 7, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, petroleum tanker 11, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 6, short-sea passenger 4, vehicle carrier 4
Note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Spain 1 (2000 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs