"text":"<p>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 Brazil, its wealthiest colony, in 1822. A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, and 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.</p>"
"text":"200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation"
}
},
"Climate":{
"text":"maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south"
},
"Terrain":{
"text":"the west-flowing Tagus River divides the country: the north is mountainous toward the interior, while the south is characterized by rolling plains"
},
"Elevation":{
"mean elevation":{
"text":"372 m"
},
"lowest point":{
"text":"Atlantic Ocean 0 m"
},
"highest point":{
"text":"Ponta do Pico (Pico or Pico Alto) on Ilha do Pico in the Azores 2,351 m"
"text":"<p>Azores subject to severe earthquakes</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> limited volcanic activity in the Azores Islands; Fayal or Faial (1,043 m) last erupted in 1958; most volcanoes have not erupted in centuries; historically active volcanoes include Agua de Pau, Furnas, Pico, Picos Volcanic System, San Jorge, Sete Cidades, and Terceira</p>"
"text":"Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar; they are two of the four North Atlantic archipelagos that make up Macaronesia; the others are the Canary Islands (Spain) and Cabo Verde"
"text":"white homogeneous Mediterranean population; citizens of black African descent who immigrated to mainland during decolonization number less than 100,000; since 1990, Eastern Europeans have migrated to Portugal"
},
"Languages":{
"text":"Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official, but locally used)"
},
"Religions":{
"text":"Roman Catholic 81%, other Christian 3.3%, other (includes Jewish, Muslim) 0.6%, none 6.8%, unspecified 8.3% (2011 est.)",
"text":"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"
}
},
"Government type":{
"text":"semi-presidential republic"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Lisbon"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"38 43 N, 9 08 W"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
},
"daylight saving time":{
"text":"+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October"
"note":"<p><strong>note:</strong> Portugal has two time zones, including the Azores (UTC-1)<br /><br /><strong>etymology:</strong> Lisbon is one of Europe's oldest cities (the second oldest capital city after Athens) and the origin of the name is lost in time; it may have been founded as an ancient Celtic settlement that subsequently maintained close commercial relations with the Phoenicians (beginning about 1200 B.C.); the name of the settlement may have been derived from the pre-Roman appellation for the Tagus River that runs through the city, Lisso or Lucio; the Romans named the city \"Olisippo\" when they took it from the Carthaginians in 205 B.C.; under the Visigoths the city name became \"Ulixbona,\" under the Arabs it was \"al-Ushbuna\"; the medieval version of \"Lissabona\" became today's Lisboa</p>"
"text":"1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 1 December 1640 (independence reestablished following 60 years of Spanish rule); 5 October 1910 (republic proclaimed)"
},
"National holiday":{
"text":"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":{
"history":{
"text":"several previous; latest adopted 2 April 1976, effective 25 April 1976"
},
"amendments":{
"text":"proposed by the Assembly of the Republic; adoption requires two-thirds majority vote of Assembly members; amended several times, last in 2005"
}
},
"Legal system":{
"text":"civil law system; Constitutional Court review of legislative acts"
},
"International law organization participation":{
"text":"accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction"
},
"Citizenship":{
"citizenship by birth":{
"text":"no"
},
"citizenship by descent only":{
"text":"at least one parent must be a citizen of Portugal"
},
"dual citizenship recognized":{
"text":"yes"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization":{
"text":"10 years; 6 years if from a Portuguese-speaking country"
}
},
"Suffrage":{
"text":"18 years of age; universal"
},
"Executive branch":{
"chief of state":{
"text":"President Marcelo REBELO DE SOUSA (since 9 March 2016)"
},
"head of government":{
"text":"Prime Minister Antonio Luis Santos da COSTA (since 24 November 2015)"
},
"cabinet":{
"text":"Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister"
"text":"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 2021 (next to be held on 24 January 2026); following legislative elections the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president"
"text":"Marcelo REBELO DE SOUSA reelected president in the first round; percent of vote - Marcelo REBELO DE SOUSA (PSD) 60.7%, Ana GOMES (independent) 12.97%, Andre VENTURA (CH) 11.9%, João FERREIRA (PCP-PEV) 4.32%, Marisa MATIAS (BE) 3.95%, other 6.16%"
"text":"unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (230 seats; 226 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed-list 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) (e.g. 2019)"
},
"elections":{
"text":"last held on 6 October 2019 (next to be held 2023) (e.g. 2019)"
"text":"percent of vote by party - PS 36.4%, PSD 27.8%, B.E. 9.5%, CDU 6.5%, other 20.8%; seats by party - PS 108, PSD 79, B.E. 19, CDU 12, other 12; composition - men 158, women 72, percent of women 31.3% (e.g. 2019)"
"text":"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":{
"text":"Supreme Court justices nominated by the president and appointed by the Assembly of the Republic; judges can serve for life; Constitutional Court judges - 10 elected by the Assembly and 3 elected by the other Constitutional Court judges; judges elected for 6-year nonrenewable terms"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"Supreme Administrative Court (Supremo Tribunal Administrativo); Audit Court (Tribunal de Contas); appellate, district, and municipal courts"
"text":"Democratic and Social Center/Popular Party (Partido do Centro Democratico Social-Partido Popular) or CDS-PP [Assuncao CRISTAS]<br />Ecologist Party \"The Greens\" or \"Os Verdes\" (Partido Ecologista-Os Verdes) or PEV [Heloisa APOLONIA]<br />Enough (Chega) [Andre VENTURA] (formed in 2019)<br />People-Animals-Nature Party (Pessoas-Animais-Natureza) or PAN [Andre SILVA]<br />Portuguese Communist Party (Partido Comunista Portugues) or PCP [Jeronimo DE SOUSA]<br />Social Democratic Party (Partido Social Democrata) or PSD (original name Partido Popular Democratico) or PPD [Rui RIO]<br />Socialist Party (Partido Socialista) or PS [Antonio COSTA]<br />The Left Bloc (Bloco de Esquerda) or BE or O Bloco [Catarina MARTINS]<br />Unitary Democratic Coalition (Coligacao Democratica Unitaria) or CDU [Jeronimo DE SOUSA] (includes PCP and PEV)"
"text":"Ambassador George E. GLASS (since 25 August 2017)"
},
"telephone":{
"text":"[351] (21) 727-3300"
},
"embassy":{
"text":"Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600-081 Lisbon"
},
"mailing address":{
"text":"Apartado 43033, 1601-301 Lisboa; PSC 83, APO AE 09726"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[351] (21) 726-9109"
},
"consulate(s)":{
"text":"Ponta Delgada (Azores)"
}
},
"Flag description":{
"text":"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 symbol(s)":{
"text":"armillary sphere (a spherical astrolabe modeling objects in the sky and representing the Republic); national colors: red, green"
},
"National anthem":{
"name":{
"text":"\"A Portugesa\" (The Song of the Portuguese)"
"note":"<p><strong>note:</strong> 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</p>"
"text":"<p>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 joined the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999 and began circulating the euro on 1 January 2002 along with 11 other EU members.</p><p></p><p>The economy grew by more than the EU average for much of the 1990s, but the rate of growth slowed in 2001-08. After the global financial crisis in 2008, Portugal’s economy contracted in 2009 and fell into recession from 2011 to 2013, as the government implemented spending cuts and tax increases to comply with conditions of an EU-IMF financial rescue package, signed in May 2011. Portugal successfully exited its EU-IMF program in May 2014, and its economic recovery gained traction in 2015 because of strong exports and a rebound in private consumption. GDP growth accelerated in 2016, and probably reached 2.5 % in 2017. Unemployment remained high, at 9.7% in 2017, but has improved steadily since peaking at 18% in 2013.</p><p></p><p>The center-left minority Socialist government has unwound some unpopular austerity measures while managing to remain within most EU fiscal targets. The budget deficit fell from 11.2% of GDP in 2010 to 1.8% in 2017, the country’s lowest since democracy was restored in 1974, and surpassing the EU and IMF projections of 3%. Portugal exited the EU’s excessive deficit procedure in mid-2017.</p>"
"text":"textiles, clothing, footwear, wood and cork, paper and pulp, chemicals, fuels and 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"
"note":"<p><strong>note:</strong> data cover general government debt and include 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 intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental 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</p>"
"text":"Spain 25.2%, France 12.5%, Germany 11.3%, UK 6.6%, US 5.2%, Netherlands 4% (2017)"
},
"Exports - commodities":{
"text":"agricultural products, foodstuffs, 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"
"text":"agricultural products, chemical products, vehicles and other transport material, optical and precision instruments, computer accessories and parts, semiconductors and related devices, oil products, base metals, food products, textile materials"
"text":"telephone system has a state-of-the-art network with broadband, high-speed capabilities; FttP in 2020; 3G universal and 4G upgrades; regulator release 700MHz spectrum for 5G use; DSL moves to fiber services; FttP for over 5 million customers in 2020 providing national coverage; fiber subscriber base grows 24% in 2018; development in M-payment solutions (2020)"
"text":"integrated network of coaxial cables, open-wire, microwave radio relay, and domestic satellite earth stations; fixed-line 50 per 100 persons and mobile-cellular 116 per 100 persons (2019)"
"text":"country code - 351; landing points for the Ella Link, BUGIO, EIG, SAT-3/WASC, SeaMeWe-3, Equino, MainOne, Tat TGN-Western Europe, WACS, ACE, Atlantis2 and Columbus-III submarine cables provide connectivity to Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, South America and the US; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter to Azores (2019)"
"note":"<br><br><strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 outbreak is negatively impacting telecommunications production and supply chains globally; consumer spending on telecom devices and services has also slowed due to the pandemic's effect on economies worldwide; overall progress towards improvements in all facets of the telecom industry - mobile, fixed-line, broadband, submarine cable and satellite - has moderated"
"text":"Radio e Televisao de Portugal (RTP), the publicly owned TV broadcaster, operates 4 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"
"text":"Portuguese Armed Forces: Portuguese Army (Exercito Portuguesa), Portuguese Navy (Marinha Portuguesa; includes Marine Corps), Portuguese Air Force (Forca Aerea Portuguesa, FAP); Portuguese National Republican Guard (Guarda Nacional Republicana, GNR) (2019)",
"note":"<br><br>note: the GNR is a national gendarmerie force comprised of military personnel with law enforcement, internal security, civil defense, disaster response, and coast guard duties; it is responsible to the Minister of Internal Administration and to the Minister of National Defense; in the event of war or crisis, it may be placed under the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces"
"Military and security service personnel strengths":{
"text":"the Portuguese Armed Forces have approximately 26,500 active duty personnel (13,000 Army; 7,500 Navy; 6,000 Air Force); 24,700 National Republican Guard (military personnel) (2019 est.)"
},
"Military equipment inventories and acquisitions":{
"text":"the Portuguese Armed Forces inventory includes mostly European and US-origin weapons systems along with a smaller mix of domestically-produced equipment; since 2010, Germany and the US are the leading suppliers of armaments to Portugal; Portugal's defense industry is primarily focused on shipbuilding (2019 est.)"
"text":"18-30 years of age for voluntary or contract military service; no compulsory military service, but conscription possible if insufficient volunteers available; women serve in the armed forces, on naval ships since 1992, but are prohibited from serving in some combatant specialties; contract service lasts for an initial period from two to six years, and can be extended to a maximum of 20 years of service. Voluntary military service lasts 12 months; reserve obligation to age 35 (2017)"
"text":"<p>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</p>"
"text":"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"