British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) | Portugal (2005) | |
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: 16.6% (male 916,234/female 839,935)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 3,468,844/female 3,538,779) 65 years and over: 17.1% (male 744,787/female 1,057,633) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | grain, potatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, poultry, beef, dairy products |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 65 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 42
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 23
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 22 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 60 sq km
land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago |
total: 92,391 sq km
land: 91,951 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands |
Area - comparative | about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Indiana |
Background | Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order which had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia. | 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 | - | 10.82 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $74.38 billion
expenditures: $79.86 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | - | Lisbon |
Climate | tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds | maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south |
Coastline | 698 km | 1,793 km |
Constitution | - | 25 April 1976; revised many times |
Country name | conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory
conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT |
conventional long form: Portuguese Republic
conventional short form: Portugal local long form: Republica Portuguesa local short form: Portugal |
Death rate | - | 10.43 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $274.7 billion (2004 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Adrienne S. O'NEAL
embassy: Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600-081 Lisbon mailing address: Apartado 4258, 1507 Lisboa Codex; 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: 2125 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-8610 FAX: [1] (202) 462-3726 consulate(s) general: Boston, New York, Newark (New Jersey), and San Francisco consulate(s): New Bedford (Massachusetts), Providence (Rhode Island) |
Disputes - international | Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in 1965; repatriation is complicated by the US military lease of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the chain | none |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $271 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities are located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. | 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 2001-04. 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 | NA kWh | 42.15 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | - | 3.4 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | - | 5.3 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military | 43.28 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 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 | NA | 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 - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Commissioner Alan HUCKLE (since 2001); Administrator Louise SAVILL (since NA); note - both reside in the UK cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: President Jorge SAMPAIO (since 9 March 1996)
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; election last held 14 January 2001 (next to be held 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% |
Exports | - | 28,830 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | - | clothing and footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork and paper products, hides |
Exports - partners | - | Spain 25%, France 14%, Germany 13.5%, UK 9.6%, US 6%, Italy 4.3%, Netherlands 4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag | 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: 5.9%
industry: 30.2% services: 63.9% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $17,900 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 1.1% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 6 00 S, 71 30 E | 39 30 N, 8 00 W |
Geography - note | archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility | Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km |
total: 17,135 km
paved: 14,736 km (including 1,659 km of expressways) unpaved: 2,399 km (2002) |
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 29.3%, Germany 14.3%, France 9.3%, Italy 6.1%, UK 4.6%, Netherlands 4.6% (2004) |
Independence | - | 1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 5 October 1910 (independent republic proclaimed) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 1.1% (2004 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: 5.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.53 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 2.1% (2004 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, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMISET, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 6,320 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura) |
Labor force | - | 5.48 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 10%, industry 30%, services 60% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,214 km
border countries: Spain 1,214 km |
Land use | arable land: NEGL
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 21.75%
permanent crops: 7.81% other: 70.44% (2001) |
Languages | - | 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); note - President SAMPAIO called for early elections after dissolving parliament on 10 December 2004 because he lacked confidence in the four-month center-right government 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: 77.53 years
male: 74.25 years female: 81.03 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.3% male: 95.5% female: 91.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia | Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Europe |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
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: 114 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 872,557 GRT/1,236,025 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 10, cargo 38, chemical tanker 14, container 7, liquefied gas 9, passenger 8, passenger/cargo 7, petroleum tanker 9, roll on/roll off 4, vehicle carrier 8 foreign-owned: 97 (Australia 1, Belgium 6, Denmark 5, Germany 18, Greece 4, Iceland 1, Italy 11, Japan 8, Lebanon 1, Malta 1, Norway 4, Spain 19, Switzerland 4) registered in other countries: 28 (2005) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016 | - |
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, 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 | NA | Azores subject to severe earthquakes |
Natural resources | coconuts, fish, sugarcane | fish, forests (cork), iron ore, copper, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble, clay, gypsum, salt, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | - | 3.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 1,099 km; oil 8 km; refined products 174 km (2004) |
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 UDC [Jeronimo de SOUSA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles around the time of the construction of UK-US military facilities; in 2001, there were approximately 1,500 UK and US military personnel and 2,000 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2002 est.) |
10,566,212 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA |
Population growth rate | - | 0.39% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Diego Garcia | Leixoes, Lisbon, Setubal, Sines |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 47, FM 172 (many are repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | NA | - |
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 (2004) |
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: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available
domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000) |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 4,278,800 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 9,341,400 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 62 (plus 166 repeaters)
note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands (1995) |
Terrain | flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation) | mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in south |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.47 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 6.5% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | 210 km (on Douro River from Porto) (2003) |