Portugal (2007) | Montserrat (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 | 3 parishes; Saint Anthony, Saint Georges, Saint Peter |
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: 23.3% (male 1,092; female 1,062)
15-64 years: 65.5% (male 2,889; female 3,162) 65 years and over: 11.2% (male 543; female 497) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, tomatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, swine, poultry, dairy products; fish | cabbages, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers, livestock products |
Airports | 66 (2007) | 1 (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: 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: 102 sq km
land: 102 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Indiana | about 0.6 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. | Much of this island was devastated and two-thirds of the population fled abroad because of the eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano that began on 18 July 1995. |
Birth rate | 10.59 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 17.63 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $81.9 billion
expenditures: $89.49 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $31.4 million
expenditures: $31.6 million, including capital expenditures of $8.4 million (1997 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 |
Plymouth (abandoned in 1997 due to volcanic activity; interim government buildings have been built at Brades Estate, in the Carr's Bay/Little Bay vicinity at the northwest end of Montserrat) |
Climate | maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south | tropical; little daily or seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 1,793 km | 40 km |
Constitution | adopted 2 April 1976; effective 25 April 1976; revised many times | present constitution came into force 19 December 1989 |
Country name | conventional long form: Portuguese Republic
conventional short form: Portugal local long form: Republica Portuguesa local short form: Portugal |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Montserrat |
Currency | - | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 10.56 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 7.36 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $368.2 billion (2006 est.) | $8.9 million (1997) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
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 territory of the UK) |
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 (overseas territory of the UK) |
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 | - | As of 31 March 2003, UK's DFID had provided about $328 million in economic relief from volcanic activity, and by 31 March 2006, DFID aid is expected to total $411 million. |
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. | Severe volcanic activity, which began in July 1995, has put a damper on this small, open economy. A catastrophic eruption in June 1997 closed the airports and seaports, causing further economic and social dislocation. Two-thirds of the 12,000 inhabitants fled the island. Some began to return in 1998, but lack of housing limited the number. The agriculture sector continued to be affected by the lack of suitable land for farming and the destruction of crops. Prospects for the economy depend largely on developments in relation to the volcano and on public sector construction activity. The UK has launched a three-year $122.8 million aid program to help reconstruct the economy. Half of the island is expected to remain uninhabitable for another decade. |
Electricity - consumption | 46.3 billion kWh (2005) | 2.325 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 2.802 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 9.626 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 43.69 billion kWh (2005) | 2.5 million kWh (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: Chances Peak (in the Soufriere Hills volcanic complex) 914 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas | land erosion occurs on slopes that have been cleared for cultivation |
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 | black, white |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) |
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 Governor Deborah Barnes JONES (since 10 May 2004)
head of government: Chief Minister John OSBORNE (since 5 April 2001) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, the chief minister, three other ministers, the attorney general, and the finance secretary elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party usually becomes chief minister |
Exports | 43,070 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | clothing and footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork and paper products, hides | electronic components, plastic bags, apparel, hot peppers, live plants, cattle |
Exports - partners | Spain 26.5%, Germany 12.9%, France 12%, UK 6.7%, US 6.1% (2006) | US, Antigua and Barbuda |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Montserratian coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a woman standing beside a yellow harp with her arm around a black cross |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $29 million (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 25.8% services: 66.2% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 5.4%
industry: 13.6% services: 81% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $3,400 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.3% (2006 est.) | -1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 39 30 N, 8 00 W | 16 45 N, 62 12 W |
Geography - note | Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar | the island is entirely volcanic in origin and contains seven active volcanoes |
Highways | - | total: 227 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: volcanic eruptions beginning in 1995 destroyed most of the road system (2003) |
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 | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe |
Imports | 361,300 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum, textiles, agricultural products | machinery and transportation equipment, foodstuffs, manufactured goods, fuels, lubricants, and related materials |
Imports - partners | Spain 29%, Germany 13.1%, France 8.1%, Italy 5.6%, Netherlands 4.4% (2006) | US, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, Canada |
Independence | 1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 5 October 1910 (republic proclaimed) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
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, rum, textiles, electronic appliances |
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: 7.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.8 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.1% (2006 est.) | 2.6% (2002 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 | Caricom, CDB, ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), OECS, 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) | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia, one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court) |
Labor force | 5.59 million (2006 est.) | 4,521 ; note - lowered by flight of people from volcanic activity (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 10%
industry: 30% services: 60% (2001 est.) |
agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA |
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: 20%
permanent crops: 0% other: 80% (2001) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally used) | English |
Legal system | based on civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations | English common law and statutory 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 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 Legislative Council (11 seats, 9 popularly elected; members serve five-year terms)
note: expanded in 2001 from 7 to 9 elected members with attorney general and financial secretary sitting as ex-officio members elections: last held April 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPLM 7, NPP 2 note: in 2001, the Elections Commission instituted a single constituency/voter-at-large system whereby all eligible voters cast ballots for all nine seats of the Legislative Council |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.87 years
male: 74.6 years female: 81.36 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 78.53 years
male: 76.39 years female: 80.78 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: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1970 est.) |
Location | Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico |
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 |
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 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) | no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force |
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 | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) |
Nationality | noun: Portuguese (singular and plural)
adjective: Portuguese |
noun: Montserratian(s)
adjective: Montserratian |
Natural hazards | Azores subject to severe earthquakes | severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic eruptions (Soufriere Hills volcano has erupted continuously since 1995) |
Natural resources | fish, forests (cork), iron ore, copper, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble, clay, gypsum, salt, arable land, hydropower | negligible |
Net migration rate | 3.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 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) | National Progressive Party or NPP [Reuben T. MEADE]; New People's Liberation Movement or NPLM [John A. OSBORNE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 10,642,836 (July 2007 est.) | 9,245
note: an estimated 8,000 refugees left the island following the resumption of volcanic activity in July 1995; some have returned (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.334% (2007 est.) | 1.03% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Plymouth (abandoned), Little Bay (anchorages and ferry landing), Carr's Bay |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 47, FM 172 (many are repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, 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, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Christian denominations |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.09 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 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: country code - 1-664 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4.231 million (2006) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 12.226 million (2006) | 70 (1994) |
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 | volcanic island, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland |
Total fertility rate | 1.48 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.79 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.6% (2006 est.) | 6% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | 210 km (on Douro River from Porto) (2006) | - |