Portugal

republicIndependence 1140

Portugal as the 1991 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 70 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalLisbon

Area92,080 km2

Populationas each edition published it

10.39 million July 1991 · 10.35m in 1990

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 0.36% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 37.6 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 74.89 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

1.5 children per woman 1991 · 1.5 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

13 deaths per 1,000 live births 1991 · 14 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $9,000 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 1.1% in 1993

Geography

11 fields

Total area

92,080km2

land area: 91,640 km2; includes Azores and Madeira IslandsComparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana

Land boundary

1,214km with Spain

Coastline

1,793 km Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm

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

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%;
includes irrigated 7%

Note

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

People

14 fields

Population

10,387,617

(July 1991), growth rate 0.3% (1991)

Per 1,000 population(1991)

Birth

12Death

10Net migration

Religion

Roman Catholic 97%Protestant denominations 1%other 2%

Literacy

85%

(male 89%, female 82%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Nationality

noun--Portuguese (sing. and pl.); 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

Labor force

4,605,700; services 45%, industry 35%, agriculture 20% (1988)

Organized labor

about 55% of the labor force;
the Communist-dominated General Confederation of Portuguese Workers--Intersindical (CGTP-IN) represents more than half of the unionized labor force;
its main competition, the General Workers Union (UGT), is organized by the Socialists and Social Democrats and represents less than half of unionized labor

Government

Republic

17 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

70%

Dr. Mario Lopes SOARES 70%Basilio HORTA 14%Carlos CARVALHAS 13%Carlos MARQUES 3%13 February 1991 (next to be held February 1996)

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 area

Macau (scheduled to become a Special Administrative Region of China in 1999)

Independence

1140; independent republic proclaimed 5 October 1910

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

Executive branch

president, Council of State, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch

unicameral Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da Republica)

Judicial branch

Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Supremo Tribunal de Justica) Chief of State--President Dr. Mario Alberto Nobre Lopes SOARES (since 9 March 1986);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Anibal CAVACO SILVA (since 6 November 1985) Social Democratic Party (PSD), Anibal CAVACO Silva;
Portuguese Socialist Party (PS), Jorge SAMPAIO;
Party of Democratic Renewal (PRD), Herminio MARTINHO;
Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), Alvaro CUNHAL;
Social Democratic Center (CDS), Andriano MORREIRA (interim);
National Solidarity Party, Manuel SERGIO

Suffrage

universal at age 18 President--last held 13 February 1991 (next to be held February 1996);
results--Dr. Mario Lopes SOARES 70%, Basilio HORTA 14%, Carlos CARVALHAS 13%, Carlos MARQUES 3%;
Assembly of the Republic--last held 6 October 1991 (next to be held October 1995);
results--Social Democrats 50.4%, Socialists 29.3%, United Democratic Coalition (CDU; Communists) 8.8%, Christian Democrats 4.4%, National Solidarity Party 1.7%, Democratic Renewal 0.6%, other 4.8%;
seats--(230 total) Social Democrats 132, Socialists 70, United Democratic Coalition (CDU; Communists) 17, Christian Democrats 5, National Solidarity Party 1;
after absentee ballots counted five seats to be allocated

Communists

Portuguese Communist Party claims membership of 200,753 (December 1983)

AfDB, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, FAO, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), LORCS, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Joao Eduardo M. PEREIRA BASTOS;
Chancery at 2125 Kalorama Road NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 328-8610;
there are Portuguese Consulates General in Boston, New York, and San Francisco, and Consulates in Los Angeles, Newark (New Jersey), New Bedford (Massachusetts), and Providence (Rhode Island);
US--Ambassador Everett E. BRIGGS;
Embassy at Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600 Lisbon (mailing address is APO New York 09678-0002);
telephone [351] (1) 726-6600 or 6659, 8670, 8880;
there is a US Consulate in Ponta Delgada (Azores)

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

During the past four years, the economy has made a sustained recovery from the severe recession of 1983-85.

16 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

$57.8billion

per capita $5,580; real growth rate 3.5% (1990)

Inflation, consumer prices

13.4%

(1990)

Unemployment rate

5.5%

(1990 est.)

External debt

$18.4billion

(1990)

Budget

Revenues

$21.6 billionExpenditures

$23.8 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $6.9 billion (1990)

Overview

During the past four years, the economy has made a sustained recovery from the severe recession of 1983-85. The economy grew by 14% during the 1987-89 period, largely because of strong domestic consumption and investment spending. Unemployment has declined for the third consecutive year, but inflation continues to be about three times the European Community average.

The government is pushing economic restructuring and privatization measures in anticipation of the 1992 European Community timetable to form a single large market in Europe.

Exports

$16.3 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities--cotton textiles, cork and cork products, canned fish, wine, timber and timber products, resin, machinery, appliances;
partners--EC 72%, other developed countries 13%, US 5%

Imports

$24.9 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
commodities--petroleum, cotton, foodgrains, industrial machinery, iron and steel, chemicals;
partners--EC 69%, other developed countries 11%, less developed countries 13%, US 4%

Industrial production

growth rate 4.9% (1989); accounts for 40% of GDP

Electricity

6,729,000 kW capacity; 16,000 million kWh produced, 1,530 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries

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

Agriculture

accounts for 9% of GDP and 20% of labor force;
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

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.8 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $1.13 billion

Currency

Portuguese escudo (plural--escudos); 1 Portuguese escudo (Esc) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates

Portuguese escudos (Esc) per US$1--134.46 (January 1991), 142.55 (1990), 157.46 (1989), 143.95 (1988), 140.88 (1987), 149.59 (1986), 170.39 (1985)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

9 fields

Merchant marine, 52 ships by typeone square, one ship

short-sea passenger 1cargo 20refrigerated cargo 2container 1roll-on/roll-off cargo 1petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker 12chemical tanker 2liquefied gas 2bulk 10combination bulk; note--Portugal has created a captive register on Madeira (MAR) for Portuguese-owned ships that will have the taxation and crewing benefits of a flag of convenience; although only one ship currently is known to fly the Portuguese flag on the MAR register, it is likely that a majority of Portuguese flag ships will transfer to this subregister in a few years 152 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 684,350 GRT/1,190,454 DWT

Airports, 69 total, 63 usable

permanent-surface runways

36runways over 3,659 m

1runways 2,440-3,659 m

12runways 1,220-2,439 m

Networkskm

Highways

73,661Inland waterways

820

Highways: ; 61,599 km paved (bituminous, gravel, and crushed stone), including 140 km of limited-access divided highway; 7,962 km improved earth; 4,100 km unimproved earth (motorable tracks) · Inland waterways: ; relatively unimportant to national economy, used by shallow-draft craft limited to 300-metric-ton cargo capacity

Railroads

3,613 km total;
state-owned Portuguese Railroad Co. (CP) operates 2,858 km 1.665-meter gauge (434 km electrified and 426 km double track), 755 km 1.000-meter gauge;
12 km (1.435-meter gauge) electrified, double track, privately owned

Highways

73,661 km total;
61,599 km paved (bituminous, gravel, and crushed stone), including 140 km of limited-access divided highway;
7,962 km improved earth;
4,100 km unimproved earth (motorable tracks)

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, 11 km; refined products, 58 km

Ports

Leixoes, Lisbon, Porto, Ponta Delgada (Azores), Velas (Azores), Setubal, Sines

Civil air

29 major transport aircraft

Telecommunications

facilities are generally adequate;
2,690,000 telephones;
stations--57 AM, 66 (22 relays) FM, 25 (23 relays) TV;
7 submarine cables;
communication satellite ground stations operating in the INTELSAT (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), EUTELSAT, and domestic systems (mainland and Azores)