Portugal
Portuguese RepublicRepublica Portuguesa
republicIndependence 1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized)
Portugal as the 2012 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 158 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
Following its heyday as a global maritime 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 of its wealthiest colony of Brazil in 1822. 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. In January 2011, Portugal assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2011-12 term.
Geography
Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain
20 fieldsLand useshare of 92,090 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), iron ore, copper, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble, clay, gypsum, salt, arable land, hydropower
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)
- total:
- 11.09 cu km/yr (10%/12%/78%)
- per capita:
- 1,056 cu m/yr (1998)
Natural hazards
Azores subject to severe earthquakes
- volcanism:
- limited volcanic activity in the Azores Islands;
- Fayal or Faial (elev. 1,043 m) last erupted in 1958;
- most volcanoes have not erupted in centuries;
- historically active volcanoes include
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, Whaling
- signed, but not ratified:
- Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Environmental Modification
Geography - note
Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar
People and Society
30 fieldsAge structuremale left, female right · (2012 est.)
Per 1,000 population
Male · female
Religions(2001 census)
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
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.07 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.09 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 1 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.69 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 0.95 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
Government
Republic; President Anibal CAVACO SILVA (since 9 March 2006); Prime Minister Pedro Manuel Mamede PASSOS COELHO (since 21 June 2011)
21 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica, 230 seats, elected 5 June 2011one 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
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
National holiday
Portugal Day (Dia de 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; subsequently revised
note: the revisions placed the military under strict civilian control, trimmed the powers of the president, and laid the groundwork for a stable, pluralistic liberal democracy;
they allowed for the privatization of nationalized firms and government-owned communications media
International law organization participation
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- President Anibal CAVACO SILVA (since 9 March 2006)
- head of government:
- Prime Minister Pedro Manuel Mamede PASSOS COELHO (since 21 June 2011)
- cabinet:
- Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)
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 on 23 January 2011 (next to be held in January 2016);
- following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the president
- election results:
- Anibal CAVACO SILVA reelected president; percent of vote - Anibal CAVACO SILVA 53%, Manuel ALEGRE 19.8%, Fernando NOBRE 14.1%, Francisco LOPES 7.1%, Manuel COELHO 4.5%, Defensor MOURA 1.6%
Legislative branch
unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (230 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
- elections:
- last held on 5 June 2011 (next to be held in 2015)
- election results:
- percent of vote by party - PPD/PSD 38%, PS 28%, CDS/PP 11%, PCP/PEV 7%, BE 5%; seats by party - PPD/PSD 108, PS 74, CDS/PP 24, PCP/PEV 16, BE 8
Judicial branch
- Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional) consists of 13 judges (10 appointed by the Assembly and 3 are coopted by the 10 judges) for six-year terms;
- Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal de Justica);
- Audit Court (auditoria do Tribunal);
- Supreme Administrative Court (Supremo Tribunal Administrativo);
- all judges are appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura
Political parties and leaders
- Democratic and Social Center/Popular Party or CDS/PP [Paulo PORTAS];
- Social Democratic Party or PSD [Pedro PASSOS COELHO];
- Socialist Party or PS [Jose SEGURO];
- The Left Bloc or BE [Pedro Filipe SOARES];
- Unitarian Democratic Coalition or CDU [Jeronimo DE SOUSA] (includes Portuguese Communist Party or PCP and Ecologist Party ("The Greens") or PEV)
Political pressure groups and leaders
- Armed Forces Officers' Association (AOFA) [Colonel Pereira CRACEL];
- the Desperate Generation (youth movement protesting against low wages, precarious labor conditions, and unemployment);
- the General Workers Union or General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (UGT) [Joao PROENCA];
- Portuguese National Workers' Conference (CGTP) [Armenio CARLOS];
- TugaLeaks (a website that has become a mouthpiece for publicizing diverse protest action)
- other:
- the media; labor unions
International organization participation
ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BIS, CD, CE, CERN, CPLP, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAIA (observer), MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club (associate), PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIT, UNSC (temporary), UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Nuno Filipe Alves Salvador e BRITO
- chancery:
- 2012 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 332-3007
- FAX:
- [1] (202) 462-3726
- consulate(s) general:
- Boston, New York, Newark (New Jersey), San Francisco
- consulate(s):
- New Bedford (Massachusetts), Providence (Rhode Island)
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Allan J. KATZ
- embassy:
- Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600-081 Lisbon
- mailing address:
- Apartado 43033, 1601-301 Lisboa; PSC 83, APO AE 09726
- telephone:
- [351] (21) 727-3300
- FAX:
- [351] (21) 726-9109
- consulate(s):
- Ponta Delgada (Azores)
Flag description
- two vertical bands of green (hoist side, two-fifths) and red (three-fifths) with the national coat of arms (armillary sphere and Portuguese shield) centered on the dividing line;
- explanations for the color meanings are ambiguous, but a popular interpretation has green symbolizing hope and red the blood of those defending the nation
National anthem
- name:
- "A Portugesa" (The Song of the Portuguese)
- lyrics/music:
- Henrique LOPES DE MENDOCA/Alfredo KEIL
note: adopted 1910; "A Portuguesa" was originally written to protest the Portuguese monarchy's acquiescence to the 1890 British ultimatum forcing Portugal to give up areas of Africa; the lyrics refer to the "insult" that resulted from the event
Economy
Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Community - the EU's predecessor - in 1986.
39 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2012 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Economy - overview
Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Community - the EU's predecessor - in 1986. Over the following two decades, successive governments privatized many state-controlled firms and liberalized key areas of the economy, including the financial and telecommunications sectors.
The country qualified for the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in 1998 and began circulating the euro on 1 January 2002 along with 11 other EU members. The economy grew by more than the EU average for much of the 1990s, but the rate of growth slowed in 2001-08. The economy contracted 2.5% in 2009, before growing 1.4% in 2010, but GDP fell again in 2011 and 2012, as the government began implementing spending cuts and tax increases to comply with conditions of an EU-IMF financial rescue package, agreed to in May 2011.
GDP per capita stands at roughly two-thirds of the EU-27 average. Portugal also has been increasingly overshadowed by lower-cost producers in Central Europe and Asia as a destination for foreign direct investment, in part because its rigid labor market hindered greater productivity and growth.
However, the government of Pedro PASSOS COELHO has enacted several measures to introduce more flexibility into the labor market, and, this, along with steps to reduce high levels of public debt, could make Portugal more attractive to foreign investors. The government reduced the budget deficit from 10.1% of GDP in 2009 to 4.5% in 2011, an achievement made possible only by the extraordinary revenues obtained from the one-time transfer of bank pension funds to the social security system.
The budget deficit worsened in 2012 as a sharp reduction in domestic consumption took a bigger bite out of value-added tax revenues while rising unemployment benefits increased expenditures more than anticipated. Poor growth prospects over the next year have reinforced investors' concerns about the government's ability to achieve its budget deficit targets and regain full access to bond market financing when the EU-IMF financing program expires in 2013.
Distribution of family income - Gini index
38.5 (2007) · 35.6 (1995) country comparison to the world: 70
Public debt
119.7% of GDP (2012 est.) · 107.8% of GDP (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 9 note: data cover general government debt, and includes debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions
Central bank discount rate
1.5% (31 December 2012) · 1.75% (31 December 2010) country comparison to the world: 125 note: this is the European Central Bank's rate on the marginal lending facility, which offers overnight credit to banks in the euro area
Commercial bank prime lending rate
6.6% (31 December 2012 est.) · 5.71% (31 December 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 148
Stock of narrow money
$86.55 billion (31 December 2012 est.) · $89.42 billion (31 December 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 38 note: see entry for the European Union for money supply in the euro area; the European Central Bank (ECB) controls monetary policy for the 17 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of money circulating within their own borders
Stock of broad money
$298.3 billion (31 December 2012 est.) · $322.7 billion (31 December 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 32
Stock of domestic credit
$390.4 billion (31 December 2012 est.) · $451.3 billion (31 December 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 31
Agriculture - products
- grain, potatoes, tomatoes, olives, grapes;
- sheep, cattle, goats, pigs, poultry, dairy products;
- fish
Current account balance
-$6 billion (2012 est.) · -$15.44 billion (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 168
Exports - commodities
agricultural products, food products, wine, oil products, chemical products, plastics and rubber, hides, leather, wood and cork, wood pulp and paper, textile materials, clothing, footwear, machinery and tools, base metals
Imports - commodities
agricultural products, chemical products, vehicles and other transport material, and optical and precision instruments, computer accessories and parts, semi-conductors and related devices, oil products, base metals, food products, textile materials
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$21.34 billion (31 December 2011 est.) · $21 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 56
Debt - external
$548.3 billion (30 June 2011) · $497.8 billion (30 June 2010) country comparison to the world: 24
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home
$128.2 billion (31 December 2012 est.) · $120.4 billion (31 December 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 31
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad
$64.25 billion (31 December 2012 est.) · $64.25 billion (31 December 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 32
Exchange rates
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.7838 (2012 est.) · 0.7185 (2011 est.) · 755 (2010 est.) · 0.7198 (2009 est.) · 0.6827 (2008 est.)
Energy
23 fieldsInstalled generating capacity, 17.39 million kW(2009 est.)
Electricity - from fossil fuels
48.3% of total installed capacity (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 158
Electricity - from nuclear fuels
0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 162
Electricity - from hydroelectric plants
23.3% of total installed capacity (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 85
Electricity - from other renewable sources
22.5% of total installed capacity (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 5
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy
51.43 million Mt (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 61
Communications
7 fieldsTelephone system
- general assessment:
- Portugal's telephone system has 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
Broadcast media
- Radio e Televisao de Portugal (RTP),the publicly-owned TV broadcaster, operates 2 domestic channels and external service channels to Africa;
- overall, roughly 40 domestic TV stations;
- viewers have widespread access to international broadcasters with more than half of all households connected to multi-channel cable or satellite TV systems;
- publicly-owned radio operates 3 national networks and provides regional and external services;
- several privately-owned national radio stations and some 300 regional and local commercial radio stations (2008)
Transportation
9 fieldsMerchant marine, 109 ships by type
Airports by runway lengthpaved only
Airports by runway lengthunpaved only
Networkskm
Railways
- total:
- 3,319 km
country comparison to the world: 53
- broad gauge:
- 2,700 km 1.668-m gauge (1,436 km electrified)
- narrow gauge:
- 192 km 1.000-m gauge; 427 km 0.760-m gauge (2008)
Roadways
- total:
- 82,900 km
country comparison to the world: 54
- paved:
- 71,294 km (includes 2,613 km of expressways)
- unpaved:
- 11,606 km (2008)
Military
Portuguese Army (Exercito Portuguesa), Portuguese Navy (Marinha Portuguesa; includes Marine Corps), Portuguese Air Force (Forca Aerea Portuguesa, FAP) (2010)
6 fieldsMilitary branches
Portuguese Army (Exercito Portuguesa), Portuguese Navy (Marinha Portuguesa; includes Marine Corps), Portuguese Air Force (Forca Aerea Portuguesa, FAP) (2010)
Military service age and obligation
- 18 years of age for voluntary military service;
- no compulsory military service;
- 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 (2010)
Manpower available for military service
- males age 16-49:
- 2,566,264
- females age 16-49:
- 2,458,297 (2010 est.)
Transnational Issues
2 fieldsDisputes - 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
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Portugal.” The World Factbook 2012. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/portugal/2012.