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Background:
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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.
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Location:
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Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain
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Geographic coordinates:
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39 30 N, 8 00 W
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Map references:
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Area:
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total: 92,391 sq km
land: 91,951 sq km
water: 440 sq km
note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than Indiana
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Land boundaries:
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total: 1,214 km
border countries: Spain 1,214 km
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Coastline:
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1,793 km
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
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Climate:
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maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south
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Terrain:
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mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in south
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Elevation extremes:
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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
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Natural resources:
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fish, forests (cork), iron ore, copper, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble, clay, gypsum, salt, arable land, hydropower
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Land use:
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arable land: 17.29%
permanent crops: 7.84%
other: 74.87% (2005)
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Irrigated land:
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6,500 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources:
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73.6 cu km (2005)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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Total: 11.09 cu km/yr (10%/12%/78%)
Per capita: 1,056 cu m/yr (1998)
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Natural hazards:
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Azores subject to severe earthquakes
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Environment - current issues:
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soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas
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Environment - international agreements:
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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
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Geography - note:
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Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar
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Population:
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10,642,836 (July 2007 est.)
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Age structure:
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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.)
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Median age:
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total: 38.8 years
male: 36.7 years
female: 41 years (2007 est.)
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Population growth rate:
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0.334% (2007 est.)
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Birth rate:
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10.59 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
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Death rate:
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10.56 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
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Net migration rate:
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3.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
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Sex ratio:
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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.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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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.)
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 77.87 years
male: 74.6 years
female: 81.36 years (2007 est.)
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Total fertility rate:
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1.48 children born/woman (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.4% (2001 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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22,000 (2001 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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less than 1,000 (2003 est.)
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Nationality:
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noun: Portuguese (singular and plural)
adjective: Portuguese
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Ethnic groups:
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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
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Religions:
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Roman Catholic 84.5%, other Christian 2.2%, other 0.3%, unknown 9%, none 3.9% (2001 census)
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Languages:
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Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally used)
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.3%
male: 95.5%
female: 91.3% (2003 est.)
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This page was last updated on 24 January, 2008
- The Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook - |
