Portugal (2007) | Guernsey (2004) | |
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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 (Lisbon), Madeira*, Portalegre, Porto, Santarem, Setubal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Viseu | none (British crown dependency); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 10 parishes including Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson, Vale, Castel, Saint Saviour, Saint Pierre du Bois, Torteval, Forest, Saint Martin, Saint Andrew |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 16.5% (male 914,480/female 837,525)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 3,501,206/female 3,551,706) 65 years and over: 17.3% (male 757,220/female 1,080,699) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 15.6% (male 5,161; female 5,013)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male 21,497; female 21,897) 65 years and over: 17.6% (male 4,812; female 6,651) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, tomatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, swine, poultry, dairy products; fish | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle |
Airports | 66 (2007) | 2 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 44
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: 12 (2007) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 22
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 21 (2007) |
- |
Area | total: 92,391 sq km
land: 91,951 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands |
total: 78 sq km
land: 78 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Indiana | about one-half 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. | The island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy, which held sway in both France and England. The islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. |
Birth rate | 10.59 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 9.16 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $81.9 billion
expenditures: $89.49 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $381.3 million
expenditures: $368.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 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 |
Saint Peter Port |
Climate | maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast |
Coastline | 1,793 km | 50 km |
Constitution | adopted 2 April 1976; effective 25 April 1976; revised many times | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice |
Country name | conventional long form: Portuguese Republic
conventional short form: Portugal local long form: Republica Portuguesa local short form: Portugal |
conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
Currency | - | British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Guernsey pound |
Death rate | 10.56 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 9.87 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $368.2 billion (2006 est.) | NA |
Dependency status | - | British crown dependency |
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 (British crown dependency) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Joao DE VALLERA
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 (British crown dependency) |
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 |
Economy - overview | Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Community in 1986. Over the past two decades, 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 1990s, but fell back in 2001-06. GDP per capita stands at roughly two-thirds of the EU-25 average. 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 budget deficit surged to an all-time high of 6% of GDP in 2005 but was reduced to 4.6% in 2006. 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. | Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance, etc. - account for about 55% of total income in this tiny Channel Island economy. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes and cut flowers, have been declining. Light tax and death duties make Guernsey a popular tax haven. The evolving economic integration of the EU nations is changing the environment under which Guernsey operates. |
Electricity - consumption | 46.3 billion kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 2.802 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 9.626 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 43.69 billion kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
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: unnamed location on Sark 114 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, Whaling
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 | UK and Norman-French descent with small percentages from other European countries |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) | Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998); note - the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Anibal CAVACO SILVA (since 9 March 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Jose SOCRATES Carvalho Pinto de Sousa (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 in 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 Alberto Nobre Lopes SOARES 14.3%, Jeronimo DE SOUSA 8.5%, Franciso LOUCA 5.3% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief Lt. Gen. Sir John FOLEY (since NA 2000)
head of government: Chief Minister Laurie MORGAN (since 1 May 2004) cabinet: Policy Council elected by the States of Deliberation elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch; chief minister is elected by States of Delibertion election results: Laurie MORGAN elected chief minister, percent of vote of the States of Deliberation NA |
Exports | 43,070 bbl/day (2004) | NA |
Exports - commodities | clothing and footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork and paper products, hides | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables |
Exports - partners | Spain 26.5%, Germany 12.9%, France 12%, UK 6.7%, US 6.1% (2006) | UK (regarded as internal trade) |
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 | white with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) extending to the edges of the flag and a yellow equal-armed cross of William the Conqueror superimposed on the Saint George cross |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $1.3 billion (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 25.8% services: 66.2% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $20,000 (1999 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.3% (2006 est.) | 5.7% (1999 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 39 30 N, 8 00 W | 49 28 N, 2 35 W |
Geography - note | Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port |
Highways | - | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
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 | seizing record amounts of Latin American cocaine destined for Europe; a European gateway for Southwest Asian heroin; transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Europe; consumer of Southwest Asian heroin | - |
Imports | 361,300 bbl/day (2004) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum, textiles, agricultural products | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment |
Imports - partners | Spain 29%, Germany 13.1%, France 8.1%, Italy 5.6%, Netherlands 4.4% (2006) | UK (regarded as internal trade) |
Independence | 1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 5 October 1910 (republic proclaimed) | none (British crown dependency) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.9% (2006 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 | tourism, banking |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.92 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.38 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 4.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.35 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.1% (2006 est.) | 4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CE, CERN, CPLP, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | UPU |
Irrigated land | 6,500 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura) | Royal Court |
Labor force | 5.59 million (2006 est.) | 31,320 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 10%
industry: 30% services: 60% (2001 est.) |
- |
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: NA
permanent crops: NA other: NA (2001) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally used) | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts |
Legal system | based on civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations | English law and local statute; justice is administered by the Royal Court |
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 in February 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - PS 45.1%, PSD 28.7%, CDU 7.6%, PP 7.3%, BE 6.4%, other 4.9%; seats by party - PS 121, PSD 75, CDU 14, PP 12, BE 8 |
unicameral States of Deliberation (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote for 4 years); note - Alderney and Sark have their own parliaments
elections: last held 21 April 2004 (next to be held NA 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - all independents |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.87 years
male: 74.6 years female: 81.36 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 80.17 years
male: 77.17 years female: 83.27 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.3% male: 95.5% female: 91.3% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
Location | Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France |
Map references | Europe | Europe |
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: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 117 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,022,783 GRT/1,287,951 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 10, cargo 37, carrier 1, chemical tanker 16, container 6, liquefied gas 9, passenger 10, passenger/cargo 10, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 10 foreign-owned: 80 (Belgium 9, Denmark 3, Germany 22, Greece 4, Italy 11, Japan 10, Malta 1, Mexico 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 3, Spain 10, Sweden 2, Switzerland 2, US 1) registered in other countries: 15 (Cyprus 1, Hong Kong 1, Malta 3, Panama 9, St Vincent and The Grenadines 1) (2007) |
none |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Army, Navy (Marinha Portuguesa; includes Marine Corps), Air Force (Forca Aerea Portuguesa, FAP), National Republican Guard (Guarda Nacional Republicana) (2005) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.3% (2005 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 | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) |
Nationality | noun: Portuguese (singular and plural)
adjective: Portuguese |
noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
Natural hazards | Azores subject to severe earthquakes | NA |
Natural resources | fish, forests (cork), iron ore, copper, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble, clay, gypsum, salt, arable land, hydropower | cropland |
Net migration rate | 3.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 3.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 1,099 km; oil 8 km; refined products 174 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Green Ecologist Party or PEV [Heloisa Augusta Baiao de Brito APOLONIA]; Popular Party or PP [Paulo PORTAS]; 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 Manuel Goncalves Marques MENDES]; The Left Bloc or BE [Franciso Anacleto LOUCA]; Unitarian Democratic Coalition or CDU [Jeronimo DE SOUSA] (includes PEV and PCP) | none; all independents |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 10,642,836 (July 2007 est.) | 65,031 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.334% (2007 est.) | 0.31% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 47, FM 172 (many are repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 2,786 km
broad gauge: 2,603 km 1.668-m gauge (1,351 km electrified) narrow gauge: 183 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
- |
Religions | Roman Catholic 84.5%, other Christian 2.2%, other 0.3%, unknown 9%, none 3.9% (2001 census) | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.092 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.986 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.701 male(s)/female total population: 0.946 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 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 (1998) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4.231 million (2006) | 55,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 12.226 million (2006) | 31,500 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 62 (plus 166 repeaters; includes Azores and Madeira Islands) (1995) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in south | mostly level with low hills in southwest |
Total fertility rate | 1.48 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.38 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.6% (2006 est.) | 0.5% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | 210 km (on Douro River from Porto) (2006) | - |