Portugal

mean elevation:

372 m

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

agricultural land:

39.7%;

• arable land 11.9%;
• permanent crops 7.8%;
• permanent pasture 20%

forest:

37.8%

other:

22.5% (2011 est.)

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

noun:

Portuguese (singular and plural)

adjective:

Portuguese

• 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

at birth:

1.07 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.09 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.13 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.88 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.69 male(s)/female

total population:

0.96 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

conventional long form:

Portuguese Republic

conventional short form:

Portugal

local long form:

Republica Portuguesa

local short form:

Portugal

etymology:

name derives from the Roman designation "Portus Cale" meaning "Port of Cale"; Cale was an ancient Celtic town and port in present-day northern Portugal

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

• 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

• several previous;
• latest adopted 2 April 1976, effective 25 April 1976;
• amended several times, last in 2005 (2016)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Portugal

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

10 years; 6 years if from a Portuguese speaking country

chief of state:

President Marcelo REBELO DE SOUSA (since 9 March 2016)

head of government:

Prime Minister Antonio Luis Santos da COSTA (since 24 November 2015)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 24 January 2016 (next to be held in January 2021);
• following legislative elections which must be held by October 2015, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the president

election results:

• Marcelo REBELO DE SOUSA elected president;
• percent of vote - Marcelo REBELO DE SOUSA (PSD) 52%, Antonio Sampaio da NOVA (independent) 22.9%, Marisa MATISA (BE) 10.1%, Maria de BELEM (independent) 4.2%, other 10.8%

note: there is also a Council of State that acts as a consultative body to the president

description:

unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (230 seats; 226 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote and 4 members - 2 each in 2 constituencies representing Portuguese living abroad - directly elected by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 4 October 2015 (next to be held by October 2019)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - Portugal Ahead Coalition (PAF) 36.9%, PS 32.3%, B.E. 10.2%, CDU 8.2%, PPD/PSD (Azores and Madeira) 1.5%, PAN 1.4%, other 9.5%;
• seats by party - PAF 102, PS 86, B.E. 19, CDU 17, PPD/PSD (Azores and Madeira) 5, PAN 1

highest court(s):

Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (consists of 12 justices); Constitutional Court or Tribunal Constitucional (consists of 13 judges)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court justices nominated by the president and appointed by the Assembly of the Republic;
• judges appointed for life;
• Constitutional Court judges - 10 elected by the Assembly and 3 elected by the other Constitutional Court judges;
• judges elected for 6-year non-renewable terms

subordinate courts:

• Supreme Administrative Court (Supremo Tribunal Administrativo);
• Audit Court (Tribunal de Contas);
• appellate, district, and municipal courts

• Democratic and Social Center/Popular Party or CDS/PP [Paulo PORTAS]
• Ecologist Party (The Greens) or PEV [Heloisa APOLONIA]
• Portuguese Communist Party or PCP [Jeronimo DE SOUSA]
• Portugal Ahead Coalition or PAF (includes PSD and CDS/PP)
• Social Democratic Party or PPD/PSD [Pedro PASSOS COELHO]
• Socialist Party or PS [Antonio COSTA]
• The Left Bloc or BE [Catarina Soares MARTINS]
• Unitarian Democratic Coalition or CDU [Jeronimo DE SOUSA] (includes Portuguese Communist Party or PCP and Ecologist Party ("The Greens") or PEV)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Domingos T?eixeira de Abreu Fezas VITAL (since 28 January 2016)

chancery:

2012 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

telephone:

[1] (202) 328-8610

FAX:

[1] (202) 462-3726

consulate(s) general:

Boston, New York, San Francisco

consulate(s):

New Bedford (MA), Newark (NJ), Providence (RI)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Robert A. SHERMAN (since 30 May 2014)

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)

• 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

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

• grain, potatoes, tomatoes, olives, grapes;
• sheep, cattle, goats, pigs, poultry, dairy products;
• fish

• textiles, clothing, footwear, wood and cork, paper and pulp, chemicals, lubricants, automobiles and auto parts, base metals, minerals, porcelain and ceramics, glassware, technology, telecommunications;
• dairy products, wine, other foodstuffs;
• ship construction and refurbishment;
• tourism, plastics, financial services, optics

agriculture:

8.6%

industry:

23.9%

services:

67.5% (2014 est.)

lowest 10%:

3.1%

highest 10%:

28.4% (1995 est.)

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 (2015)

• 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)

number of registered air carriers:

12; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 122

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

12,635,233

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

343,971,094 mt-km (2015)

total:

3,075.1 km

broad gauge:

2,439 km 1.668-m gauge (1,633.4 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

108.1 km 1.000-m gauge

other:

528 km (gauge unspecified) (2014)

country comparison to the world: 58

total:

82,900 km

paved:

71,294 km (includes 2,613 km of expressways)

unpaved:

11,606 km (2008)

country comparison to the world: 57

major seaport(s):

Leixoes, Lisbon, Setubal, Sines

LNG terminal (import):

Sines

• 18-30 years of age for voluntary military service;
• no compulsory military service, but conscription possible if insufficient volunteers available;
• 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 (2012)

• 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