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 global maritime 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 of Brazil its wealthiest 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 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: 92,090 km²
Land: 91,470 km²
Water: 620 km²
Note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands
Rank: 111
Comparative: slightly smaller than Indiana

Land boundaries
Total: 1224 km
Border countries: (1) Spain 1224 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: the west-flowing Tagus River divides the country: the north is mountainous toward the interior while the south is characterized by rolling plains

Elevation
Mean elevation: 372 m
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

Natural resources: fish forests (cork) iron ore copper zinc tin tungsten silver gold uranium marble clay gypsum salt arable land: hydropower

Land use
Agricultural land: 39.7%
Forest: 37.8%
Other: 22.5%

Irrigated land: 5,400 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: Azores subject to severe earthquakes
Volcanism: limited volcanic activity in the Azores Islands; Fayal or Faial last erupted in 1958; most volcanoes have not erupted in centuries; historically active volcanoes include Agua de Pau Furnas Pico Picos Volcanic System San Jorge Sete Cidades and Terceira

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


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Population
Distribution: concentrations are primarily along or near the Atlantic coast; both Lisbon and the second largest city Porto are coastal cities: 10,833,816 (July 2016 est.)
Rank: 83
Growth rate: 0.07% (2016 est.)
Growth rate rank: 192
Below poverty line: 18.7% (2012 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Portuguese
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 81% other Christian 3.3% other (includes Jewish Muslim other) 0.6% none 6.8% unspecified 8.3%
Note: represents population 15 years of age and older

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 15.5%
15-24 years: 11.4%
25-54 years: 41.88%
55-64 years: 12.07%
65 years and over: 19.15% (2016 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 53.5%
Youth dependency ratio: 21.6%
Elderly dependency ratio: 31.9%
Potential support ratio: 3.1%

Median age
Total: 41.8 years
Male: 39.8 years
Female: 44 years
Rank: 32

Population growth rate: 0.07% (2016 est.)
Rank: 192

Birth rate: 9.1 births/1000 population (2016 est.)
Rank: 208

Death rate: 11.1 deaths/1000 population (2016 est.)
Rank: 32

Net migration rate: 2.6 migrant(s)/1000 population (2016 est.)
Rank: 39

Population distribution: concentrations are primarily along or near the Atlantic coast; both Lisbon and the second largest city Porto are coastal cities

Urbanization
Urban population: 63.5% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 0.97% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: LISBON (capital) 2.884 million; Porto 1.299 million (2015)

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 Whaling
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
0-14 years: 1.09 male/female
15-24 years: 1.13 male/female
25-54 years: 1.03 male/female
55-64 years: 0.88 male/female
65 years and over: 0.69 male/female
Total population: 0.96 male/female

Mothers mean age at first birth: 29.5 (2012 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 4.4 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 4.8 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 3.9 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 185

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 79.3 years
Male: 76.1 years
Female: 82.8 years
Rank: 49

Total fertility rate: 1.53 children born/woman (2016 est.)
Rank: 194

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 86.8% (2005/06)

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 4.1 physicians/1000 population (2012)

Hospital bed density: 3.4 beds/1000 population (2011)

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 22.1% (2014)
Rank: 69

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: 5.1% of GDP (2011)
Rank: 55

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 95.7%
Male: 97.1%
Female: 94.4%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 17 years
Male: 17 years
Female: 17 years

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
Etymology: name derives from the Roman designation 'Portus Cale' meaning 'Port of Cale'; Cale was an ancient Celtic town and port in present-day northern Portugal

Government type: semi-presidential republic

Capital
Name: Lisbon
Geographic coordinates: 38 43 N 9 08 W
Time difference: UTC 0
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 (Lisbon) Madeira* Portalegre Porto Santarem Setubal Viana do Castelo Vila Real Viseu

Dependent areas

Independence: 1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 5 October 1910 (republic proclaimed)

National holiday: Portugal Day (Dia de Portugal) 10 June (1580); note - also called Camoes Day the day that revered national poet Luis de Camoes (1524-80) died

Constitution: several previous; latest adopted 2 April 1976 effective 25 April 1976; amended several times last in 2005 (2016)

Legal system: civil law system; Constitutional Court review of legislative acts

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Portugal
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years; 6 years if from a Portuguese speaking country

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Marcelo REBELO DE SOUSA
Head of government: Prime Minister Antonio Luis Santos da COSTA
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
Electionsappointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term ; election last held on 24 January 2016 (next to be held in January 2021); following legislative elections which must be held by October 2015 the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the president
Election results: Marcelo REBELO DE SOUSA elected president; percent of vote - Marcelo REBELO DE SOUSA 52% Antonio Sampaio da NOVA (independent) 22.9% Marisa MATISA (BE) 10.1% Maria de BELEM (independent) 4.2% other 10.8%
Note: there is also a Council of State that acts as a consultative body to the president

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica
Elections: last held on 4 October 2015
Election results: percent of vote by party - Portugal Ahead Coalition 36.9% PS 32.3% B.E. 10.2% CDU 8.2% PPD/PSD (Azores and Madeira) 1.5% PAN 1.4% other 9.5%; seats by party - PAF 102 PS 86 B.E. 19 CDU 17 PPD/PSD (Azores and Madeira) 5 PAN 1

Judicial branch
Highest court: Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica ; Constitutional Court or Tribunal Constitucional (consists of 13 judges)
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court justices nominated by the president and appointed by the Assembly of the Republic; judges appointed for life; Constitutional Court judges - 10 elected by the Assembly and 3 elected by the other Constitutional Court judges; judges elected for 6-year non-renewable terms
Subordinate courts: Supreme Administrative Court ; Audit Court (Tribunal de Contas); appellate district and municipal courts

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ADB (nonregional member) AfDB (nonregional member) Australia Group BIS CD CE CERN CPLP EAPC EBRD ECB EIB EMU ESA EU FAO FATF IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC (national committees) ICCt ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC (NGOs) LAIA (observer) MIGA MINUSMA NATO NEA NSG OAS (observer) OECD OPCW OSCE Pacific Alliance (observer) Paris Club (associate) PCA Schengen Convention SELEC (observer) UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO Union Latina UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Domingos T?eixeira de Abreu Fezas VITAL
In the us chancery: 2012 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington DC 20,036
In the us telephone: [1] 328-8,610
In the us FAX: [1] 462-3,726
In the us consulate general: Boston New York San Francisco
In the us consulate: New Bedford Newark (NJ) Providence (RI)
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Robert A. SHERMAN
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] 727-3,300
From the us FAX: [351] 726-9,109
From the us consulate: Ponta Delgada

Flag description: two vertical bands of green (hoist side two-fifths) and red (three-fifths) with the national coat of arms (armillary sphere and Portuguese shield) centered on the dividing line; explanations for the color meanings are ambiguous but a popular interpretation has green symbolizing hope and red the blood of those defending the nation

National symbols: armillary sphere (a spherical astrolabe modeling objects in the sky and representing the Republic); national colors: red green

National anthem
Name: 'A Portugesa'
Lyrics and music: Henrique LOPES DE MENDOCA/Alfredo KEIL
Note: adopted 1910; 'A Portuguesa' was originally written to protest the Portuguese monarchy's acquiescence to the 1890 British ultimatum forcing Portugal to give up areas of Africa; the lyrics refer to the 'insult' that resulted from the event

National heritage


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Economy overview:

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2015 US dollars
Rank: 54

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 151

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2015 US dollars
Rank: 66

Gross national saving:
Rank: 115

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 65.9%
Government consumption: 18.1%
Investment in fixed capital: 15%
Investment in inventories: 0.2%
Exports of goods and services: 40.3%
Imports of goods and services: -39.6%

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2.4%
Industry: 21.9%
Services: 75.9%

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

Industries: textiles clothing footwear wood and cork paper and pulp chemicals lubricants automobiles and auto parts base metals minerals porcelain and ceramics glassware technology telecommunications; dairy products wine other foodstuffs; ship construction and refurbishment; tourism plastics financial services optics

Industrial production growth rate: 1% (2015 est.)
Rank: 142

Labor force: 5.195 million (2015 est.)
Rank: 77
By occupation agriculture: 8.6%
By occupation industry: 23.9%
By occupation services: 67.5%

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 139

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 18.7% (2012 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 3.1%
Highest 10: 28.4%

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 97

Budget
Revenues: $87.3 billion
Expenditures: $96.05 billion
Surplus or deficit: -4.4% of GDP (2015 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 149

Taxes and other revenues: 43.9% of GDP (2015 est.)
Rank: 26

Public debt:
Note: data cover general government debt and includes debt instruments issued by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds such as for retirement medical care and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions
Rank: 5

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 66

Central bank discount rate:
Note: this is the European Central Bank's rate on the marginal lending facility which offers overnight credit to banks in the euro area
Rank: 144

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 150

Stock of narrow money:
Note: see entry for the European Union for money supply for the entire euro area; the European Central Bank controls monetary policy for the 18 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of money circulating within their own borders
Rank: 42

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 34

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 37

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 46

Current account balance:
Rank: 41

Exports:
Rank: 50
Commodities: agricultural products foodstuffs wine oil products chemical products plastics and rubber hides leather wood and cork wood pulp and paper textile materials clothing footwear machinery and tools base metals
Partners: Spain 25% France 12.1% Germany 11.8% UK 6.7% US 5.2% Angola 4.2% Netherlands 4% (2015)

Imports:
Rank: 41
Commodities: agricultural products chemical products vehicles and other transport material optical and precision instruments computer accessories and parts semiconductors and related devices oil products base metals food products textile materials
Partners: Spain 32.9% Germany 12.9% France 7.4% Italy 5.4% Netherlands 5.1% (2015)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 59

Debt external:
Rank: 25

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 38

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 35

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100%
Production: 50 billion kWh (2014 est.)
Production rank: 52
Consumption: 46 billion kWh (2014 est.)
Consumption rank: 51
Exports: 6.3 billion kWh (2014 est.)
Exports rank: 30
Imports: 7.2 billion kWh (2014 est.)
Imports rank: 28
Installed generating capacity: 19 million kW (2014 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 41
Generation sources fossil fuels: 42.4% of total installed capacity (2013 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 162
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2013 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 166
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 28.2% of total installed capacity (2013 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 83
Generation sources other renewable sources: 29.4% of total installed capacity (2013 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 6

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 181
Crude oil exports: 912.3 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 177
Crude oil imports: 308,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 28
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2016 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 100

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 320,200 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products production rank: 45
Products consumption: 244,500 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products consumption rank: 50
Products exports: 138,400 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 38
Products imports: 60,010 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 57

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2014 est.)
Production rank: 119
Consumption: 4.079 billion m³ (2014 est.)
Consumption rank: 65
Exports: 0 m³ (2014 est.)
Exports rank: 165
Imports: 4.07 billion m³ (2014 est.)
Imports rank: 35
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2014 es)
Proven reserves rank: 185

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 50 million Mt (2013 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 50

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 4,682,997
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 43
Fixed lines rank: 34
Mobile cellular total: 11.715 million
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 108
Mobile cellular rank: 76

Telephone system
General assessment: Portugal's telephone system has 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 NA Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter to Azores (2015)

Broadcast media: Radio e Televisao de Portugal (RTP) the publicly owned TV broadcaster operates 2 domestic channels and external service channels to Africa; overall roughly 40 domestic TV stations; viewers have widespread access to international broadcasters with more than half of all households connected to multi-channel cable or satellite TV systems; publicly owned radio operates 3 national networks and provides regional and external services; several privately owned national radio stations and some 300 regional and local commercial radio stations (2008)

Internet
Country code: .pt
Users total: 7.43 million
Users percent of population: 68.6%
Users rank: 52

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures:
Rank: 77

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18-30 years of age for voluntary military service; no compulsory military service but conscription possible if insufficient volunteers available; women serve in the armed forces on naval ships since 1993 but are prohibited from serving in some combatant specialties; reserve obligation to age 35 (2012)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 12
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 122
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 12,635,233
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 343,971,094 mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: CR CS (2016)

Airports: 64 (2013)
Rank: 77
With paved runways total: 43
With paved runways over 3047 m: 5
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 7
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 8
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 15
With paved runways under 914 m: 8
With unpaved runways total: 21
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 20

Heliports

Pipelines: gas 1344 km; oil 11 km; refined products 188 km (2013)

Railways
Total: 3,075 km
Broad gauge: 2,439 km 1.668-m gauge
Narrow gauge: 108.1 km 1.000-m gauge
Other: 528 km (2014)
Rank: 58

Roadways
Total: 82,900 km
Paved: 71,294 km
Unpaved: 11,606 km
Rank: 57

Waterways: 210 km (on Douro River from Porto) (2011)
Rank: 95

Merchant marine
Total: 109
By type: bulk carrier 8 cargo 35 carrier 1 chemical tanker 21 container 7 liquefied gas 6 passenger 13 passenger/cargo 5 petroleum tanker 3 roll on/roll off 1 vehicle carrier 9
Foreign owned: 81
Registered in other countries: 15 (2010)
Rank: 48

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Leixoes Lisbon Setubal Sines
LNG terminal: 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
Stateless persons: 14

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