Portugal (2006) | Martinique (2003) | |
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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 | none (overseas department of France) |
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: 22.8% (male 49,310; female 47,908)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 142,242; female 142,688) 65 years and over: 10.3% (male 19,656; female 24,162) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, tomatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, swine, poultry, dairy products; fish | pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane |
Airports | 66 (2006) | 2 (2002) |
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
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 23
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 22 (2006) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 92,391 sq km
land: 91,951 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands |
total: 1,100 sq km
land: 1,060 sq km water: 40 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Indiana | slightly more than six times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Colonized by France in 1635, the island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation. |
Birth rate | 10.72 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 14.96 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $78.84 billion
expenditures: $90.27 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues: $900 million
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) |
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 |
Fort-de-France |
Climate | maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south | tropical; moderated by trade winds; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average; average temperature 17.3 degrees C; humid |
Coastline | 1,793 km | 350 km |
Constitution | 25 April 1976; revised many times | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: Portuguese Republic
conventional short form: Portugal local long form: Republica Portuguesa local short form: Portugal |
conventional long form: Department of Martinique
conventional short form: Martinique local long form: Departement de la Martinique local short form: Martinique |
Currency | - | euro (EUR) |
Death rate | 10.5 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 6.41 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $287.8 billion (2005 est.) | $180 million (1994) |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
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) |
none (overseas department of France) |
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) |
none (overseas department of France) |
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 | - | $NA; note - substantial annual aid from France |
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 is based on sugarcane, bananas, tourism, and light industry. Agriculture accounts for about 6% of GDP and the small industrial sector for 11%. Sugar production has declined, with most of the sugarcane now used for the production of rum. Banana exports are increasing, going mostly to France. The bulk of meat, vegetable, and grain requirements must be imported, contributing to a chronic trade deficit that requires large annual transfers of aid from France. Tourism, which employs more than 11,000 people, has become more important than agricultural exports as a source of foreign exchange. |
Electricity - consumption | 44.01 billion kWh (2003) | 1.07 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 3.1 billion kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 5.9 billion kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 44.32 billion kWh (2003) | 1.151 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
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: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas | NA |
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 | African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Chinese less than 5% |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) | euros per US dollar - 1.06 euros per US dollar - 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998) |
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 Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995); Prefect Michel CADOT (since 21 June 2000)
head of government: President of the General Council Claude LISE (since 22 March 1992); President of the Regional Council Alfred MARIE-JEANNE (since NA March 1998) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | 28,830 bbl/day (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | clothing and footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork and paper products, hides | refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples (2001 est.) |
Exports - partners | Spain 25.9%, France 13.1%, Germany 11.9%, UK 8%, US 5.4%, Italy 4.3% (2005) | France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (2000) |
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 | a light blue background is divided into four quadrants by a white cross; in the center of each rectangle is a white snake; the flag of France is used for official occasions |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $4.5 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5.3%
industry: 27.4% services: 67.3% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 11% services: 83% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $10,700 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.4% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 39 30 N, 8 00 W | 14 40 N, 61 00 W |
Geography - note | Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar | the island is dominated by Mount Pelee, which on 8 May 1902 erupted and completely destroyed the city of Saint Pierre, killing 30,000 inhabitants |
Highways | - | total: 2,105 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (2000) |
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 cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe |
Imports | 357,300 bbl/day (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum, textiles, agricultural products | petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Spain 29%, Germany 13.4%, France 8.5%, Italy 5.2%, Netherlands 4.3%, UK 4.2% (2005) | France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (2000) |
Independence | 1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 5 October 1910 (independent republic proclaimed) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0% (2005 est.) | NA% |
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 | construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism |
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.) |
total: 7.44 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.85 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.3% (2005 est.) | 3.9% (1990) |
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 | FZ, WCL, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 6,500 sq km (2003) | 30 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura) | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 5.52 million (2005 est.) | 165,900 (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 10%
industry: 30% services: 60% (1999 est.) |
agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1997) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,214 km
border countries: Spain 1,214 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 17.29%
permanent crops: 7.84% other: 74.87% (2005) |
arable land: 9.43%
permanent crops: 11.32% other: 79.25% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally used) | French, Creole patois |
Legal system | civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | French legal system |
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 General Council or Conseil General (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Assembly or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Assembly - last held on 15 March 1998 (next to be held by March 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - left-wing candidates 13, PPM 11, RPR 6, right-wing candidates 5, PCM 3, UDF 3, PMS 2, independents 2; note - the PPM won a plurality; Regional Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPR-UDF 14, MIM 13, PPM 7, left parties 4, PMS 3 note: Martinique elects 2 seats to the French Senate; elections last held NA September 2001 (next to be held September 2004); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PPM 2; Martinique also elects 4 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held, first round - 9 June 2002, second round - 16 June 2002 (next to be held not later than June 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, PS 1, MIM 1, left-wing candidate 1 (candidacy of the left-wing candidate was found invalid by the Constitutional Council; new elections will be called) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.7 years
male: 74.43 years female: 81.2 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 78.72 years
male: 79.27 years female: 78.16 years (2003 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: 97.7% male: 97.4% female: 98.1% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Europe | Central America and the Caribbean |
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 |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 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 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army, Navy (Marinha Portuguesa; includes Marine Corps), Air Force (Forca Aerea Portuguesa, FAP), National Republican Guard (Guarda Nacional Republicana) (2005) | no regular indigenous military forces; French Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $3,497.8 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.3% (2003) | - |
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 | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Portuguese (singular and plural)
adjective: Portuguese |
noun: Martiniquais (singular and plural)
adjective: Martiniquais |
Natural hazards | Azores subject to severe earthquakes | hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) |
Natural resources | fish, forests (cork), iron ore, copper, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble, clay, gypsum, salt, arable land, hydropower | coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land |
Net migration rate | 3.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -0.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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] | Martinique Communist Party or PCM [Pierre SUEDILLE]; Martinique Independence Movement or MIM [Alfred MARIE-JEANNE]; Martinique Progressive Party or PPM [Camille DARSIERES]; Martinique Socialist Party or PMS [Ernest WAN-AJOUHU]; Movement of Democrats and Ecologists for a Sovereign Martinique or Modemas [Garcin MALSA]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Michel CHARLONE]; Socialist Revolution Group or GRS [Philippe PIERRE-CHARLES]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Jean MAREN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Caribbean Revolutionary Alliance or ARC; Central Union for Martinique Workers or CSTM [Marc PULVAR]; Frantz Fanon Circle; League of Workers and Peasants; Proletarian Action Group or GAP |
Population | 10,605,870 (July 2006 est.) | 425,966 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.36% (2006 est.) | 0.85% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Fort-de-France, La Trinite |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 47, FM 172 (many are repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) |
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) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 94%, Protestant (1995) | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 10.5%, Muslim 0.5%, Hindu 0.5%, other 3.5% (1997) |
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: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 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: domestic facilities are adequate
domestic: NA international: microwave radio relay to Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Saint Lucia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4.234 million (2005) | 170,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 11.448 million (2005) | 15,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 62 (plus 166 repeaters)
note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands (1995) |
11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in south | mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano |
Total fertility rate | 1.47 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.79 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.6% (2005 est.) | 27.2% (1998) |
Waterways | 210 km (on Douro River from Porto) (2003) | none |