Portugal

republic

Portugal as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 128 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

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CapitalLisbon
LocationSouthwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean west of Spain
1994

Every edition of Portugal

Populationas each edition published it
10.52 million July 1994 est. · 10.35m in 1990
Population growth% a year
0.36% 1994 est. · 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
1.46 children per woman 1994 est. · 1.5 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
9.5 deaths per 1,000 live births 1994 est. · 14 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$8,700 1993 · $9,000 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
-0.4% 1993 · 1.1% in 1993

Geography

Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean west of Spain

25 fields
Coastline
1,793km
Land boundaries
1,214km
total · Spain 1,214 km
Irrigated land
6,340sq km
(1989 est.)

Location

Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean west of Spain

Map references

Africa, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

total area

92,080 sq km

land area

91,640 sq km

comparative area

slightly smaller than Indiana

note

includes Azores and Madeira Islands

continental shelf

200-m depth or to 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

Natural resources

fish, forests (cork), tungsten, iron ore, uranium ore, marble

arable land

32%

permanent crops

6%

meadows and pastures

6%

forest and woodland

40%

other

16%

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, Wetlands;
  • signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, 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

21 fields
Population
10,524,210
(July 1994 est.)growth rate: 0.36% (1994 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1994 est.)

Birth
11.66Death
9.7Net migration
1.67

Religions

Roman Catholic 97%Protestant denominations 1%other 2%
Labor force
4,605,700
Literacy
15and over can read and write
age · (1990 est.)

Infant mortality rate

9.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

total population

75.2 years

male

71.77 years

female

78.86 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.46 children born/woman (1994 est.)

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

Languages

Portuguese

total population

85%

male

89%

female

82%

by occupation

services 45%, industry 35%, agriculture 20% (1988)

Government

Republic

36 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

50.4%
PSD 50.4%PS 29.3%CDU 8.8%Center Democrats 4.4%PRD 0.6%other 4.8%

Legislature, 230 seatsone dot, one seat

PSD 136PS 71CDU 17Center Democrats 5

conventional long form

Portuguese Republic

conventional short form

Portugal

local long form

Republica Portuguesa

local short form

Portugal

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

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

chief of state

  • President Dr. Mario Alberto Nobre Lopes SOARES (since 9 March 1986);
  • election last held 13 February 1991 (next to be held NA February 1996);
  • results - Dr. Mario Lopes SOARES 70%, Basilio HORTA 14%, Carlos CARVALHAS 13%, Carlos MARQUES 3%

head of government

Prime Minister Anibal CAVACO SILVA (since 6 November 1985)

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

Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da Republica)

  • elections last held 6 October 1991 (next to be held NA October 1995);
  • results - PSD 50.4%, PS 29.3%, CDU 8.8%, Center Democrats 4.4%, National Solidarity Party 1.7%, PRD 0.6%, other 4.8%;
  • seats - (230 total) PSD 136, PS 71, CDU 17, Center Democrats 5, National Solidarity Party 1

Judicial branch

Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Supremo Tribunal de Justica)

Political parties and leaders

  • Social Democratic Party (PSD), Anibal CAVACO Silva;
  • 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, Australian Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, FAO, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), LORCS, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMOZ, UNPROFOR, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

chief of mission

Ambassador Francisco Jose Laco Treichler KNOPFLI

chancery

2125 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone

(202) 328-8610

FAX

(202) 462-3726

consulate(s) general

Boston, New York, Newark (New Jersey), and San Francisco

consulate(s)

Los Angeles, New Bedford (Massachusetts), and Providence (Rhode Island)

chief of mission

(vacant); Charge d'Affaires Sharon P. WILKINSON

embassy

Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600 Lisbon

mailing address

PSC 83, Lisbon; APO AE 09726

telephone

[351] (1) 726-6600 or 6659, 8670, 8880

FAX

[351] (1) 726-9109

consulate(s)

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

Portugal's economy registered only 1.1% growth in 1992 and contracted | by 0.4% in 1993, in contrast to the 4.5% average of the fast-paced | 1986-90 period.

26 fields
Real growth rate
-0.4%
(1993)industrial production growth: growth rate 9.1% (1990); accounts for 40% of GDP
Unemployment rate
7%
(1993 est.)

Overview

Portugal's economy registered only 1.1% growth in 1992 and contracted by 0.4% in 1993, in contrast to the 4.5% average of the fast-paced 1986-90 period. Recession in the European Union, which accounts for 75% of Portugal's international trade, is the key factor in the downturn. The government's long-run economic goal is the modernization of Portuguese markets, industry, infrastructure, and workforce in order to catch up with productivity and income levels of the more advanced EU countries.

Per capita income now equals only 55% of the EU average. The government's medium-term economic objective is to be in the first tier of EU countries eligible to join the economic and monetary union (EMU) as early as 1997. Economic policy in 1993 focused on reducing inflationary pressures by lowering the fiscal deficit, maintaining a stable escudo, moderating wage increases, and encouraging increased competition.

Resumption of growth in the short run depends on the revival of growth in Europe as a whole, not a likely prospect in the immediate future.

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $91.5 billion (1993)

revenues

$27.3 billion

expenditures

$33.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $4.5 billion (1991 est.)

Exports

$17.5 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)

commodities

cotton textiles, cork and paper products, canned fish, wine, timber and timber products, resin, machinery, appliances

partners

EC 75.4%, other developed countries 12.4%, US 3.8% (1992)

Imports

$28 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.)

commodities

machinery and transport equipment, agricultural products, chemicals, petroleum, textiles

partners

EC 72%, other developed countries 10.9% less developed countries 12.9%, US 3.4%

External debt

$20 billion (1993 est.)

capacity

6,624,000 kW

production

26.4 billion kWh

consumption per capita

2,520 kWh (1992)

Industries

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

Agriculture

  • accounts for 6.1% 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

Illicit drugs

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

recipient

US 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 - 176.16 (January 1994), 160.80 (1993), 135.00 (1992), 144.48 (1991), 142.55 (1990), 157.46 (1989)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

16 fields

Railroads

  • 3,625 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

total

73,661 km

paved and gravel

61,599 km (including 453 km of expressways)

unpaved

earth 12,062 km

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

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

Merchant marine

61 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 962,293 GRT/1,779,855 DWT, bulk 3, cargo 25, chemical tanker 4, container 3, liquified gas 2, oil tanker 18, refrigerated cargo 3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1, short-sea passenger 2

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

total

65

usable

63

with permanent-surface runways

37

with runways over 3,659 m

2

with runways 2,440-3,659 m

10

with runways 1,220-2,439 m

11

Telecommunications

  • generally adequate integrated network of coaxial cables, open wire and microwave radio relay;
  • 2,690,000 telephones;
  • broadcast stations - 57 AM, 66 (22 repeaters) FM, 66 (23 repeaters) TV;
  • 6 submarine cables;
  • 3 INTELSAT earth stations (2 Atlantic Ocean, 1 Indian Ocean), EUTELSAT, domestic satellite systems (mainland and Azores);
  • tropospheric link to Azores

Defense Forces

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

4 fields

Branches

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

Manpower availability

  • males age 15-49 2,723,987;
  • fit for military service 2,207,637;
  • reach military age (20) annually 89,380 (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $2.1 billion, 2.9% of GDP (1993)

Affiliation

(commonwealth associated with the US)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Portugal.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/portugal/1994.

How to cite ← 1993 edition 1995 edition →