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.

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)

Total renewable water resources: 73.6 km³ (2005)

Natural hazards: Azores subject to severe earthquakes

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

Population: 10,676,910 (July 2008 est.)
Growth rate: 0.305% (2008 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

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

Religions: Roman Catholic 84.5% other Christian 2.2% other 0.3% unknown 9% none 3.9% (2001 census)

Age structure
0-14 years: 16.4% (male 912,995/female 835,715)
15-64 years: 66.2% (male 3,514,905/female 3,555,097)
65 years and over: 17.4% (male 764,443/female 1,093,755) (2008 est.)

Median age
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/1000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 10.62 deaths/1000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.23 migrant(s)/1000 population (2008 est.)

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

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.07 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.09 male/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male/female
Total population: 0.95 male/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 4.85 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 5.31 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 4.36 deaths/1000 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.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.4% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 22,000 (2001 est.)
Deaths: fewer than 1000 (2003 est.)

Education expenditures: 5.5% of GDP (2005)

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
Total: 15 years
Male: 15 years
Female: 16 years (2006)

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

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

Independence: 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
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 [Manuela FERREIRA Leite]; The Left Bloc or BE [Franciso Anacleto LOUCA]; Unitarian Democratic Coalition or CDU [Jeronimo DE SOUSA] (includes PCP and PEV)

International organization participation: ADB (nonregional members) AfDB (nonregional members) Australia Group BIS CE CERN CPLP EAPC EBRD EIB EMU ESA EU FAO IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICCt ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC LAIA (observer) MIGA MINURCAT NAM (guest) NATO NEA NSG OAS (observer) OECD OPCW OSCE PCA Schengen Convention SECI (observer) UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNIFIL Union Latina UNMIT UNWTO UPU WCL WCO WEU WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Joao DE VALLERA
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 Thomas F. STEPHENSON
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

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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $232.3 billion (2007 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 1.8% (2007 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $21,800 (2007 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 8.2%
Industry: 25.4%
Services: 66.4% (2007 est.)

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

Industries: 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

Industrial production growth rate: 2.3% (2007 est.)

Labor force: 5.618 million (2007 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 10%
By occupation industry: 30%
By occupation services: 60% (2007 est.)

Unemployment rate: 8% (2007 est.)

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 (2007)

Budget
Revenues: $96.01 billion
Expenditures: $101.9 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt: 63.6% of GDP (2007 est.)

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2.4% (2007 est.)

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 7.92% (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit: $451.9 billion (31 December 2007)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $66.98 billion (2005)

Current account balance: -$21.75 billion (2007 est.)

Exports: $51.5 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
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
Partners: Spain 27.1% Germany 12.9% France 12.3% UK 5.9% US 4.8% Angola 4.5% Italy 4% (2007)

Imports: $75.3 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
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
Partners: Spain 29.5% Germany 12.9% France 8.4% Italy 5.2% Netherlands 4.6% (2007)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $11.55 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt external: $461.2 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $91.19 billion (2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $54.85 billion (2007 est.)

Exchange rates: euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.7345 (2007) 0.7964 (2006) 0.8041 (2005) 0.8054 (2004) 0.886 (2003)

Electricity
Production: 44.83 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Consumption: 48.02 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Exports: 2.153 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Imports: 9.641 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Consumption: 4.112 billion m³ (2007 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Imports: 4.095 billion m³ (2007 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2006 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 4.139 million (2007)
Mobile cellular: 13.413 million (2007)

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)

Internet
Country code: .pt
Hosts: 1.858 million (2008)
Users: 3.549 million (2007)

Military expenditures: 2.3% of GDP (2005 est.)

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; reserve obligation to age 35 (2007)

Airports: 66 (2007)
With paved runways total: 44
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: 12 (2007)
With unpaved runways total: 22
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 21 (2007)

Pipelines: gas 1098 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: 82,900 km
Paved: 71,294 km (includes 2,300 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 11,606 km (2005)

Waterways: 210 km (on Douro River from Porto) (2006)

Merchant marine
Total: 117
By type: bulk carrier 10, cargo 36, carrier 1, chemical tanker 15, container 6, liquefied gas 9, passenger 10, passenger/cargo 9, petroleum tanker 4, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 15
Foreign owned: 84 (Bahamas 1, Belgium 7, Belgium 1, Denmark 3, Germany 20, Greece 4, Hong Kong 2, Italy 12, Japan 15, Mexico 1, Netherlands 1, Spain 11, Sweden 3, Switzerland 2, US 1)
Registered in other countries: 15 (Cyprus 1, Hong Kong 1, Italy 1, Malta 3, Panama 9) (2008)

Ports and terminals: Leixoes Lisbon Setubal Sines

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