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; 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.

Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain

39 30 N, 8 00 W

Europe

slightly smaller than Indiana

1,793 km

maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south

the west-flowing Tagus River divides the country: the north is mountainous toward the interior, while the south is characterized by rolling plains

highest point: Ponta do Pico (Pico or Pico Alto) on Ilha do Pico in the Azores 2,351 m

fish, forests (cork), iron ore, copper, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble, clay, gypsum, salt, arable land, hydropower

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

5,400 sq km (2012)

concentrations are primarily along or near the Atlantic coast; both Lisbon and the second largest city, Porto, are coastal cities

Azores subject to severe earthquakes

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

Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar

10,833,816 (July 2016 est.)

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

Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official, but locally used)

Roman Catholic 81%, other Christian 3.3%, other (includes Jewish, Muslim, other) 0.6%, none 6.8%, unspecified 8.3%

0.07% (2016 est.)

9.1 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)

11.1 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)

2.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)

concentrations are primarily along or near the Atlantic coast; both Lisbon and the second largest city, Porto, are coastal cities

LISBON (capital) 2.884 million; Porto 1.299 million (2015)

29.5 (2012 est.)

10 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

1.53 children born/woman (2016 est.)

86.8% (2005/06)

9.5% of GDP (2014)

4.1 physicians/1,000 population (2012)

3.4 beds/1,000 population (2011)

urban: 100% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 100% of population

urban: 0% of population

rural: 0% of population

total: 0% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 99.6% of population

rural: 99.8% of population

total: 99.7% of population

urban: 0.4% of population

rural: 0.2% of population

total: 0.3% of population (2015 est.)

NA

NA

NA

22.1% (2014)

5.1% of GDP (2011)

semi-presidential republic

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

1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 5 October 1910 (republic proclaimed)

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

civil law system; Constitutional Court review of legislative acts

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

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)

Armed Forces Officers' Association or AOFA [Colonel Pereira CRACEL]

the Desperate Generation (youth movement protesting against low wages, precarious labor conditions, and unemployment)

General Workers Union or General Confederation of Portuguese Workers or UGT [Carlos SILVA]

Portuguese National Workers' Conference or CGTP [Armenio CARLOS]

TugaLeaks (a website that has become a mouthpiece for publicizing diverse protest action)

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), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINUSMA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club (associate), PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

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

armillary sphere (a spherical astrolabe modeling objects in the sky and representing the Republic); national colors: red, green

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. The economy contracted in 2009, and fell again from 2011 to 2014, as the government implemented spending cuts and tax increases to comply with conditions of an EU-IMF financial rescue package, signed in May 2011. A modest recovery began in 2013 and gathered steam in 2014 due to strong export performance and a rebound in private consumption. Although austerity measures were instituted to reduce the large budget deficit, they contributed to record unemployment and a wave of emigration not seen since the 1960s.

A continued reduction in private- and public-sector debt could weigh on consumption and investment in 2016, holding back a stronger recovery. The prior center-right government passed legislation aimed at reducing labor market rigidity, and, this, along with sustained fiscal discipline, could make Portugal more attractive to foreign direct investment. Under the center-right government, the budget deficit fell from 11.2% of GDP in 2010 to 3.5% in 2015, reaching the EU-IMF target of 4%, but still above its EU fiscal obligations, under the excessive deficit procedure. EU-IMF financing expired in May 2014. The new center-left Socialist government, however, has signaled that it will unwind spending cuts associated with austerity while remaining within EU fiscal targets.

$289.8 billion (2015 est.)

$285.6 billion (2014 est.)

$283 billion (2013 est.)

$199.1 billion (2015 est.)

1.5% (2015 est.)

0.9% (2014 est.)

-1.1% (2013 est.)

$27,800 (2015 est.)

$27,500 (2014 est.)

$27,100 (2013 est.)

15.6% of GDP (2015 est.)

15.2% of GDP (2014 est.)

16% of GDP (2013 est.)

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

1% (2015 est.)

5.195 million (2015 est.)

12.4% (2015 est.)

13.9% (2014 est.)

18.7% (2012 est.)

34.2 (2013 est.)

34.2 (2012 est.)

43.9% of GDP (2015 est.)

-4.4% of GDP (2015 est.)

129% of GDP (2015 est.)

130.2% of GDP (2014 est.)

calendar year

0.5% (2015 est.)

-0.2% (2014 est.)

0.05% (31 December 2014)

0.25% (31 December 2013)

4.49% (31 December 2015 est.)

5.3% (31 December 2014 est.)

$72.29 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$66.76 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$296.1 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$316.2 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$326.2 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$364.9 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$126.8 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$57.04 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$65.53 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$901 million (2015 est.)

$280 million (2014 est.)

$54.33 billion (2015 est.)

$62.72 billion (2014 est.)

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

Spain 25%, France 12.1%, Germany 11.8%, UK 6.7%, US 5.2%, Angola 4.2%, Netherlands 4% (2015)

$64.49 billion (2015 est.)

$75.29 billion (2014 est.)

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

Spain 32.9%, Germany 12.9%, France 7.4%, Italy 5.4%, Netherlands 5.1% (2015)

$19.4 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$19.62 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$493.7 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$531.6 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$138.1 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$153.7 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$87.44 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$95.58 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

euros (EUR) per US dollar -

0.885 (2015 est.)

0.7525 (2014 est.)

0.7634 (2013 est.)

0.78 (2012 est.)

0.7185 (2011 est.)

50 billion kWh (2014 est.)

46 billion kWh (2014 est.)

6.3 billion kWh (2014 est.)

7.2 billion kWh (2014 est.)

19 million kW (2014 est.)

42.4% of total installed capacity (2013 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2013 est.)

28.2% of total installed capacity (2013 est.)

29.4% of total installed capacity (2013 est.)

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

912.3 bbl/day (2015 est.)

308,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2016 es)

320,200 bbl/day (2015 est.)

244,500 bbl/day (2015 est.)

138,400 bbl/day (2015 est.)

60,010 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 cu m (2014 est.)

4.079 billion cu m (2014 est.)

0 cu m (2014 est.)

4.07 billion cu m (2014 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2014 es)

50 million Mt (2013 est.)

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)

.pt

CR, CS (2016)

64 (2013)

gas 1,344 km; oil 11 km; refined products 188 km (2013)

210 km (on Douro River from Porto) (2011)

Portuguese Army (Exercito Portuguesa), Portuguese Navy (Marinha Portuguesa; includes Marine Corps), Portuguese Air Force (Forca Aerea Portuguesa, FAP) (2013)

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)

1.29% of GDP (2014)

1.2% of GDP (2013)

1.78% of GDP (2012)

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

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