Jamaica (2004) | Portugal (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland
note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation |
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: 28.2% (male 390,966; female 372,961)
15-64 years: 65% (male 883,053; female 880,296) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 82,788; female 103,066) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 16.9% (male 875,485; female 827,670)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 3,324,215; female 3,463,301) 65 years and over: 15.8% (male 644,761; female 948,813) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, vegetables, poultry, goats, milk, crustaceans, and mollusks | grain, potatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, poultry, beef, dairy products |
Airports | 35 (2003 est.) | 67 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
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 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (2004 est.) |
total: 26
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 25 (2002) |
Area | total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total: 92,391 sq km
land: 91,951 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | slightly smaller than Indiana |
Background | Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a drop off in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s. | 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 entered the EC (now the EU) in 1985. |
Birth rate | 16.94 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 11.5 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.596 billion
expenditures: $3.111 billion, including capital expenditures of $236 million (2003 est.) |
revenues: $45 billion
expenditures: $48 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Kingston | Lisbon |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior | maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south |
Coastline | 1,022 km | 1,793 km |
Constitution | 6 August 1962 | 25 April 1976, revised 30 October 1982, 1 June 1989, 5 November 1992, and 3 September 1997 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica |
conventional long form: Portuguese Republic
conventional short form: Portugal local long form: Republica Portuguesa local short form: Portugal |
Currency | Jamaican dollar (JMD) | euro (EUR); Portuguese escudo (PTE)
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 |
Death rate | 5.4 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 10.21 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.962 billion (2003 est.) | $13.1 billion (1997 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Sue McCourt COBB
embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859 FAX: [1] (876) 935-6001 |
chief of mission: Ambassador John N. PALMER
embassy: Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600-081 Lisbon, Apartado 4258, 1507 Lisboa CODEX mailing address: PSC 83, APO AE 09726 telephone: [351] (21) 727-3300 FAX: [351] (21) 727-9109 consulate(s): Ponta Delgada (Azores) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Gordon SHIRLEY
chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
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): Los Angeles, New Bedford (Massachusetts), Providence (Rhode Island) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $271 million (1995) (1995) |
Economic aid - recipient | $16 million (2003) | - |
Economy - overview | The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for 70% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. The global economic slowdown, particularly after the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001, stunted economic growth; the economy rebounded moderately in 2003, with one of the best tourist seasons on record. But the economy faces serious long-term problems: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a sizable merchandise trade deficit; large-scale unemployment; and a growing internal debt, the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy. The ratio of debt to GDP is close to 150%. Inflation, previously a bright spot, is expected to remain in the double digits. Depressed economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including gang violence fueled by the drug trade. In 2004, the government faces the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious and growing crime problem that is hampering economic growth. | 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 its new currency, 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 2001-02. GDP per capita stands at 75% 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 new 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.833 billion kWh (2001) | 41.146 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 3.767 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 4.698 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 6.272 billion kWh (2001) | 43.242 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 70%
hydro: 26% nuclear: 0% other: 4% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 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 | heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions | soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas |
Environment - international agreements | party to: 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, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1% | 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 | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 57.7409 (2003), 48.4159 (2002), 45.9962 (2001), 42.7011 (2000), 39.0435 (1999) | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Portuguese escudos per US dollar - 180.10 (1998), 175.31 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Howard Felix COOKE (since 1 August 1991)
head of government: Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister |
chief of state: President Jorge SAMPAIO (since 9 March 1996)
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 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 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% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $25.9 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
Exports - commodities | alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels | clothing and footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork and paper products, hides |
Exports - partners | US 29.6%, UK 11%, Canada 10.8%, France 7.9%, Norway 6.8%, Germany 6.2%, China 6%, Netherlands 4.4% (2003) | EU 79.7% (Germany 19.2%, Spain 18.6%, France 12.6%, UK 10.3%, Benelux 5.4%), US 5.8% (2001) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side) | 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 | purchasing power parity - $10.61 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $182 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6.7%
industry: 37.2% services: 56.2% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 4%
industry: 29% services: 68% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,900 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $18,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.9% (2003 est.) | 0.8% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 15 N, 77 30 W | 39 30 N, 8 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal | Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar |
Highways | total: 18,700 km
paved: 13,109 km unpaved: 5,591 km (1999 est.) |
total: 68,732 km
paved: 59,110 km (including 797 km of expressways) unpaved: 9,622 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.7%
highest 10%: 30.3% (2000) |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 28% (1995 est.) |
Illicit drugs | major transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions | gateway country for Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market; transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Europe; consumer of Southwest Asian heroin |
Imports | NA (2001) | $39 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials | machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum, textiles, agricultural products |
Imports - partners | US 39.8%, Trinidad and Tobago 9.7%, Germany 5.6%, Venezuela 4.5%, France 4.5%, Japan 4.2% (2003) | EU 74.2% (Spain 26.5%, Germany 13.9%, France 10.3%, Italy 6.7%, UK 5.0%), US 3.8%, Japan 1.9% (2001) |
Independence | 6 August 1962 (from UK) | 1143 (independent republic proclaimed 5 October 1910) |
Industrial production growth rate | -2% (2000 est.) | 1.5% (2002 est.) |
Industries | tourism, bauxite/alumina, textiles, agro processing, wearing apparel, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications | textiles and footwear; wood pulp, paper, and cork; metalworking; oil refining; chemicals; fish canning; wine; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.81 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
5.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10.3% (2003 est.) | 3.7% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | AfDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 16 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 250 sq km (1998 est.) | 6,320 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura) |
Labor force | 1.13 million (2003) | 5.1 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 21%, industry 19%, services 60% (1998) | services 60%, industry 30%, agriculture 10% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,214 km
border countries: Spain 1,214 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.07%
permanent crops: 10.16% other: 73.77% (2001) |
arable land: 20.57%
permanent crops: 7.74% other: 71.69% (1999 est.) |
Languages | English, patois English | Portuguese |
Legal system | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated eight seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 16 October 2002 (next to be held in October 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 52%, JLP 47.3%; seats by party - PNP 34, JLP 26 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.07 years
male: 74.04 years female: 78.21 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 76.14 years
male: 72.65 years female: 79.87 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 87.9% male: 84.1% female: 91.6% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.4% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba | Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 74,881 GRT/100,682 DWT
by type: bulk 2, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 2, short-sea/passenger 1 foreign-owned: Greece 2, Iceland 1, Latvia 1, United States 2 (2004 est.) |
total: 140 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,001,440 GRT/1,519,701 DWT
ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 71, chemical tanker 17, container 10, liquefied gas 8, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, petroleum tanker 10, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 6, short-sea passenger 4, vehicle carrier 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 1, British Virgin Islands 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark 6, Germany 20, Greece 1, Iceland 1, Italy 16, Lebanon 1, Liberia 1, Monaco 2, Norway 5, Panama 5, Spain 22, Switzerland 8, United Kingdom 1, Virgin Islands (UK) 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing | Army, Navy (PON) (includes Marines), Air Force, Republican Guard (includes Fiscal Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $31 million (2003) | $1.286 billion (FY99/00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.4% (2003) | 2.2% (FY99/00) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 764,266 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,525,848 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 533,768 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,024,526 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 27,126 (2004 est.) | males: 71,404 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, first Monday in August (1962) | Portugal Day, 10 June (1580) |
Nationality | noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican |
noun: Portuguese (singular and plural)
adjective: Portuguese |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (especially July to November) | Azores subject to severe earthquakes |
Natural resources | bauxite, gypsum, limestone | fish, forests (cork), tungsten, iron ore, uranium ore, marble, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -4.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 22 km; petroleum products 58 km; natural gas 700 km
note: the secondary lines for the natural gas pipeline that will be 300 km long have not yet been built |
Political parties and leaders | Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Edward SEAGA]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Hyacinth BENNETT]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON] | 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 [leader NA]; The Left Bloc [no leader] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) | NA |
Population | 2,713,130 (July 2004 est.) | 10,084,245 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 19.7% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.66% (2004 est.) | 0.18% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf) | Aveiro, Funchal (Madeira Islands), Horta (Azores), Leixoes, Lisbon, Porto, Ponta Delgada (Azores), Praia da Vitoria (Azores), Setubal, Viana do Castelo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 47, FM 172 (many are repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | - | 3.02 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 272 km
standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge note: 207 of these km belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation had been in common carrier service until 1992 but are no longer operational; 57 km of the remaining track is privately owned and used by ALCAN to transport bauxite (2003) |
total: 2,850 km
broad gauge: 2,576 km 1.668-m gauge (623 km electrified; 426 km double-tracked) narrow gauge: 274 km 1.000-m gauge (2001) |
Religions | Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%, Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other including some spiritual cults 34.7% | Roman Catholic 94%, Protestant (1995) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: fully automatic domestic telephone network
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-876; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables |
general assessment: undergoing rapid development in recent years, Portugal's telephone system, by the end of 1998, 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: 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 | 444,400 (2002) | 5.3 million (yearend 1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.4 million (2002) | 3,074,194 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (1997) | 62 (plus 166 repeaters)
note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands (1995) |
Terrain | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain | mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in south |
Total fertility rate | 1.98 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.48 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15.9% (2003 est.) | 4.7% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | - | 820 km
note: relatively unimportant to national economy, used by shallow-draft craft limited to 300 metric-ton or less cargo capacity |