Portugal

Background:

Following its heyday as a world 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 in 1822 of Brazil as a colony. 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.

Geography Portugal

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

Geographic coordinates:
39 30 N, 8 00 W

Map references:
Europe

Area:
total: 92,391 sq km
land: 91,951 sq km
note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands
water: 440 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Indiana

Land boundaries:
total: 1,214 km
border countries: Spain 1,214 km

Coastline:
1,793 km

Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

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

Terrain:
mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in south

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

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

Land use:
arable land: 20.57%
permanent crops: 7.74%
other: 71.69% (1999 est.)

Irrigated land:
6,320 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
Azores subject to severe earthquakes

Environment - current issues:
soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Environmental Modification

Geography - note:
Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar

People Portugal

Population:
10,524,145 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 16.7% (male 916,106; female 840,574)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 3,454,970; female 3,535,108)
65 years and over: 16.9% (male 735,407; female 1,041,980) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 37.9 years
male: 35.8 years
female: 40 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.41% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
10.9 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
10.37 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
3.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 5.13 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 5.6 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.35 years
male: 74.06 years
female: 80.85 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.46 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.5% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
27,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
1,000 (2001 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Portuguese (singular and plural)
adjective: Portuguese

Ethnic groups:
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

Religions:
Roman Catholic 94%, Protestant (1995)

Languages:
Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally used)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.3%
male: 95.5%
female: 91.3% (2003 est.)

Government Portugal

Country name:
conventional long form: Portuguese Republic
conventional short form: Portugal
local long form: Republica Portuguesa
local short form: Portugal

Government type:
parliamentary democracy

Capital:
Lisbon

Administrative divisions:
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, Madeira*, Portalegre, Porto, Santarem, Setubal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Viseu

Independence:
1143 (independent republic proclaimed 5 October 1910)

National holiday:
Portugal Day, 10 June (1580)

Constitution:
25 April 1976, revised 30 October 1982, 1 June 1989, 5 November 1992, and 3 September 1997

Legal system:
civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Jorge SAMPAIO (since 9 March 1996)
note: there is also a Council of State that acts as a consultative body to the president
head of government: Prime Minister Jose Manuel DURAO BARROSO (since 6 April 2002)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 14 January 2001 (next to be held NA January 2006); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president
election results: Jorge SAMPAIO reelected president; percent of vote - Jorge SAMPAIO (Socialist) 55.8%, Joaquim FERREIRA Do Amaral (Social Democrat) 34.5%, Antonio ABREU (Communist) 5.1%

Legislative branch:
unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (230 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 March 2002 (next to be held NA 2006)
election results: percent of vote by party - PSD 40.1%, PS 37.8%, PP 8.7%, PCP/PEV 6.9%, The Left Bloc 2.7%; seats by party - PSD 105, PS 96, PP 14, PCP/PEV 12, The Left Bloc 3

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura)

Political parties and leaders:
The Greens or PEV [no leader]; Popular Party or PP [Paulo PORTAS]; Portuguese Communist Party/The Greens or PCP/PEV [Carlos CARVALHAS]; Portuguese Socialist Party or PS [Eduardo FERRO RODRIGUES]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Jose Manuel DURAO BARROSO]; United Democratic Coalition or CDU [Carlos CARVALHAS]; The Left Bloc [Franciso Anacleto LOUCA]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMISET, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Pedro Manuel Dos Reis Alves CATARINO
consulate(s): Los Angeles, New Bedford (Massachusetts), Providence (Rhode Island)
consulate(s) general: Boston, New York, Newark (New Jersey), and San Francisco
FAX: [1] (202) 462-3726
telephone: [1] (202) 328-8610
chancery: 2125 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador John N. PALMER
embassy: Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600-081 Lisbon
mailing address: PSC 83, APO AE 09726
telephone: [351] (21) 727-3300
FAX: [351] (21) 726-9109
consulate(s): Ponta Delgada (Azores)

Flag description:
two vertical bands of green (hoist side, two-fifths) and red (three-fifths) with the Portuguese coat of arms centered on the dividing line

Economy Portugal

Economy - overview:
Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Community in 1986. Over the past decade, successive governments have privatized many state-controlled firms and liberalized key areas of the economy, including the financial and telecommunications sectors. The country qualified for the European Monetary Union (EMU) in 1998 and began circulating the euro on 1 January 2002 along with 11 other EU member economies. Economic growth has been above the EU average for much of the past decade, but fell back in 2001-03. GDP per capita stands at 70% of that of the leading EU economies. A poor educational system, in particular, has been an obstacle to greater productivity and growth. Portugal has been increasingly overshadowed by lower-cost producers in Central Europe and Asia as a target for foreign direct investment. The coalition government faces tough choices in its attempts to boost Portugal's economic competitiveness and to keep the budget deficit within the 3% EU ceiling.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $182.3 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
-1% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $18,000 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.7%
industry: 29.3%
services: 67% (2002)

Population below poverty line:
NA% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 28.4% (1995 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
35.6 (1994-95)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.1% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
5.1 million (2000)

Labor force - by occupation:
services 60%, industry 30%, agriculture 10% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:
6% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $45 billion
expenditures: $48 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)

Industries:
textiles and footwear; wood pulp, paper, and cork; metalworking; oil refining; chemicals; fish canning; wine; tourism

Industrial production growth rate:
-2.2% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
44.32 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 64.5%
hydro: 31.3%
other: 4.1% (2001)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption:
41.48 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
3.479 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
3.743 billion kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
339,800 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
28,830 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports:
357,300 bbl/day (2001)

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
2.542 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
2.553 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Agriculture - products:
grain, potatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, poultry, beef, dairy products

Exports:
$31.13 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
clothing and footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork and paper products, hides

Exports - partners:
Spain 20.3%, Germany 18.4%, France 12.6%, UK 10.5%, US 5.8%, Italy 4.8%, Belgium 4.5% (2002)

Imports:
$43.73 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum, textiles, agricultural products

Imports - partners:
Spain 28.1%, Germany 15%, France 10.2%, Italy 6.5%, UK 5.2%, Netherlands 4.5% (2002)

Debt - external:
$211.7 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $271 million (1995)

Currency:
euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries

Currency code:
EUR

Exchange rates:
euros per US dollar - 0.89 (2003), 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Portugal

Telephones - main lines in use:
4,354,600 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
8,528,900 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: Portugal's telephone system has achieved a state-of-the-art network with broadband, high-speed capabilities and a main line telephone density of 53%
domestic: integrated network of coaxial cables, open-wire, microwave radio relay, and domestic satellite earth stations
international: country code - 351; 6 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter to Azores; note - an earth station for Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region) is planned

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 47, FM 172 (many are repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998)

Radios:
3.02 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
62 (plus 166 repeaters)
note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands (1995)

Televisions:
3.31 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.pt

Internet hosts:
164,711 (2002)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
16 (2000)

Internet users:
3.6 million (2002)

Transportation Portugal

Railways:
total: 2,850 km
broad gauge: 2,576 km 1.668-m gauge (623 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 274 km 1.000-m gauge (2002)

Highways:
total: 68,732 km
paved: 59,110 km (including 1441 km of expressways)
unpaved: 9,622 km (2000)

Waterways:
820 km
note: relatively unimportant to national economy, used by shallow-draft craft limited to 300 metric-ton or less cargo capacity

Pipelines:
gas 482 km (2003)

Ports and harbors:
Aveiro, Funchal (Madeira Islands), Horta (Azores), Leixoes, Lisbon, Porto, Ponta Delgada (Azores), Praia da Vitoria (Azores), Setubal, Viana do Castelo

Merchant marine:
total: 122 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 872,557 GRT/1,236,025 DWT
registered in other countries: 24 (2003 est.)
by type: bulk 12, cargo 49, chemical tanker 19, container 8, liquefied gas 7, multi-functional large load carrier 1, passenger 6, petroleum tanker 7, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 5, short-sea/passenger 5, vehicle carrier 2
foreign-owned: Australia 1, Belgium 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark 7, Germany 21, Greece 2, Guadeloupe 1, Iceland 1, Italy 16, Japan 1, Malta 1, Norway 7, Panama 1, Spain 18, Switzerland 7, Ukraine 1, United Kingdom 1

Airports:
66 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 40
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 15
under 914 m: 7 (2003 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 26
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 25 (2003 est.)

Military Portugal

Military branches:
Army, Navy (PON; including Marines), Air Force (FAP), Republican Guard (including Fiscal Guard)

Military manpower - military age:
20 years of age (2004 est.)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 2,628,892 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 2,107,502 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 72,821 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$3,497.8 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2.3% (2003)

Transnational Issues Portugal

Disputes - international:
some Portuguese groups assert dormant claims to territories ceded to Spain around the town of Olivenza

Illicit drugs:
gateway country for Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market (especially from Brazil); transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Europe; consumer of Southwest Asian heroin