Portugal
Portuguese RepublicRepublica Portuguesa
parliamentary democracy
Portugal as the 2002 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 116 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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 entered the EC (now the EU) in 1985.
Geography
Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain
18 fieldsLand useshare of 92,391 sq km
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), tungsten, iron ore, uranium ore, marble, arable land, hydropower
Environment - current issues
- soil erosion;
- air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions;
- water pollution, especially in coastal areas
Environment - 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
- signed, but not ratified:
- Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban
Geography - note
Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar
People
18 fieldsPer 1,000 population(2002 est.)
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 16.9% (male 875,485; female 827,670)
- 15-64 years:
- 67.3% (male 3,324,215; female 3,463,301)
- 65 years and over:
- 15.8% (male 644,761; female 948,813) (2002 est.)
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.07 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.06 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 0.96 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.68 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 0.93 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
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
Government
Parliamentary democracy; President Jorge SAMPAIO (since 9 March 1996); Prime Minister Jose Manuel DURAO Barroso (since 6 April 2002)
18 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica, 230 seats, elected 17 March 2002one dot, one seat
Percent of vote
Country name
- conventional long form:
- Portuguese Republic
- conventional short form:
- Portugal
- local long form:
- Republica Portuguesa
- local short form:
- Portugal
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
Constitution
25 April 1976, revised 30 October 1982, 1 June 1989, 5 November 1992, and 3 September 1997
Legal system
- civil law system;
- the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation;
- accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- President Jorge SAMPAIO (since 9 March 1996)
note: there is also a Council of State that acts as a consultative body to the president
- head of government:
- Prime Minister Jose Manuel DURAO Barroso (since 6 April 2002)
- cabinet:
- Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
- elections:
- president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
- election last held 14 January 2001 (next to be held NA January 2006);
- 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:
- Jorge SAMPAIO reelected president; percent of vote - Jorge SAMPAIO (Socialist) 55.8%, Joaquim FERREIRA Do Amaral (Social Democrat) 34.5%, Antonio ABREU (Communist) 5.1%
Legislative branch
unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (230 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
- elections:
- last held 17 March 2002 (next to be held NA 2006)
- election results:
- percent of vote by party - PSD 40.1%, PS 37.8%, PP 8.7%, PCP/PEV 6.9%, The Left Bloc 2.7%; seats by party - PSD 105, PS 96, PP 14, PCP/PEV 12, The Left Bloc 3
Judicial branch
Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura)
Political parties and leaders
- The Greens or PEV [no leader];
- Popular Party or PP [Paulo PORTAS];
- Portuguese Communist Party/The Greens or PCP/PEV [Carlos CARVALHAS];
- Portuguese Socialist Party or PS [Eduardo Ferro RODRIGUES];
- Social Democratic Party or PSD [Jose Manuel DURAO Barroso];
- United Democratic Coalition or CDU [leader NA];
- The Left Bloc [no leader]
International organization participation
AfDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Pedro Manuel Dos Reis Alves CATARINO
- consulate(s):
- Los Angeles, New Bedford (Massachusetts), Providence (Rhode Island)
- consulate(s) general:
- Boston, New York, Newark (New Jersey), and San Francisco
- FAX:
- [1] (202) 462-3726
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 328-8610
- chancery:
- 2125 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador John N. PALMER
- embassy:
- Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600-081 Lisbon, Apartado 4258, 1507 Lisboa CODEX
- mailing address:
- PSC 83, APO AE 09726
- telephone:
- [351] (21) 727-3300
- FAX:
- [351] (21) 727-9109
- consulate(s):
- 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
Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Community in 1986.
33 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2001)
Electricity
Economy - overview
Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Community in 1986. Over the past decade, 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 its new currency, the euro, on 1 January 2002 along with 11 other EU member economies. Economic growth has been above the EU average for much of the past decade, but fell back in 2001-02. GDP per capita stands at 75% of that of the leading EU economies.
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 new coalition government faces tough choices in its attempts to boost Portugal's economic competitiveness and to keep the budget deficit within the 3% EU ceiling.
Industries
- textiles and footwear;
- wood pulp, paper, and cork;
- metalworking;
- oil refining;
- chemicals;
- fish canning;
- wine;
- tourism
Agriculture - products
grain, potatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, poultry, beef, dairy products
Exports - partners
EU 79.7% (Germany 19.2%, Spain 18.6%, France 12.6%, UK 10.3%, Benelux 5.4%), US 5.8% (2001)
Imports - commodities
machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum, textiles, agricultural products
Imports - partners
EU 74.2% (Spain 26.5%, Germany 13.9%, France 10.3%, Italy 6.7%, UK 5.0%), US 3.8%, Japan 1.9% (2001)
Currency
euro (EUR); Portuguese escudo (PTE)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries;
on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries
Exchange rates
euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Portuguese escudos per US dollar - 180.10 (1998), 175.31 (1997)
Communications
10 fieldsTelephone system
- general assessment:
- undergoing rapid development in recent years, Portugal's telephone system, by the end of 1998, achieved a state-of-the-art network with broadband, high-speed capabilities and a main line telephone density of 53%
- domestic:
- integrated network of coaxial cables, open wire, microwave radio relay, and domestic satellite earth stations
- 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
Television broadcast stations
62 (plus 166 repeaters) note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands (1995)
Transportation
9 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
Networkskm
Railways
- total:
- 2,850 km
- broad gauge:
- 2,576 km 1.668-m gauge (623 km electrified; 426 km double-tracked)
- narrow gauge:
- 274 km 1.000-m gauge (2001)
Waterways
820 km note: relatively unimportant to national economy, used by shallow-draft craft limited to 300 metric-ton or less cargo capacity
Pipelines
- crude oil 22 km;
- petroleum products 58 km;
- natural gas 700 km
note: the secondary lines for the natural gas pipeline that will be 300 km long have not yet been built
Ports and harbors
Aveiro, Funchal (Madeira Islands), Horta (Azores), Leixoes, Lisbon, Porto, Ponta Delgada (Azores), Praia da Vitoria (Azores), Setubal, Viana do Castelo
Merchant marine
- total:
- 140 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,001,440 GRT/1,519,701 DWT
- ships by type:
- bulk 10, cargo 71, chemical tanker 17, container 10, liquefied gas 8, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, petroleum tanker 10, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 6, short-sea passenger 4, vehicle carrier 2
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 1, British Virgin Islands 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark 6, Germany 20, Greece 1, Iceland 1, Italy 16, Lebanon 1, Liberia 1, Monaco 2, Norway 5, Panama 5, Spain 22, Switzerland 8, United Kingdom 1, Virgin Islands (UK) 1 (2002 est.)
Military
Army, Navy (PON) (includes Marines), Air Force, Republican Guard (includes Fiscal Guard)
7 fieldsMilitary branches
Army, Navy (PON) (includes Marines), Air Force, Republican Guard (includes Fiscal Guard)
Transnational Issues
2 fieldsIllicit drugs
- gateway country for Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market;
- transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Europe;
- consumer of Southwest Asian heroin
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Portugal.” The World Factbook 2002. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/portugal/2002.