{ "Introduction": { "Background": { "text": "
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.
" } }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain" }, "Geographic coordinates": { "text": "39 30 N, 8 00 W" }, "Map references": { "text": "Europe" }, "Area": { "total": { "text": "92,090 sq km" }, "land": { "text": "91,470 sq km" }, "water": { "text": "620 sq km" }, "note": "note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands" }, "Area - comparative": { "text": "slightly smaller than Virginia" }, "Land boundaries": { "total": { "text": "1,224 km" }, "border countries": { "text": "Spain 1224 km" } }, "Coastline": { "text": "1,793 km" }, "Maritime claims": { "territorial sea": { "text": "12 nm" }, "contiguous zone": { "text": "24 nm" }, "exclusive economic zone": { "text": "200 nm" }, "continental shelf": { "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": { "highest point": { "text": "Ponta do Pico (Pico or Pico Alto) on Ilha do Pico in the Azores 2,351 m" }, "lowest point": { "text": "Atlantic Ocean 0 m" }, "mean elevation": { "text": "372 m" } }, "Natural resources": { "text": "fish, forests (cork), iron ore, copper, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble, clay, gypsum, salt, arable land, hydropower" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "39.7% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 11.9% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 7.8% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 20% (2018 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "37.8% (2018 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "22.5% (2018 est.)" } }, "Irrigated land": { "text": "5,400 sq km (2012)" }, "Population distribution": { "text": "concentrations are primarily along or near the Atlantic coast; both Lisbon and the second largest city, Porto, are coastal cities" }, "Natural hazards": { "text": "Azores subject to severe earthquakes
volcanism: 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
" }, "Geography - note": { "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" } }, "People and Society": { "Population": { "text": "10,263,850 (July 2021 est.)" }, "Nationality": { "noun": { "text": "Portuguese (singular and plural)" }, "adjective": { "text": "Portuguese" } }, "Ethnic groups": { "text": "white homogeneous Mediterranean population; citizens of 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.)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.
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.
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.
" }, "Real GDP growth rate": { "Real GDP growth rate 2019": { "text": "2.24% (2019 est.)" }, "Real GDP growth rate 2018": { "text": "2.85% (2018 est.)" }, "Real GDP growth rate 2017": { "text": "3.51% (2017 est.)" } }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices)": { "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2019": { "text": "0.3% (2019 est.)" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2018": { "text": "0.9% (2018 est.)" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2017": { "text": "1.3% (2017 est.)" } }, "Credit ratings": { "Fitch rating": { "text": "BBB (2007)" }, "Moody's rating": { "text": "Baa3 (2018)" }, "Standard & Poors rating": { "text": "BBB (2019)" } }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity)": { "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2019": { "text": "$358.344 billion (2019 est.)" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2018": { "text": "$350.507 billion (2018 est.)" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2017": { "text": "$340.796 billion (2017 est.)" }, "note": "note: data are in 2010 dollars" }, "GDP (official exchange rate)": { "text": "$237.698 billion (2019 est.)" }, "Real GDP per capita": { "Real GDP per capita 2019": { "text": "$34,894 (2019 est.)" }, "Real GDP per capita 2018": { "text": "$34,083 (2018 est.)" }, "Real GDP per capita 2017": { "text": "$33,086 (2017 est.)" }, "note": "note: data are in 2010 dollars" }, "Gross national saving": { "Gross national saving 2019": { "text": "18.9% of GDP (2019 est.)" }, "Gross national saving 2018": { "text": "18.3% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "Gross national saving 2017": { "text": "18% of GDP (2017 est.)" } }, "GDP - composition, by sector of origin": { "agriculture": { "text": "2.2% (2017 est.)" }, "industry": { "text": "22.1% (2017 est.)" }, "services": { "text": "75.7% (2017 est.)" } }, "GDP - composition, by end use": { "household consumption": { "text": "65.1% (2017 est.)" }, "government consumption": { "text": "17.6% (2017 est.)" }, "investment in fixed capital": { "text": "16.2% (2017 est.)" }, "investment in inventories": { "text": "0.1% (2017 est.)" }, "exports of goods and services": { "text": "43.1% (2017 est.)" }, "imports of goods and services": { "text": "-42.1% (2017 est.)" } }, "Ease of Doing Business Index scores": { "Overall score": { "text": "76.5 (2020)" }, "Starting a Business score": { "text": "90.9 (2020)" }, "Trading score": { "text": "100 (2020)" }, "Enforcement score": { "text": "67.9 (2020)" } }, "Agricultural products": { "text": "milk, tomatoes, olives, grapes, maize, potatoes, pork, apples, oranges, poultry" }, "Industries": { "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" }, "Industrial production growth rate": { "text": "3.5% (2017 est.)" }, "Labor force": { "text": "4.717 million (2020 est.)" }, "Labor force - by occupation": { "agriculture": { "text": "8.6%" }, "industry": { "text": "23.9%" }, "services": { "text": "67.5% (2014 est.)" } }, "Unemployment rate": { "Unemployment rate 2019": { "text": "6.55% (2019 est.)" }, "Unemployment rate 2018": { "text": "7.05% (2018 est.)" } }, "Population below poverty line": { "text": "17.2% (2018 est.)" }, "Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income": { "Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income 2017": { "text": "33.8 (2017 est.)" }, "Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income 2014": { "text": "34 (2014 est.)" } }, "Household income or consumption by percentage share": { "lowest 10%": { "text": "2.6%" }, "highest 10%": { "text": "25.9% (2015 est.)" } }, "Budget": { "revenues": { "text": "93.55 billion (2017 est.)" }, "expenditures": { "text": "100 billion (2017 est.)" } }, "Taxes and other revenues": { "text": "42.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)" }, "Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": { "text": "-3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)" }, "Public debt": { "Public debt 2017": { "text": "125.7% of GDP (2017 est.)" }, "Public debt 2016": { "text": "129.9% of GDP (2016 est.)" }, "note": "note: 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" }, "Fiscal year": { "text": "calendar year" }, "Current account balance": { "Current account balance 2019": { "text": "-$203 million (2019 est.)" }, "Current account balance 2018": { "text": "$988 million (2018 est.)" } }, "Exports": { "Exports 2019": { "text": "$114.512 billion (2019 est.)" }, "Exports 2018": { "text": "$110.591 billion (2018 est.)" }, "Exports 2017": { "text": "$106.201 billion (2017 est.)" } }, "Exports - partners": { "text": "Spain 23%, France 13%, Germany 12%, United Kingdom 6%, United States 5% (2019)" }, "Exports - commodities": { "text": "cars and vehicle parts, refined petroleum, leather footwear, paper products, tires (2019)" }, "Imports": { "Imports 2019": { "text": "$120.334 billion (2019 est.)" }, "Imports 2018": { "text": "$114.957 billion (2018 est.)" }, "Imports 2017": { "text": "$109.515 billion (2017 est.)" } }, "Imports - partners": { "text": "Spain 29%, Germany 13%, France 9%, Italy 5%, Netherlands 5% (2019)" }, "Imports - commodities": { "text": "cars and vehicle parts, crude petroleum, aircraft, packaged medicines, refined petroleum, natural gas (2019)" }, "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": { "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 31 December 2017": { "text": "$26.11 billion (31 December 2017 est.)" }, "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 31 December 2015": { "text": "$19.4 billion (31 December 2015 est.)" } }, "Debt - external": { "Debt - external 2019": { "text": "$462.431 billion (2019 est.)" }, "Debt - external 2018": { "text": "$483.206 billion (2018 est.)" } }, "Exchange rates": { "currency": { "text": "euros (EUR) per US dollar -" }, "Exchange rates 2020": { "text": "0.82771 (2020 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2019": { "text": "0.90338 (2019 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2018": { "text": "0.87789 (2018 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2014": { "text": "0.7525 (2014 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2013": { "text": "0.7634 (2013 est.)" } } }, "Energy": { "Electricity access": { "electrification - total population": { "text": "100% (2020)" } }, "Electricity - production": { "text": "56.9 billion kWh (2016 est.)" }, "Electricity - consumption": { "text": "46.94 billion kWh (2016 est.)" }, "Electricity - exports": { "text": "9.701 billion kWh (2016 est.)" }, "Electricity - imports": { "text": "4.616 billion kWh (2016 est.)" }, "Electricity - installed generating capacity": { "text": "20.56 million kW (2016 est.)" }, "Electricity - from fossil fuels": { "text": "41% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)" }, "Electricity - from nuclear fuels": { "text": "0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)" }, "Electricity - from hydroelectric plants": { "text": "25% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)" }, "Electricity - from other renewable sources": { "text": "35% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)" }, "Crude oil - production": { "text": "0 bbl/day (2018 est.)" }, "Crude oil - exports": { "text": "0 bbl/day (2017 est.)" }, "Crude oil - imports": { "text": "285,200 bbl/day (2017 est.)" }, "Crude oil - proved reserves": { "text": "0 bbl (1 January 2018 est.)" }, "Refined petroleum products - production": { "text": "323,000 bbl/day (2017 est.)" }, "Refined petroleum products - consumption": { "text": "247,200 bbl/day (2017 est.)" }, "Refined petroleum products - exports": { "text": "143,500 bbl/day (2017 est.)" }, "Refined petroleum products - imports": { "text": "78,700 bbl/day (2017 est.)" }, "Natural gas - production": { "text": "0 cu m (2017 est.)" }, "Natural gas - consumption": { "text": "6.258 billion cu m (2017 est.)" }, "Natural gas - exports": { "text": "0 cu m (2017 est.)" }, "Natural gas - imports": { "text": "6.541 billion cu m (2017 est.)" }, "Natural gas - proved reserves": { "text": "0 cu m (1 January 2014 est.)" } }, "Communications": { "Telephones - fixed lines": { "total subscriptions": { "text": "5,087,977" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "49.33 (2019 est.)" } }, "Telephones - mobile cellular": { "total subscriptions": { "text": "11,909,751" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "115.46 (2019 est.)" } }, "Telecommunication systems": { "general assessment": { "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 towards provision of 90% LTE coverage in rural areas and 5G technologies; cable sector shifting to fiber, 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 (2021)
(2020)" }, "domestic": { "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)" }, "international": { "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": "note: 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" }, "Broadcast media": { "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" }, "Internet country code": { "text": ".pt" }, "Internet users": { "total": { "text": "7,731,411" }, "percent of population": { "text": "74.66% (July 2018 est.)" } }, "Broadband - fixed subscriptions": { "total": { "text": "3,967,699" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "38.47 (2019 est.)" } } }, "Transportation": { "National air transport system": { "number of registered air carriers": { "text": "10 (2020)" }, "inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": { "text": "168" }, "annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": { "text": "17,367,956 (2018)" }, "annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": { "text": "454.21 million mt-km (2018)" } }, "Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": { "text": "CR, CS" }, "Airports": { "total": { "text": "64 (2013)" } }, "Airports - with paved runways": { "total": { "text": "43 (2017)" }, "over 3,047 m": { "text": "5 (2017)" }, "2,438 to 3,047 m": { "text": "7 (2017)" }, "1,524 to 2,437 m": { "text": "8 (2017)" }, "914 to 1,523 m": { "text": "15 (2017)" }, "under 914 m": { "text": "8 (2017)" } }, "Airports - with unpaved runways": { "total": { "text": "21 (2013)" }, "914 to 1,523 m": { "text": "1 (2013)" }, "under 914 m": { "text": "20 (2013)" } }, "Pipelines": { "text": "1344 km gas, 11 km oil, 188 km refined products (2013)" }, "Railways": { "total": { "text": "3,075 km (2014)" }, "narrow gauge": { "text": "108.1 km 1.000-m gauge (2014)" }, "broad gauge": { "text": "2,439 km 1.668-m gauge (1,633.4 km electrified) (2014)" }, "other": { "text": "528 km (gauge unspecified) (2014)" } }, "Roadways": { "total": { "text": "82,900 km (2008)" }, "paved": { "text": "71,294 km (includes 2,613 km of expressways) (2008)" }, "unpaved": { "text": "11,606 km (2008)" } }, "Waterways": { "text": "210 km (on Douro River from Porto) (2011)" }, "Merchant marine": { "total": { "text": "673" }, "by type": { "text": "bulk carrier 74, container ship 255, general cargo 122, oil tanker 23, other 199 (2020)" } }, "Ports and terminals": { "major seaport(s)": { "text": "Leixoes, Lisbon, Setubal, Sines" }, "container port(s) (TEUs)": { "text": "Sines (1,669,057) (2017)" }, "LNG terminal(s) (import)": { "text": "Sines" } } }, "Military and Security": { "Military and security forces": { "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)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
" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "stateless persons": { "text": "45 (2020)" } }, "Illicit drugs": { "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" } } }