Arctic Ocean (2006) | Portugal (2007) | |
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 (Lisbon), Madeira*, Portalegre, Porto, Santarem, Setubal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Viseu |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 16.5% (male 914,480/female 837,525)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 3,501,206/female 3,551,706) 65 years and over: 17.3% (male 757,220/female 1,080,699) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | grain, potatoes, tomatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, swine, poultry, dairy products; fish |
Airports | - | 66 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 44
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: 12 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 22
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 21 (2007) |
Area | total: 14.056 million sq km
note: includes Baffin Bay, Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, Northwest Passage, and other tributary water bodies |
total: 92,391 sq km
land: 91,951 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US | slightly smaller than Indiana |
Background | The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the recently delimited Southern Ocean). The Northwest Passage (US and Canada) and Northern Sea Route (Norway and Russia) are two important seasonal waterways. A sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes circumscribes the Arctic Ocean. | 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 | - | 10.59 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $81.9 billion
expenditures: $89.49 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | - | 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 | polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges; winters characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow | maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south |
Coastline | 45,389 km | 1,793 km |
Constitution | - | adopted 2 April 1976; effective 25 April 1976; revised many times |
Country name | - | conventional long form: Portuguese Republic
conventional short form: Portugal local long form: Republica Portuguesa local short form: Portugal |
Death rate | - | 10.56 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $368.2 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | 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 | - | chief of mission: Ambassador Joao DE VALLERA
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 | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) | 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 the exploitation of natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish, and seals. | Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Community in 1986. Over the past two decades, 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 1990s, but fell back in 2001-06. GDP per capita stands at roughly two-thirds of the EU-25 average. 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 budget deficit surged to an all-time high of 6% of GDP in 2005 but was reduced to 4.6% in 2006. 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 | - | 46.3 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 2.802 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 9.626 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | - | 43.69 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Fram Basin -4,665 m
highest point: sea level 0 m |
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 | endangered marine species include walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage; thinning polar icepack | 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, Whaling
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 - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) |
Executive branch | - | chief of state: President Anibal CAVACO SILVA (since 9 March 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Jose SOCRATES Carvalho Pinto de Sousa (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 in 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 Alberto Nobre Lopes SOARES 14.3%, Jeronimo DE SOUSA 8.5%, Franciso LOUCA 5.3% |
Exports | - | 43,070 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | - | clothing and footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork and paper products, hides |
Exports - partners | - | Spain 26.5%, Germany 12.9%, France 12%, UK 6.7%, US 6.1% (2006) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
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 |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 8%
industry: 25.8% services: 66.2% (2006 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 1.3% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 90 00 N, 0 00 E | 39 30 N, 8 00 W |
Geography - note | major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait); strategic location between North America and Russia; shortest marine link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia; floating research stations operated by the US and Russia; maximum snow cover in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean; snow cover lasts about 10 months | 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 | - | 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 |
Imports | - | 361,300 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | - | machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum, textiles, agricultural products |
Imports - partners | - | Spain 29%, Germany 13.1%, France 8.1%, Italy 5.6%, Netherlands 4.4% (2006) |
Independence | - | 1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 5 October 1910 (republic proclaimed) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 0.9% (2006 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: 4.92 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.38 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 3.1% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | - | ABEDA, AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CE, CERN, CPLP, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, 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 | - | 5.59 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 10%
industry: 30% services: 60% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | - | 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 | - | Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally used) |
Legal system | - | based on 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 in February 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - PS 45.1%, PSD 28.7%, CDU 7.6%, PP 7.3%, BE 6.4%, other 4.9%; seats by party - PS 121, PSD 75, CDU 14, PP 12, BE 8 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 77.87 years
male: 74.6 years female: 81.36 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.3% male: 95.5% female: 91.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | body of water between Europe, Asia, and North America, mostly north of the Arctic Circle | Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain |
Map references | Arctic Region | 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: 117 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,022,783 GRT/1,287,951 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 10, cargo 37, carrier 1, chemical tanker 16, container 6, liquefied gas 9, passenger 10, passenger/cargo 10, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 10 foreign-owned: 80 (Belgium 9, Denmark 3, Germany 22, Greece 4, Italy 11, Japan 10, Malta 1, Mexico 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 3, Spain 10, Sweden 2, Switzerland 2, US 1) registered in other countries: 15 (Cyprus 1, Hong Kong 1, Malta 3, Panama 9, St Vincent and The Grenadines 1) (2007) |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy (Marinha Portuguesa; includes Marine Corps), Air Force (Forca Aerea Portuguesa, FAP), National Republican Guard (Guarda Nacional Republicana) (2005) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.3% (2005 est.) |
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 | ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually ice locked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May | Azores subject to severe earthquakes |
Natural resources | sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales) | fish, forests (cork), iron ore, copper, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble, clay, gypsum, salt, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | - | 3.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 1,099 km; oil 8 km; refined products 174 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Green Ecologist Party or PEV [Heloisa Augusta Baiao de Brito APOLONIA]; Popular Party or PP [Paulo PORTAS]; 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 Manuel Goncalves Marques MENDES]; The Left Bloc or BE [Franciso Anacleto LOUCA]; Unitarian Democratic Coalition or CDU [Jeronimo DE SOUSA] (includes PEV and PCP) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | - | 10,642,836 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 0.334% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 47, FM 172 (many are repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 2,786 km
broad gauge: 2,603 km 1.668-m gauge (1,351 km electrified) narrow gauge: 183 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | - | Roman Catholic 84.5%, other Christian 2.2%, other 0.3%, unknown 9%, none 3.9% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.092 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.986 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.701 male(s)/female total population: 0.946 male(s)/female (2007 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 (1998) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 4.231 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 12.226 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 62 (plus 166 repeaters; includes Azores and Madeira Islands) (1995) |
Terrain | central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that, on average, is about 3 meters thick, although pressure ridges may be three times that thickness; clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight-line movement from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland); the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50% continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonosov Ridge) | mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in south |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.48 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Transportation - note | sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes; the Northwest Passage (North America) and Northern Sea Route (Eurasia) are important seasonal waterways | - |
Unemployment rate | - | 7.6% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | - | 210 km (on Douro River from Porto) (2006) |