Map From: U.S. State DepartmentFROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Geography
Area: 92,391 sq. km.; includes continental Portugal, the Azores (2,333 sq. km.) and Madeira Islands (828 sq. km.); slightly smaller than the State of Indiana; located in Europe's southwest corner bordered by Spain (North and East, 1,214 km.) and the Atlantic Ocean (West and South, 1,793 km.).
Major cities: Lisbon (capital, metropolitan area pop. 2.1 million); Porto (metropolitan area pop. 1.9 million).
Terrain: Mountainous in the north; rolling plains in the central and southern regions.
Climate: Maritime temperate (Atlantic-Mediterranean); average annual temperature is 61°F. Temperatures may drop into the low 30s (°F) at night during the coldest months, with daytime highs in the 50s and 60s. The remainder of the year is normally sunny with minimal rainfall. Days are pleasant, with temperatures seldom exceeding 95°F, except in the southern interior of the country; afternoons and evenings are breezy, with nighttime temperatures in the 60s and low 70s; May-October (dry and warm), November-April (cool with rain and wind in the north, mild in the south).
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Portuguese (singular and plural).
Population (2011 est.): 10.6 million. Ages 0 to 14 years--1.6 million (male 830,611; female 789,194). Ages 15 to 24 years--1.2 million (male 609,177; female 585,072). Ages 25 to 64 years--5.9 million (male 2,917,633; female 3,013,120). Ages 65 years and over--1.9 million (male 787,967; female 1,099,715).
Population density: 114 per sq. km. (44 per sq. mi.).
Annual population growth rate (2008 est.): 0.8%.
Ethnic groups: Homogeneous Mediterranean stock with small minority groups from Africa (Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique), South America (Brazil), and Eastern Europe (Ukraine, Romania).
Religion: Roman Catholic 92%, Protestant 4%, atheists 3%, others 1%.
Language: Portuguese.
Education: Years compulsory--12. Literacy (2008)--94.9%.
Health (2010): Birth rate--9.5/1,000 (1.07 male/female). Death rate--10.0/1,000. Infant mortality rate--2.5/1,000. Life expectancy--79.2 years.
Work force (2010): 5.57 million. Government and services (59.8%); industry and manufacturing (28.5%); agriculture and fishing (11.7%).
Government
Type: Republic.
Constitution: Effective April 25, 1976; revised 1982, 1989, 1992, 1997, 2001, 2004, and 2005.
Branches: Executive--president (head of state), Council of State (presidential advisory body), prime minister (head of government), Council of Ministers. Legislative--unicameral Assembly of the Republic (230 deputies): PS=74, PSD=108, PCP=14, CDS/PP=24, BE=8, PEV=2. Judicial--Supreme Court, District Courts, Appeals Courts, Constitutional Tribunal.
Major political parties: Socialist Party (PS); Social Democratic Party (PSD); Portuguese Communist Party (PCP); Popular Party (CDS/PP); Left Bloc (BE); Green Party (PEV).
Administrative subdivisions: 18 districts (Lisbon, Leiria, Santarem, Setubal, Beja, Faro, Evora, Portalegre, Castelo Branco, Guarda, Coimbra, Aveiro, Viseu, Braganca, Vila Real, Porto, Braga, Viana do Castelo); 2 autonomous island regions (the Azores and Madeira).
Economy
GDP (2010 est.): €160.3 billion (approx. $208 billion).
Annual growth rate (2010 est.): 0.91%.
Per capita GDP (2010 est.): €18,453 (approx. $23,965).
Avg. inflation rate (2010 est.): 1.2%.
Services (75.4% gross value added): Wholesale and retail trade; hotels and tourism; restaurants; transport, storage and communication; real estate; banking and finance; repair; government, civil, and public sectors.
Industry (22.3% gross value added): Textiles, clothing, footwear, wood and cork, paper, chemicals, auto-parts manufacturing, base metals, dairy products, wine and other foods, porcelain and ceramics; glassware, technology; telecommunications.
Agriculture (2.3% gross value added): Livestock, crops, fish.
Trade (2010): Exports--€36.8 billion (approx. $28.3 billion): machinery and tools 14.9%; textile materials, clothing and footwear 13.7%; vehicles and other transport materials 12.4%; wood, cork, paper and wood pulp 9.2%; other 49.8%. Imports--€55 billion (approx. $42.3 billion): machinery and tools 16.3%; oil products 14.7%; vehicles and other transport material 14.1%; chemical products 10%; agricultural products 9.5%; other 35%. Export partners--Spain (26.6%); Germany (13.9%); France (11.8%); United Kingdom (5.5%); Angola (5.2%); Netherlands (3.8%); Italy (3.8%); United States (3.6%); Belgium (2.9%); Brazil (1.2%); other (22%). EU 27 (74%). Import partners--Spain (31.2%); Germany (13.9%); France (7.3%); Italy (5.7%); Netherlands (5.1%); United Kingdom (3.8%); Belgium (2.9%); China (2.8%); Nigeria (2.4%); Brazil (1.8%); other (23.1%). EU 27 (75.6%).
U.S. trade with Portugal (2010): Exports--$1 billion: transportation equipment (21.9%); computer and electronic products (15.2%); agricultural products (7.7%); machinery (7.5%); all others (47.7%). Imports--$2.1 billion: mineral fuels, oils (28.5%); transportation equipment (10.2%); wood products (7.9%); paper (6.6%); all others (46.8%).
Foreign direct investment (FDI, 2010): Incoming FDI by industry--wholesale and retail 39.3%; manufacturing 24.4%; financial and insurance activities 18.2%; information and communication activities 5.6%; consultancy, scientific, and technical activities 3.1%; real estate 1.2%; construction 1%; electricity, gas, water 0.6%; other 6.6%. Incoming FDI by country in euros (total €35 billion; approx. $26.9 billion)--Germany 18.3%; France 16.7%; United Kingdom 13.8%; Spain 13.6%; Netherlands 10.3%; Luxembourg 7%; Brazil 5.5%; Switzerland 5.2%; Belgium 2.4%; Ireland 1.8%; other 5.4%. Portuguese FDI abroad by country in euros (total €6.8 billion; approx. $5.2 billion)--Luxembourg 18.5%; Brazil 17.1%; Spain 13.5%; Netherlands 12.1%; Angola 3.3%; Poland 3.2%; United States 2.7%; United Kingdom 1.9%; Romania 1.5%; France 1.3%; other 24.9%.
Exchange rate: (2009) U.S. $1 = 0.74 EUR (€); (2010) U.S. $1 =0.77 EUR.
HISTORY
Portugal is one of the oldest states in Europe. It traces its modern history to A.D. 1140 when, following a 9-year rebellion against the King of Leon-Castile, Afonso Henriques, the Count of Portugal, became the country's first king, Afonso I. Afonso and his successors expanded their territory southward, capturing Lisbon from the Moors in 1147. The approximate present-day boundaries were secured in 1249 by Afonso III.
By 1337, Portuguese explorers had reached the Canary Islands. Inspired by Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460), explorers such as Vasco da Gama, Bartolomeu Dias, and Pedro Alvares Cabral made explorations from Brazil to India and Japan. Portugal eventually became a massive colonial empire with vast territories in Africa (Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Sao Tome) and Latin America (Brazil), and outposts in the Far East (East Timor, Macau, Goa).
Dynastic disputes led in 1580 to the succession of Philip II of Spain to the Portuguese throne. A revolt ended Spanish hegemony in 1640, and the House of Braganca was established as Portugal's ruling family, lasting until the establishment of the Portuguese Republic in 1910.
During the next 16 years, intense political rivalries and economic instability undermined newly established democratic institutions. Responding to pressing economic problems, a military government, which had taken power in 1926, named a prominent university economist, Antonio Salazar, as finance minister in 1928 and prime minister in 1932. For the next 42 years, Salazar and his successor, Marcelo Caetano (appointed prime minister in 1968), ruled Portugal as an authoritarian "corporate" state. Unlike most other European countries, Portugal remained neutral in World War II. It was a charter member of NATO, joining in 1949.
In the early 1960s, wars against independence movements in Portugal's African territories began to drain labor and wealth from Portugal. Professional dissatisfaction within the military, coupled with a growing sense of the futility of the African conflicts, led to the formation of the clandestine "Armed Forces Movement" in 1973.
The downfall of the Portuguese corporate state came on April 25, 1974, when the Armed Forces Movement seized power in a nearly bloodless coup and established a provisional military government.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Portugal moved from authoritarian rule to parliamentary democracy following the 1974 military coup against Marcelo Caetano, whose rule embodied a continuation of the long-running dictatorship of Antonio Salazar. After a period of instability and communist agitation, Portugal ratified a new constitution in 1976. Subsequent revisions of the constitution placed the military under strict civilian control; trimmed the powers of the president; and laid the groundwork for a stable, pluralistic liberal democracy, as well as privatization of nationalized firms and the government-owned media. Portugal joined the European Union (EU) in 1986 and has moved toward greater political and economic integration with Europe ever since.
The four main branches of the national government are the presidency, the prime minister and Council of Ministers (the government), the Assembly of the Republic (the parliament), and the judiciary. The president, elected to a 5-year term by direct, universal suffrage, also is commander in chief of the armed forces. Presidential powers include confirming the prime minister and Council of Ministers; dismissing the prime minister; dissolving the assembly to call early elections; vetoing legislation, which may be overridden by the assembly; and declaring a state of war or siege. The Council of State, a presidential advisory body, is composed of six senior civilian officers, former presidents elected under the 1976 constitution, five members chosen by the assembly, and five selected by the president.
The government is headed by the prime minister, who is nominated by the assembly for confirmation by the president. The prime minister then names the Council of Ministers. A new government is required to present its governing platform to the assembly for approval.
The Assembly of the Republic is a unicameral body composed of 230 deputies. Elected by universal suffrage according to a system of proportional representation, deputies serve terms of office of 4 years, unless the president dissolves the assembly and calls for new elections. The national Supreme Court is the court of last appeal. Military, administrative, and fiscal courts are designated as separate court categories. A nine-member Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation.
The Azores and Madeira Islands have constitutionally mandated autonomous status. A regional autonomy statute promulgated in 1980 established the Government of the Autonomous Region of the Azores; the Government of the Autonomous Region of Madeira operates under a provisional autonomy statute in effect since 1976. Continental Portugal is divided into 18 districts, each headed by a governor appointed by the Minister of Internal Administration.
Current Administration
Socialist Party (PS) Prime Minister Jose Socrates resigned in March 2011 after his minority government’s austerity plan was rejected by the parliament. Rising unemployment and unsustainable public sector deficits led his caretaker government to seek a May 2011 EU/International Monetary Fund bailout agreement. Social Democratic Party (PSD) Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho’s government took office following June 5, 2011 parliamentary elections. Since then, the new government has been largely preoccupied with the implementation of broad austerity measures pursuant to the agreement.
Social Democrat Anibal Cavaco Silva, a center-right candidate and former prime minister (1985-1995), won the Portuguese presidential election on January 22, 2006 with 50.6% of the vote, becoming Portugal’s first center-right head of state in 3 decades. He was re-elected on January 23, 2011 with 53% of the vote and was sworn in on March 9, 2011.
