"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"
"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":"Portuguese 95%; citizens from Portugal’s former colonies in Africa, Asia (Han Chinese), and South America (Brazilian) and other foreign born 5%"
"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"
"text":"Portugal has two time zones, including the Azores (UTC-1)"
},
"etymology":{
"text":"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"
"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"
"text":"proposed by the Assembly of the Republic; adoption requires two-thirds majority vote of Assembly members; amended several times, last in 2005 (2021)"
"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 in 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 (ran as an independent but is a member of PS) 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)"
"text":"last held on 30 January 2022 (next to be held in January 2026); note - early elections were called after parliament was dissolved on 3 November 2021 because of the 27 October 2021 rejection of the government's budget (e.g. 2019)"
"text":"percent of vote by party - PS 41.7%, PSD 27.8%, IL 5%, BE 4.5%, CDU 4.4%, PAN 1.5%, L 1.3%, Madeira First 0.9%, Democratic Alliance (in the Azores) 0.5%, other 12.4%; seats by party - PS 117, PSD 71, BE 19, IL 12, CDU 12, Madeira First 3, Democratic Alliance 2, PAN 1, L 1; composition (as of October 2021) - men 138, women 92, percent of women 40% (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 Alliance (2022 electoral alliance in the Azores, includes PSD, CDS-PP, PPM)<br>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]<br>Liberal Initiative (Iniciativa Liberal) or IL [Joao COTRIM DE FIGUEIREDO]<br>Madeira First (2022 electoral alliance in Madeira, includes PSD, CDS-PP)<br>People-Animals-Nature Party (Pessoas-Animais-Natureza) or PAN [Andre SILVA]<br>People's Monarchist Party or PPM [Gonçalo DA CAMARA PEREIRA]<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 OBloco [Catarina MARTINS]<br>Unitary Democratic Coalition (Coligacao Democratica Unitaria) or CDU [Jeronimo DE SOUSA] (includes PCP and PEV)"
"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":"<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"
"text":"Historic Évora (c); Central Zone of the Town of Angra do Heroismo in the Azores (c); Cultural Landscape of Sintra (c); Laurisilva of Madeira (n); Historic Guimarães (c); Monastery of the Hieronymites and Tower of Belém in Lisbon (c); Convent of Christ in Tomar (c); Prehistoric Rock Art Sites in the Côa Valley and Siega Verde (c); University of Coimbra – Alta and Sofia (c); Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga (c)"
"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":"<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"
"text":"Portugal has a medium-sized telecom market with a strong mobile sector and a growing broadband customer base; mobile market dominated by one operator with room for competition; 3G infrastructure is universal, with investment directed toward expanding provision of 90% LTE coverage in rural areas and 5G technologies; cable sector shifting to wireless, with access to 66% of population; developments in m-commerce; operator assessing installation of submarine cable between islands and mainland; importer of broadcasting equipment from EU (2020)"
"text":"integrated network of coaxial cables, open-wire, microwave radio relay, and domestic satellite earth stations; fixed-line roughly 51 per 100 persons and mobile-cellular 116 per 100 persons (2020)"
"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":"<strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments"
"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) (2021)",
"note":"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"
"text":"the Portuguese Armed Forces have approximately 27,000 active duty personnel (14,000 Army; 7,000 Navy, inc about 1,000 marines; 6,000 Air Force); 24,500 National Republican Guard (military personnel) (2021)"
"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 (2021)"
"text":"18-30 years of age for voluntary or contract military service; no compulsory military service (abolished 2004), 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 (2021)",
"note":"note - as of 2019, women made up about 12% of the military's full-time personnel"
"text":"Portugal is a member of NATO and was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) in 1949"
"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":"<p>a European gateway for Southwest Asian heroin; transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Europe; consumer of Southwest Asian heroin</p> <p></p>"
