Akrotiri (2006) | Portugal (2006) | |
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 |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 16.5% (male 915,604/female 839,004)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 3,484,545/female 3,544,674) 65 years and over: 17.2% (male 751,899/female 1,070,144) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | grain, potatoes, tomatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, swine, poultry, dairy products; fish |
Airports | - | 66 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 43
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 11 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 23
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 22 (2006) |
Area | total: 123 sq km
note: includes a salt lake and wetlands |
total: 92,391 sq km
land: 91,951 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands |
Area - comparative | about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Indiana |
Background | By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created the independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovereignty and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers - Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The southernmost and smallest of these is the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Western Sovereign Base Area. | 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. |
Birth rate | - | 10.72 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $78.84 billion
expenditures: $90.27 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | name: Episkopi Cantonment; also serves as capital of Dhekelia
geographic coordinates: 34 40 N, 32 51 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
name: Lisbon
geographic coordinates: 38 43 N, 9 08 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters | maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south |
Coastline | 56.3 km | 1,793 km |
Constitution | Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960 | 25 April 1976; revised many times |
Country name | conventional long form: Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area
conventional short form: Akrotiri |
conventional long form: Portuguese Republic
conventional short form: Portugal local long form: Republica Portuguesa local short form: Portugal |
Death rate | - | 10.5 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $287.8 billion (2005 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of UK; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Alfred J. HOFFMAN Jr.
embassy: Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600-081 Lisbon mailing address: Apartado 43033, 1601-301 Lisboa; PSC 83, APO AE 09726 telephone: [351] (21) 727-3300 FAX: [351] (21) 726-9109 consulate(s): Ponta Delgada (Azores) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Pedro Manuel Dos Reis Alves CATARINO
chancery: 2012 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 350-5400 FAX: [1] (202) 462-3726 consulate(s) general: Boston, New York, Newark (New Jersey), San Francisco consulate(s): New Bedford (Massachusetts), Providence (Rhode Island) |
Disputes - international | - | 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 |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $271 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military and their families located in Akrotiri. All food and manufactured goods must be imported. | 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 had been above the EU average for much of the past decade, but fell back in 2001-05. GDP per capita stands at two-thirds that of the Big Four 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 government faces tough choices in its attempts to boost Portugal's economic competitiveness while keeping the budget deficit within the eurozone's 3%-of-GDP ceiling. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 44.01 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | - | 3.1 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | - | 5.9 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | - | 44.32 billion kWh (2003) |
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 |
Environment - current issues | shooting around the salt lake; note - breeding place for loggerhead and green turtles; only remaining colony of griffon vultures is on the base | 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 |
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 |
Exchange rates | - | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Administrator Air Vice-Marshal Richard LACEY (since 26 April 2006); note - reports to the British Ministry of Defence elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the administrator is appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: President Anibal CAVACO Silva (since 9 March 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Jose SOCRATES (since 12 March 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister note: there is also a Council of State that acts as a consultative body to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 22 January 2006 (next to be held January 2011); 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: Anibal CAVACO Silva elected president; percent of vote - Anibal CAVACO Silva 50.6%, Manuel ALEGRE 20.7%, Mario SOARES 14.3%, Jeronimo de SOUSA 8.5%, Franciso LOUCA 5.3% |
Exports | - | 28,830 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | - | clothing and footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork and paper products, hides |
Exports - partners | - | Spain 25.9%, France 13.1%, Germany 11.9%, UK 8%, US 5.4%, Italy 4.3% (2005) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of the UK is used | two vertical bands of green (hoist side, two-fifths) and red (three-fifths) with the Portuguese coat of arms centered on the dividing line |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 5.3%
industry: 27.4% services: 67.3% (2005 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 0.4% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 34 37 N, 32 58 E | 39 30 N, 8 00 W |
Geography - note | British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus | Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 28.4% (1995 est.) |
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 |
Imports | - | 357,300 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | - | machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum, textiles, agricultural products |
Imports - partners | - | Spain 29%, Germany 13.4%, France 8.5%, Italy 5.2%, Netherlands 4.3%, UK 4.2% (2005) |
Independence | - | 1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 5 October 1910 (independent republic proclaimed) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 0% (2005 est.) |
Industries | - | textiles and footwear; wood pulp, paper, and cork; metals and metalworking; oil refining; chemicals; fish canning; rubber and plastic products; ceramics; electronics and communications equipment; rail transportation equipment; aerospace equipment; ship construction and refurbishment; wine; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 4.98 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 2.3% (2005 est.) |
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, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | - | 6,500 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura) |
Labor force | - | 5.52 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 10%
industry: 30% services: 60% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 47.4 km
border countries: Cyprus 47.4 km |
total: 1,214 km
border countries: Spain 1,214 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 17.29%
permanent crops: 7.84% other: 74.87% (2005) |
Languages | English, Greek | Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally used) |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 20 February 2005 (next to be held February 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - PS 45.1%, PSD 28.7%, CDU 7.6%, PP 7.3%, BE 6.4%; seats by party - PS 121, PSD 75, CDU 14, PP 12, BE 8 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 77.7 years
male: 74.43 years female: 81.2 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.3% male: 95.5% female: 91.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus | Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain |
Map references | Middle East | Europe |
Maritime claims | - | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | - | total: 111 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,077,300 GRT/1,363,435 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 11, cargo 27, chemical tanker 15, container 7, liquefied gas 11, passenger 9, passenger/cargo 10, petroleum tanker 8, roll on/roll off 4, vehicle carrier 9 foreign-owned: 82 (Australia 1, Belgium 8, Cyprus 1, Denmark 4, Germany 17, Greece 4, Italy 12, Japan 9, Malta 1, Mexico 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 4, Spain 15, Switzerland 3, US 1) registered in other countries: 16 (Cyprus 2, Hong Kong 1, Malta 3, Panama 10) (2006) |
Military - note | Akrotiri has a full RAF base, Headquarters for British Forces on Cyprus, and Episkopi Support Unit | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy (Marinha Portuguesa; includes Marine Corps), Air Force (Forca Aerea Portuguesa, FAP), National Republican Guard (Guarda Nacional Republicana) (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $3,497.8 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.3% (2003) |
National holiday | - | Portugal Day (Day of Portugal), 10 June (1580); note - also called Camoes Day, the day that revered national poet Luis de Camoes (1524-80) died |
Nationality | - | noun: Portuguese (singular and plural)
adjective: Portuguese |
Natural hazards | - | Azores subject to severe earthquakes |
Natural resources | - | fish, forests (cork), iron ore, copper, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble, clay, gypsum, salt, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | - | 3.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 1,099 km; oil 8 km; refined products 174 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Green Ecologist Party or PEV [Heloisa APOLONIA]; Popular Party or PP [Jose Ribeiro e CASTRO]; Portuguese Communist Party or PCP [Jeronimo de SOUSA]; Portuguese Socialist Party or PS [Jose SOCRATES Carvalho Pinto de Sousa]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Luis Marques MENDES]; The Left Bloc or BE [Franciso Anacleto LOUCA]; Unitarian Democratic Coalition or CDU (includes PEV and PCP) [Jeronimo de SOUSA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,300 military personnel are on the base; there are another 5,000 British citizens who are families of military personnel or civilian staff on both Akrotiri and Dhekelia; Cyprus citizens work on the base, but do not live there |
10,605,870 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 0.36% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | FM 1
note: British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides Radio 1 and Radio 2 service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia (2006) |
AM 47, FM 172 (many are repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998) |
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 (2005) |
Religions | - | Roman Catholic 94%, Protestant (1995) |
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: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: Portugal's telephone system has achieved a state-of-the-art network with broadband, high-speed capabilities
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 4.234 million (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 11.448 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia (2006) | 62 (plus 166 repeaters)
note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands (1995) |
Terrain | - | mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in south |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.47 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 7.6% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | - | 210 km (on Douro River from Porto) (2003) |