Portugal

Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

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

Area

Total area: 92,080 sq km
Land area: 91,640 sq km
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana

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

International Disputes

Sovereignty over Timor Timur (East Timor Province) disputed with Indonesia

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

Natural Resources

Fish
Forests (cork)
Tungsten
Iron ore
Uranium ore
Marble

Land Use

Arable land: 32%
Permanent crops: 6%
Meadows and pastures: 6%
Forest and woodland: 40%
Other: 16%

Irrigated Land

6,340 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment

Current issues: soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas
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

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

PEOPLE

Population

9,865,114 (July 1996 est.)
10,562,388 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

18% (male 888,157; female 843,309) (July 1996 est.)
18% (male 1,000,971; female 943,412) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 Years

68% (male 3,249,973; female 3,414,793) (July 1996 est.)
68% (male 3,499,176; female 3,625,086) (July 1995 est.)

65 Years and Over

14% (male 601,913; female 866,969) (July 1996 est.)
14% (female 889,142; male 604,601) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

0.02% (1996 est.)
0.36% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

10.53 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
11.72 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

10.2 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
9.65 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

-0.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
1.55 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

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: 0.92 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

7.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
9.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total population: 75.31 years (1996 est.), 75.53 years (1995 est.)
Male: 71.52 years 91996 est.), 72.11 years (1995 est.)
Female: 79.31 years (1996 est.), 79.16 years (1995 est.)

Total Fertility Rate

1.36 children born/woman (1996 est.)
1.47 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Noun: Portuguese (singular and plural)
Adjective: Portuguese

Ethnic Divisions

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

Religions

Roman Catholic 97%
Protestant denominations 1%
Other 2%

Languages

Portuguese

Literacy

Age 15 and over can read and write (1990)

Total population: 85%
Male: 89%
Female: 82%

Labor Force

4.24 million (1994 est.)

By occupation:

Services 54.5%
Manufacturing 24.4%
Agriculture, forestry, fisheries 11.2%
Construction 8.3%
Utilites 1.0%
Mining 0.5% (1992)

GOVERNMENT

Names

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

Digraph

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)

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

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

Social Democratic Party (PSD), Marcelo Rebelo DE SOUSA; Portuguese Socialist Party (PS), Antonio GUTERRES; Party of Democratic Renewal (PRD), Pedro CANAVARRO; Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), Carlos CARVALHAS; Social Democratic Center (CDS), Manuel MONTEIRO; National Solidarity Party (PSN), Manuel SERGIO; Center Democratic Party (CDS); United Democratic Coalition (CDU; communists)

Member of

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

National Anthem

Flag

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'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.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $116.2 billion (1995 est.), $107.3 billion (1994 est.)

National Product Real Growth Rate

2.8% (1995 est.)
1.4% (1994 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$11,000 (1995 est.)
$10,190 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

4.6% (1995 est.)
6.1% (May 1994)

Unemployment Rate

7.1% (1995 est.)
6.7% (May 1994)

Budget

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

Exports

$18.9 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
$15.4 billion (f.o.b., 1993)

Commodities:

Clothing and footwear
Machinery
Cork and paper products
Hides and skins

Partners:

EU 75.1%
Other developed countries 12.4%
U.S. 5.2% (1995)

Imports

$24.1 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
$24.3 billion (c.i.f., 1993)

Commodities:

Machinery and transport equipment
Agricultural products
Chemicals
Petroleum
Textiles

Partners:

EU 71%
Other developed countries 10.9%
Less developed countries 12.9%
U.S. 2.5%

External Debt

$11.8 billion (1995 est.)
$20 billion (1993 est.)

Industrial Production

Growth rate 2.1% (1995 est.), 1.5% (1994 est.); accounts for 30.6% of GDP

Electricity

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

Industries

Textiles and footwear
Wood pulp, paper, and cork
Metalworking
Oil refining
Chemicals
Fish canning
Wine
Tourism

Agriculture

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

Illicit Drugs

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

Economic Aid

donor: ODA, $248 million (1993)
Recipient: ODA, $70 million (1993), U.S. commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.8 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.2 billion

Currency

1 Portuguese escudo (Esc) = 100 centavos

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

Fiscal Year

Calendar year

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Total: 3,068 km
Broad gauge: 2,761 km 1.668-m gauge (464 km electrified; 426 km double track)
Narrow gauge: 307 km 1.000-m gauge

Highways

Total: 70,176 km (statistics for continental Portugal only)
Paved and graveled: 60,351 km (519 km of expressways)
Unpaved: earth 9,825 km (1992 est.)

Inland Waterways

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

Pipelines

Crude oil 22 km; petroleum products 58 km

Ports

Aveiro, Funchal (Madeira Islands), Horta (Azores), Leixoes, Lisbon, Porto, Ponta Delgada (Azores), Praia da Vitoria (Azores), Setubal, Viana do Castelo

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

Airports

Total: 67
With paved runways over 3,047 m: 5
With paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8
With paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
With paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 18
With paved runways under 914 m: 30
With unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (1995 est.)

COMMUNICATIONS

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

Radio

Broadcast stations: AM 57, FM 66 (repeaters 22), shortwave 0
Radios: 2.2 million (1993 est.)

Television

Broadcast stations: 66 (repeaters 23)
Televisions: 2,970,892 (1993 est.)

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force, National Republican Guard, Fiscal Guard, Public Security Police

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 2,498,965; males fit for military service 2,014,653; males reach military age (20) annually 83,427 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

Exchange rate conversion - $1.9 billion, 2.4% of GDP (1995), $2.4 billion, 2.9% of GDP (1994)

History
World Atlas

web hosting • domain names
web design • online games