Map of Portugal | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | 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 is a founding member of NATO and entered the EC (now the EU) in 1986.


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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
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
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) iron ore copper zinc tin tungsten silver gold uranium marble clay gypsum salt arable land: hydropower

Land use
Arable land: 17.29%
Permanent crops: 7.84%
Other: 74.87% (2005)

Irrigated land: 6,500 km² (2003)

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: 10,605,870 (July 2006 est.)
Growth rate: 0.36% (2006 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; since 1990 East Europeans have entered Portugal

Languages: Portuguese (official) Mirandese (official - but locally used)

Religions: Roman Catholic 94% Protestant (1995)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 16.5% (male 915,604/female 839,004)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 3,484,545/female 3,544,674)
65 years and over: 17.2% (male 751,899/female 1,070,144) (2006 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 38.5 years
Male: 36.4 years
Female: 40.6 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.36% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 10.72 births/1000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 10.5 deaths/1000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.4 migrant(s)/1000 population (2006 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, 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
International agreements signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Environmental Modification

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.07 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.09 male/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male/female
Total population: 0.95 male/female (2006 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 4.98 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 5.45 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 4.48 deaths/1000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 77.7 years
Male: 74.43 years
Female: 81.2 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.47 children born/woman (2006 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.4% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 22,000 (2001 est.)
Deaths: less than 1000 (2003 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: 93.3%
Male: 95.5%
Female: 91.3% (2003 est.)

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
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

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: 1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 5 October 1910 (independent 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: 25 April 1976; revised many times

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 Anibal CAVACO Silva (since 9 March 2006)
Head of government: Prime Minister Jose SOCRATES (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 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 SOARES 14.3%, Jeronimo de SOUSA 8.5%, Franciso LOUCA 5.3%

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 20 February 2005 (next to be held February 2009)
Election results: percent of vote by party - PS 45.1%, PSD 28.7%, CDU 7.6%, PP 7.3%, BE 6.4%; seats by party - PS 121, PSD 75, CDU 14, 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: Green Ecologist Party or PEV [Heloisa APOLONIA]; Popular Party or PP [Jose Ribeiro e CASTRO]; 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 Marques MENDES]; The Left Bloc or BE [Franciso Anacleto LOUCA]; Unitarian Democratic Coalition or CDU (includes PEV and PCP) [Jeronimo de SOUSA]

International organization participation: AfDB AsDB Australia Group BIS CE CERN EAPC EBRD EIB EMU ESA EU FAO IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICCt ICFTU ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITU LAIA (observer) MIGA NAM (guest) NATO NEA NSG OAS (observer) OECD ONUB OPCW OSCE PCA SECI (observer) UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UPU WCL WCO WEU WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Pedro Manuel Dos Reis Alves CATARINO
In the us chancery: 2012 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,036
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 350-5,400
In the us fax: [1] (202) 462-3,726
In the us consulates general: Boston, New York, Newark (New Jersey), San Francisco
In the us consulates: New Bedford (Massachusetts), Providence (Rhode Island)
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Alfred J. HOFFMAN Jr.
From the us embassy: Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600-081 Lisbon
From the us mailing address: Apartado 43,033, 1601-301 Lisboa; 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 has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Community in 1986. Over the past decade 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 past decade but fell back in 2001-05. GDP per capita stands at two-thirds that of the Big Four EU economies. 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 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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $200.6 billion (2005 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 0.4% (2005 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $19,000 (2005 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 5.3%
Industry: 27.4%
Services: 67.3% (2005 est.)

Agriculture products: grain potatoes tomatoes olives grapes; sheep cattle goats swine poultry dairy products; fish

Industries: textiles and footwear; wood pulp paper and cork; metals and metalworking; oil refining; chemicals; fish canning; rubber and plastic products; ceramics; electronics and communications equipment; rail transportation equipment; aerospace equipment; ship construction and refurbishment; wine; tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 0% (2005 est.)

Labor force: 5.52 million (2005 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 10%
By occupation industry: 30%
By occupation services: 60% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate: 7.6% (2005 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: 38.5 (1997)

Budget
Revenues: $78.84 billion
Expenditures: $90.27 billion; including capital expenditures of $N/A (2005 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 63.9% of GDP (2005 est.)

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2.3% (2005 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: $-17.1 billion (2005 est.)

Exports: $38.8 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Commodities: clothing and footwear machinery chemicals cork and paper products hides
Partners: Spain 25.9% France 13.1% Germany 11.9% UK 8% US 5.4% Italy 4.3% (2005)

Imports: $60.35 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment chemicals petroleum textiles agricultural products
Partners: Spain 29% Germany 13.4% France 8.5% Italy 5.2% Netherlands 4.3% UK 4.2% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $10.36 billion (2005 est.)

Debt external: $287.8 billion (2005 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005) 0.8054 (2004) 0.886 (2003) 1.0626 (2002) 1.1175 (2001)


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Electricity
Production: 44.32 billion kWh (2003)
Consumption: 44.01 billion kWh (2003)
Exports: 3.1 billion kWh (2003)
Imports: 5.9 billion kWh (2003)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2003 est.)
Consumption: 2.983 billion m³ (2003 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2001 est.)
Imports: 2.553 billion m³ (2001 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 4.234 million (2005)
Mobile cellular: 11.448 million (2005)

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; 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
Hosts: 845,980 (2005)
Users: 7,782,700 (2006)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 2.3% (2003)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; compulsory military service was ended in 2004; women serve in the armed forces on naval ships since 1993 but are prohibited from serving in some combatant specialties (2005)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 66 (2006)
With paved runways total: 43
With paved runways over 3047 m: 5
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 9
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 5
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 13
With paved runways under 914 m: 11 (2006)
With unpaved runways total: 23
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 22 (2006)

Heliports

Pipelines: gas 1099 km; oil 8 km; refined products 174 km (2006)

Railways
Total: 2,850 km
Broad gauge: 2,576 km 1.668-m gauge (623 km electrified)
Narrow gauge: 274 km 1.000-m gauge (2005)

Roadways
Total: 72,600 km
Paved: 62,436 km (including 1,700 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 10,164 km (2002)

Waterways: 210 km (on Douro River from Porto) (2003)

Merchant marine
Total: 111 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,077,300 GRT/1,363,435 DWT
By type: bulk carrier 11, cargo 27, chemical tanker 15, container 7, liquefied gas 11, passenger 9, passenger/cargo 10, petroleum tanker 8, roll on/roll off 4, vehicle carrier 9
Foreign owned: 82 (Australia 1, Belgium 8, Cyprus 1, Denmark 4, Germany 17, Greece 4, Italy 12, Japan 9, Malta 1, Mexico 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 4, Spain 15, Switzerland 3, US 1)
Registered in other countries: 16 (Cyprus 2, Hong Kong 1, Malta 3, Panama 10) (2006)

Ports and terminals: Leixoes Lisbon Setubal Sines


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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

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: gateway country for Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market (especially from Brazil); transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Europe; consumer of Southwest Asian heroin