Portugal (2006) | Benin (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 | 6 provinces; Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Mono, Oueme, Zou; note - six additional provinces have been reported but not confirmed; they are Alibori, Collines, Couffo, Donga, Littoral, and Plateau; moreover, the term "province" may have been changed to "department" |
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.) |
0-14 years:
47.32% (male 1,574,124; female 1,544,741) 15-64 years: 50.38% (male 1,607,900; female 1,712,360) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 64,756; female 86,901) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, tomatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, swine, poultry, dairy products; fish | corn, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, rice, cotton, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, livestock |
Airports | 66 (2006) | 5 (2000 est.) |
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) |
total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 23
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 22 (2006) |
total:
4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 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:
112,620 sq km land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Indiana | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
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 is a founding member of NATO and entered the EC (now the EU) in 1986. | Dahomey gained its independence from France in 1960; the name was changed to Benin in 1975. From 1974 to 1989 the country was a socialist state; free elections were reestablished in 1991. |
Birth rate | 10.72 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 44.23 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $78.84 billion
expenditures: $90.27 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues:
$299 million expenditures: $445 million, including capital expenditures of $14 million (1995 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 |
Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government |
Climate | maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north |
Coastline | 1,793 km | 121 km |
Constitution | 25 April 1976; revised many times | December 1990 |
Country name | conventional long form: Portuguese Republic
conventional short form: Portugal local long form: Republica Portuguesa local short form: Portugal |
conventional long form:
Republic of Benin conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey |
Currency | - | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
Death rate | 10.5 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 14.51 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $287.8 billion (2005 est.) | $1.6 billion (1998 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) |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Pamela E. BRIDGEWATER embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 30-06-50, 30-05-13, 30-17-92 FAX: [229] 30-14-39, 30-19-74 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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) |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Lucien Edgar TONOUKOUIN chancery: 2737 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996 |
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 | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $271 million (1995) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $274.6 million (1997) |
Economy - overview | 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. | The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output averaged a sound 5% in 1996-99, but a rapid population rise offset much of this growth. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. Commercial and transport activities, which make up a large part of GDP, are vulnerable to developments in Nigeria, particularly fuel shortages. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation in recent years. While high fuel prices constrained growth in 2000, increased cotton production - enabled by a major restructuring program - and an expansion of the Cotonou port, may lead to increased growth in 2001. |
Electricity - consumption | 44.01 billion kWh (2003) | 510.2 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 3.1 billion kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 5.9 billion kWh (2003) | 300 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 44.32 billion kWh (2003) | 226 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
24.78% hydro: 75.22% 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:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification |
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 |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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 | African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500 |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro |
Executive branch | 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% |
chief of state:
President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; runoff election held 22 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: Mathieu KEREKOU reelected president; percent of vote - Mathieu KEREKOU 84.1%, Bruno AMOUSSOU 15.9% note: the four top-ranking contenders following the first round presidential elections were: Mathieu KEREKOU (incumbent) 45.4%, Nicephore SOGOLO (former president) 27.1%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI (National Assembly Speaker) 12.6%, and Bruno AMOUSSOU (Minister of State) 8.6%; the second round balloting, originally scheduled for 18 March, was postponed four days because both SOGOLO and HOUNGBEDJI withdrew alleging electoral fraud; this left KEREKOU to run against his own Minister of State, AMOUSSOU, in what was termed a "friendly match" |
Exports | 28,830 bbl/day (2001) | $396 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | clothing and footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork and paper products, hides | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa |
Exports - partners | Spain 25.9%, France 13.1%, Germany 11.9%, UK 8%, US 5.4%, Italy 4.3% (2005) | Brazil 14%, Libya 5%, Indonesia 4%, Italy 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar 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 | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green band on the hoist side |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $6.6 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5.3%
industry: 27.4% services: 67.3% (2005 est.) |
agriculture:
37.9% industry: 13.5% services: 48.6% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,030 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.4% (2005 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 39 30 N, 8 00 W | 9 30 N, 2 15 E |
Geography - note | Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar | no natural harbors |
Highways | - | total:
6,787 km paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1997 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 28.4% (1995 est.) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
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 | transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US |
Imports | 357,300 bbl/day (2001) | $566 million (c.i.f., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum, textiles, agricultural products | foodstuffs, tobacco, petroleum products, capital goods |
Imports - partners | Spain 29%, Germany 13.4%, France 8.5%, Italy 5.2%, Netherlands 4.3%, UK 4.2% (2005) | France 38%, China 16%, UK 9%, Cote d'Ivoire 5% (1999) |
Independence | 1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 5 October 1910 (independent republic proclaimed) | 1 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0% (2005 est.) | 6.9% (2000 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 | textiles, cigarettes; beverages, food; construction materials, petroleum |
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.) |
89.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.3% (2005 est.) | 3% (2000 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNTAET, UPU, WADB, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 6,500 sq km (2003) | 100 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura) | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice |
Labor force | 5.52 million (2005 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 10%
industry: 30% services: 60% (1999 est.) |
- |
Land boundaries | total: 1,214 km
border countries: Spain 1,214 km |
total:
1,989 km border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
Land use | arable land: 17.29%
permanent crops: 7.84% other: 74.87% (2005) |
arable land:
13% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 31% other: 48% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally used) | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) |
Legal system | civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RB 27, PRD 11, FARD-ALAFIA 10, PSD 9, MADEP 6, E'toile 4, Alliance IPD 4, Car-DUNYA 3, MERCI 2, other 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.7 years
male: 74.43 years female: 81.2 years (2006 est.) |
total population:
49.94 years male: 49.02 years female: 50.88 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.3% male: 95.5% female: 91.3% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 37.5% male: 52.2% female: 23.6% (2000) |
Location | Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Nigeria and Togo |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
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 |
territorial sea:
200 NM |
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) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (Marinha Portuguesa; includes Marine Corps), Air Force (Forca Aerea Portuguesa, FAP), National Republican Guard (Guarda Nacional Republicana) (2005) | Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), National Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $3,497.8 million (2003) | $27 million (FY96) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.3% (2003) | 1.2% (FY96) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,455,433 females age 15-49: 1,489,947 note: both sexes are liable for military service (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
743,980 females age 15-49: 755,149 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
70,088 females: 73,618 (2001 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 | National Day, 1 August (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Portuguese (singular and plural)
adjective: Portuguese |
noun:
Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese |
Natural hazards | Azores subject to severe earthquakes | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north in winter |
Natural resources | fish, forests (cork), iron ore, copper, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble, clay, gypsum, salt, arable land, hydropower | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber |
Net migration rate | 3.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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] | African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP [Sylvain Adekpedjou AKINDES]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD and the National Union for Solidarity and Progress or UNSP [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Cameleon Alliance or AC [leader NA]; Car-DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; Communist Party of Benin or PCB [Pascal FANTONDJI, first secretary]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Front for Renewal and Development or FARD-ALAFIA [Jerome Sakia KINA]; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Bertin BORNA]; Liberal Democrats' Rally for National Reconstruction-Vivoten or RDL-Vivoten [Severin ADJOVI]; Movement for Citizens' Commitment and Awakening or MERCI [Severin ADJOVI]; New Generation for the Republic or NGR [Paul DOSSOU]; Our Common Cause or NCC [Francois Odjo TANKPINON]; Party Democratique du Benin or PDB [Col. Soule DANKORO]; Rally for Democracy and Pan-Africanism or RDP [Dominique HOYMINOU, Dr. Giles Auguste MINONTIN]; Renaissance Party du Benin or RB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union for National Democracy and Solidarity or UDS [Adamou N'Diaye MAMA]
note: the Coalition of Democratic Forces is an alliance of parties and organizations supporting President KEREKOU [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 10,605,870 (July 2006 est.) | 6,590,782
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 37.2% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.36% (2006 est.) | 2.97% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Cotonou, Porto-Novo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 47, FM 172 (many are repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | - | 620,000 (1997) |
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) |
total:
578 km (single track) narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2000) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 94%, Protestant (1995) | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% |
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.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 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 |
general assessment:
NA domestic: fair system of open wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); submarine cable |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4.234 million (2005) | 36,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 11.448 million (2005) | 4,295 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 62 (plus 166 repeaters)
note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands (1995) |
2 (one privately-owned) (1997) |
Terrain | mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in south | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains |
Total fertility rate | 1.47 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 6.23 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.6% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 210 km (on Douro River from Porto) (2003) | streams navigable along small sections, important only locally |