Portugal (2001) | Bangladesh (2001) | |
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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 | 5 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi; note - there may be one additional division named Sylhet |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
16.96% (male 877,379; female 830,242) 15-64 years: 67.42% (male 3,321,473; female 3,465,481) 65 years and over: 15.62% (male 637,207; female 934,471) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years:
35.04% (male 23,550,607; female 22,451,006) 15-64 years: 61.6% (male 41,432,123; female 39,434,633) 65 years and over: 3.36% (male 2,389,639; female 2,011,852) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, poultry, beef, dairy products | rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry |
Airports | 66 (2000 est.) | 18 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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: 17 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
total:
15 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
26 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 25 (2000 est.) |
total:
3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
92,391 sq km land: 91,951 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands |
total:
144,000 sq km land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Indiana | slightly smaller than Wisconsin |
Background | 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 in 1985. | Bangladesh came into existence in 1971 when Bengali East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan. About a third of this extremely poor country annually floods during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development. |
Birth rate | 11.51 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 25.3 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$48.6 billion expenditures: $50.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $7.7 billion (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$4.9 billion expenditures: $6.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | Lisbon | Dhaka |
Climate | maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south | tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October) |
Coastline | 1,793 km | 580 km |
Constitution | 25 April 1976, revised 30 October 1982, 1 June 1989, 5 November 1992, and 3 September 1997 | 4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972, suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986, amended many times |
Country name | conventional long form:
Portuguese Republic conventional short form: Portugal local long form: Republica Portuguesa local short form: Portugal |
conventional long form:
People's Republic of Bangladesh conventional short form: Bangladesh former: East Pakistan |
Currency | Portuguese escudo (PTE); euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in Portugal at a fixed rate of 200.482 Portuguese escudos per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002 |
taka (BDT) |
Death rate | 10.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.6 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $13.1 billion (1997 est.) | $17 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Gerald S. MCGOWAN embassy: Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600 Lisbon mailing address: PSC 83, APO AE 09726 telephone: [351] (21) 727-3300 FAX: [351] (21) 726-9109 consulate(s): Ponta Delgada (Azores) |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Mary Ann PETERS embassy: Road 27, House 110, Banani, Dhaka mailing address: G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000 telephone: [880] (2) 8824700 through 8824722 FAX: [880] (2) 8823744 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Joao Alberto Bacelar ROCHA PARIS 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) |
chief of mission:
Ambassador-designate A. Tariq KARIM chancery: 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-0183 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York |
Disputes - international | - | a portion of the boundary with India is indefinite; exchange of 151 enclaves along border with India subject to ratification by Indian parliament; dispute with India over South Talpatty/New Moore Island |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $271 million (1995) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $1.575 billion (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | Portugal is an upcoming capitalist economy with a per capita GDP two-thirds that of the four big West European economies. The country qualified for the European Monetary Union (EMU) in 1998 and joined with 10 other European countries in launching the euro on 1 January 1999. The year 2000 was marked by moderation in growth, inflation, and unemployment. The country continues to run a sizable trade deficit. The government is working to reform the tax system, to modernize capital plant, and to increase the country's competitiveness in the increasingly integrated world markets. Growth is expected to fall off slightly in 2001. Improvement in the education sector is critical to the long-run catch-up process. | Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains one of the world's poorest, most densely populated, and least developed nations. Although more than half of GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single most important product. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, inadequate port facilities, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Reform is stalled in many instances by political infighting and corruption at all levels of government. Even so, Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA's Awami League government has made some headway improving the climate for foreign investors and liberalizing the capital markets. Progress on other economic reforms has been halting because of opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups. |
Electricity - consumption | 37.915 billion kWh (1999) | 11.216 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 4.49 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 3.628 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 41.696 billion kWh (1999) | 12.06 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
79.97% hydro: 17.25% nuclear: 0% other: 2.78% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
93.7% hydro: 6.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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 |
lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas | many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; water-borne diseases prevalent in surface water; water pollution, especially of fishing areas, results from the use of commercial pesticides; ground water contaminated by naturally-occurring arsenic; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation and erosion; deforestation; severe overpopulation |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | homogeneous Mediterranean stock; citizens of black African descent who immigrated to mainland during decolonization number less than 100,000 | Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims (1998) |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Portuguese escudos per US dollar - 180.10 (1998), 175.31 (1997), 154.24 (1996) | taka per US dollar - 54.000 (January 2001), 52.142 (2000), 49.085 (1999), 46.906 (1998), 43.892 (1997), 41.794 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Jorge SAMPAIO (since 9 March 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Antonio Manuel de Oliviera GUTERRES (since 28 October 1995) 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 re-elected president; percent of vote - Jorge SAMPAIO (Socialist) 55.8%, Joaquim FERREIRA Do Amaral (Social Democrat) 34.5%, Antonio ABREU (Communist) 5.1% |
chief of state:
President Shahabuddin AHMED (since 9 October 1996); note - the president's duties are normally ceremonial, but with the 13th amendment to the constitution ("Caretaker Government Amendment"), the president's role becomes significant at times when Parliament is dissolved and a caretaker government is installed - at presidential direction - to supervise the elections head of government: Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA (since 13 July 1996) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 24 July 1996 (next to be held by NA October 2001); following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Shahabuddin AHMED elected president without opposition; percent of National Parliament vote - NA% |
Exports | $26.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $5.9 billion (2000) |
Exports - commodities | clothing and footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork and paper products, hides | garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood |
Exports - partners | EU 83% (Germany 20%, Spain 18%, France 14%, UK 12%, Netherlands 5%, Benelux 5%, Italy), US 5% (1999) | US 31.2%, Germany 9.95%, UK 8.06%, France 5.82%, Italy 4.42% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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 | green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist side of center; the red sun of freedom represents the blood shed to achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the lush countryside, and secondarily, the traditional color of Islam |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $159 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $203 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
4% industry: 36% services: 60% (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
30% industry: 18% services: 52% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $15,800 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,570 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.7% (2000 est.) | 5.3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 39 30 N, 8 00 W | 24 00 N, 90 00 E |
Geography - note | Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar | - |
Highways | total:
68,732 km paved: 59,110 km (including 797 km of expressways) unpaved: 9,622 km (1999) |
total:
201,182 km paved: 19,112 km unpaved: 182,070 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.1% highest 10%: 28.4% (1995 est.) |
lowest 10%:
3.9% highest 10%: 28.6% (1995-96 est.) |
Illicit drugs | important 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 | transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries |
Imports | $41 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $8.1 billion (2000) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum, textiles, agricultural products | machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, raw cotton, food, crude oil and petroleum products, cement |
Imports - partners | EU 78% (Spain 25%, Germany 15%, France 11%, Italy 8%, UK 7%, Netherlands 5%), US 3%, Japan 3% (1998) | India 12.2%, Singapore 7.8%, Japan 6.7%, China 6.4%, US 5.3% (1999) |
Independence | 1140 (independent republic proclaimed 5 October 1910) | 16 December 1971 (from West Pakistan); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is known as Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.9% (1999 est.) | 6.1% (2000 est.) |
Industries | textiles and footwear; wood pulp, paper, and cork; metalworking; oil refining; chemicals; fish canning; wine; tourism | cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar |
Infant mortality rate | 5.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 69.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2000 est.) | 5.8% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | 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, Inmarsat, Intelsat, 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 | AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | 10 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 6,300 sq km (1993 est.) | 31,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura) | Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 5 million (1999) | 64.1 million (1998)
note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $1.71 billion in 1998-99 |
Labor force - by occupation | services 60%, industry 30%, agriculture 10% (1999 est.) | agriculture 63%, services 26%, industry 11% (FY95/96) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,214 km border countries: Spain 1,214 km |
total:
4,246 km border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km |
Land use | arable land:
26% permanent crops: 9% permanent pastures: 9% forests and woodland: 36% other: 20% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
73% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 15% other: 5% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Portuguese | Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English |
Legal system | civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on English common law |
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 10 October 1999 (next to be held by NA October 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PS 115, PSD 81, PCP 15, PP 15, PEV 2, The Left Bloc 2 |
unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad (330 seats; 300 elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies, 30 seats reserved for women; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 12 June 1996 (next to be held before 13 October 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - AL 33.87%, BNP 30.87%; seats by party - AL 178, BNP 113, JP 33, JI 3, other 3; note - the elections of 12 June 1996 brought to power an Awami League government for the first time in twenty-one years; held under a neutral, caretaker administration, the elections were characterized by a peaceful, orderly process and massive voter turnout, ending a bitter two-year impasse between the former BNP and opposition parties that had paralyzed National Parliament and led to widespread street violence |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
75.94 years male: 72.44 years female: 79.68 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
60.54 years male: 60.74 years female: 60.33 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 87.4% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 56% male: 63% female: 49% (2000 est.) |
Location | Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain | Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India |
Map references | Europe | Asia |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone:
18 NM continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
158 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,053,586 GRT/1,611,238 DWT ships by type: bulk 14, cargo 84, chemical tanker 16, container 10, liquefied gas 7, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, petroleum tanker 11, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 6, short-sea passenger 4, vehicle carrier 4 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Spain 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
35 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 268,566 GRT/375,110 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 25, container 3, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force, National Republican Guard | Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, paramilitary forces (includes Bangladesh Rifles, Bangladesh Ansars, Village Defense Parties, National Cadet Corps), Armed Police battalions |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2.458 billion (FY97) | $559 million (FY96/97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.6% (FY97) | 1.8% (FY96/97) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,530,466 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
36,005,553 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,030,759 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
21,362,279 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
71,404 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Portugal Day, 10 June (1580) | Independence Day, 26 March (1971); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh |
Nationality | noun:
Portuguese (singular and plural) adjective: Portuguese |
noun:
Bangladeshi(s) adjective: Bangladeshi |
Natural hazards | Azores subject to severe earthquakes | droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season |
Natural resources | fish, forests (cork), tungsten, iron ore, uranium ore, marble, arable land, hydro power | natural gas, arable land, timber, coal |
Net migration rate | 0.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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 |
natural gas 1,250 km |
Political parties and leaders | The Greens or PEV [leader NA]; Popular Party or PP [Paulo PORTAS]; Portuguese Communist Party/United Democratic Coalition or PCP/CDU [Carlos CARVALHAS]; Portuguese Socialist Party or PS [Antonio GUTERRES]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [leader vacant]; The Left Bloc [no leader] | Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Bangladesh Communist Party or BCP [Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIAur Rahman]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Azizol HAQ]; Jamaat-E-Islami or JI [Motiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya Party or JP [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 10,066,253 (July 2001 est.) | 131,269,860 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 35.6% (FY95/96 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.18% (2001 est.) | 1.59% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aveiro, Funchal (Madeira Islands), Horta (Azores), Leixoes, Lisbon, Porto, Ponta Delgada (Azores), Praia da Vitoria (Azores), Setubal, Viana do Castelo | Chittagong, Dhaka, Mongla Port, Narayanganj (2001) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 47, FM 172 (many are repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 12, FM 12, shortwave 2 (1999) |
Radios | 3.02 million (1997) | 6.15 million (1997) |
Railways | total:
2,850 km broad gauge: 2,576 km 1.668-m gauge (623 km electrified; 426 km double track) narrow gauge: 274 km 1.000-m gauge (1998) |
total:
2,745 km broad gauge: 923 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2000) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 94%, Protestant (1995) | Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998) |
Sex ratio | 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: 0.92 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.19 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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 |
general assessment:
totally inadequate for a modern country domestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some fiber-optic cable in cities international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 5.3 million (end 1998) | 500,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3,074,194 (1999) | 283,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 62 (plus 166 repeaters)
note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands (1995) |
15 (1999) |
Terrain | mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in south | mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.48 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.78 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.3% (2000 est.) | 35.2% (1996) |
Waterways | 820 km
note: relatively unimportant to national economy, used by shallow-draft craft limited to 300 metric-ton or less cargo capacity |
up to 8,046 km depending on season
note: includes 3,058 km main cargo routes |