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2 definitions found
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
Portugal
n : a republic in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula;
Portuguese explorers and colonists in the 15th and 16th
centuries created a vast overseas empire (including
Brazil) [syn: {Portuguese Republic}]
From CIA World Factbook 2002 [world02]:
Portugal
Introduction Portugal
---------------------
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 entered the EC (now the
EU)in 1985.
Geography Portugal
------------------
Location: Southwestern Europe, bordering the
North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain
Geographic coordinates: 39 30 N, 8 00 W
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 92,391 sq km
land: 91,951 sq km
note: includes Azores and Madeira
Islands
water: 440 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Indiana
Land boundaries: total: 1,214 km
border countries: Spain 1,214 km
Coastline: 1,793 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to
the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Climate: maritime temperate; cool and rainy
in north, warmer and drier in south
Terrain: mountainous north of the Tagus
River, rolling plains in south
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
Natural resources: fish, forests (cork), tungsten, iron
ore, uranium ore, marble, arable
land, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 20.57%
permanent crops: 7.74%
other: 71.69% (1999 est.)
Irrigated land: 6,320 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: Azores subject to severe earthquakes
Environment - current issues: soil erosion; air pollution caused
by industrial and vehicle emissions;
water pollution, especially in
coastal areas
Environment - international party to: Air Pollution,
agreements: 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, Nuclear Test Ban
Geography - note: Azores and Madeira Islands occupy
strategic locations along western
sea approaches to Strait of
Gibraltar
People Portugal
---------------
Population: 10,084,245 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 16.9% (male 875,485;
female 827,670)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 3,324,215;
female 3,463,301)
65 years and over: 15.8% (male
644,761; female 948,813) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.18% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 11.5 births/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Death rate: 10.21 deaths/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Net migration rate: 0.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/
female
total population: 0.93 male(s)/
female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 5.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2002
est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.14 years
female: 79.87 years (2002 est.)
male: 72.65 years
Total fertility rate: 1.48 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.74% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ 36,000 (1999 est.)
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 280 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Portuguese (singular and
plural)
adjective: Portuguese
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
Religions: Roman Catholic 94%, Protestant
(1995)
Languages: Portuguese
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 87.4%
male: NA%
female: NA%
Government Portugal
-------------------
Country name: conventional long form: Portuguese
Republic
conventional short form: Portugal
local long form: Republica
Portuguesa
local short form: Portugal
Government type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Lisbon
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
Independence: 1143 (independent republic
proclaimed 5 October 1910)
National holiday: Portugal Day, 10 June (1580)
Constitution: 25 April 1976, revised 30 October
1982, 1 June 1989, 5 November 1992,
and 3 September 1997
Legal system: civil law system; the Constitutional
Tribunal reviews the
constitutionality of legislation;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,
with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Jorge
SAMPAIO (since 9 March 1996)
note: there is also a Council of
State that acts as a consultative
body to the president
head of government: Prime Minister
Jose Manuel DURAO Barroso (since 6
April 2002)
cabinet: Council of Ministers
appointed by the president on the
recommendation of the prime minister
elections: president elected by
popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 14 January 2001
(next to be held NA January 2006);
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: Jorge SAMPAIO
reelected president; percent of vote
- Jorge SAMPAIO (Socialist) 55.8%,
Joaquim FERREIRA Do Amaral (Social
Democrat) 34.5%, Antonio ABREU
(Communist) 5.1%
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 17 March 2002
(next to be held NA 2006)
election results: percent of vote by
party - PSD 40.1%, PS 37.8%, PP
8.7%, PCP/PEV 6.9%, The Left Bloc
2.7%; seats by party - PSD 105, PS
96, PP 14, PCP/PEV 12, The Left Bloc
3
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de
Justica (judges appointed for life
by the Conselho Superior da
Magistratura)
Political parties and leaders: The Greens or PEV [no leader];
Popular Party or PP [Paulo PORTAS];
Portuguese Communist Party/The
Greens or PCP/PEV [Carlos
CARVALHAS]; Portuguese Socialist
Party or PS [Eduardo Ferro
RODRIGUES]; Social Democratic Party
or PSD [Jose Manuel DURAO Barroso];
United Democratic Coalition or CDU
[leader NA]; The Left Bloc [no
leader]
Political pressure groups and NA
leaders:
International organization AfDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE,
participation: CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB,
EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU,
LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM
(guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS
(observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH,
UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WEU,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Joao
Alberto Bacelar ROCHA PARIS
consulate(s): Los Angeles, New
Bedford (Massachusetts), Providence
(Rhode Island)
consulate(s) general: Boston, New
York, Newark (New Jersey), and San
Francisco
FAX: [1] (202) 462-3726
telephone: [1] (202) 328-8610
chancery: 2125 Kalorama Road NW,
Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the chief of mission: Ambassador-
US: designate John N. PALMER
embassy: Avenida das Forcas Armadas,
1600-081 Lisbon
mailing address: PSC 83, APO AE
09726
telephone: [351] (21) 727-3300
FAX: [351] (21) 727-9109
consulate(s): Ponta Delgada (Azores)
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
Economy Portugal
----------------
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 its new currency,
the euro, on 1 January 2002 along
with 11 other EU member economies.
Economic growth has been above the
EU average for much of the past
decade, but GDP per capita stands at
just 75% of that of the leading EU
economies. The government has failed
to reign in a widening deficit and
to advance structural reforms needed
to boost Portugal's economic
competitiveness. 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.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $174.1
billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 1.7% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $17,300
(2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3.8%
industry: 30.5%
services: 65.7% (2000)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: 3.1%
percentage share: highest 10%: 28.4% (1995 est.)
Distribution of family income - Gini 35.6 (1994-95)
index:
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.4% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 5.1 million (2000)
Labor force - by occupation: services 60%, industry 30%,
agriculture 10% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 4.4% (2001 est.)
Budget: revenues: $45 billion
expenditures: $48 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2001
est.)
Industries: textiles and footwear; wood pulp,
paper, and cork; metalworking; oil
refining; chemicals; fish canning;
wine; tourism
Industrial production growth rate: 2.4% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 43.242 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 70.03%
hydro: 25.91%
other: 4.06% (2000)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 41.146 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 3.767 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 4.698 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: grain, potatoes, olives, grapes;
sheep, cattle, goats, poultry, beef,
dairy products
Exports: $24.8 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Exports - commodities: clothing and footwear, machinery,
chemicals, cork and paper products,
hides
Exports - partners: EU 79% (Spain 19%, Germany 18%,
France 13%, UK 11%, Benelux 6%), US
6% (2000)
Imports: $37.8 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment,
chemicals, petroleum, textiles,
agricultural products
Imports - partners: EU 74% (Spain 25%, Germany 14%,
France 11%, Italy 7%, UK 6%), US 3%,
Japan 3% (2000)
Debt - external: $13.1 billion (1997 est.)
Economic aid - donor: ODA, $271 million (1995)
Currency: euro (EUR); Portuguese escudo (PTE)
note: on 1 January 1999, the
European Monetary Union introduced
the euro as a common currency to be
used by financial institutions of
member countries; on 1 January 2002,
the euro became the sole currency
for everyday transactions within the
member countries
Currency code: EUR; PTE
Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 1.1324
(January 2002), 1.1175 (2001),
1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999);
Portuguese escudos per US dollar -
180.10 (1998), 175.31 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Portugal
-----------------------
Telephones - main lines in use: 5.3 million (yearend 1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 3,074,194 (1999)
Telephone system: general assessment: undergoing rapid
development in recent years,
Portugal's telephone system, by the
end of 1998, achieved a state-of-
the-art network with broadband,
high-speed capabilities and a main
line telephone density of 53%
domestic: integrated network of
coaxial cables, open wire, microwave
radio relay, and domestic satellite
earth stations
international: 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
Radio broadcast stations: AM 47, FM 172 (many are repeaters),
shortwave 2 (1998)
Radios: 3.02 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 62 (plus 166 repeaters)
note: includes Azores and Madeira
Islands (1995)
Televisions: 3.31 million (1997)
Internet country code: .pt
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 16 (2000)
Internet users: 2 million (2001)
Transportation Portugal
-----------------------
Railways: total: 2,850 km
broad gauge: 2,576 km 1.668-m gauge
(623 km electrified; 426 km double-
tracked)
narrow gauge: 274 km 1.000-m gauge
(2001)
Highways: total: 68,732 km
paved: 59,110 km (including 797 km
of expressways)
unpaved: 9,622 km (1999)
Waterways: 820 km
note: relatively unimportant to
national economy, used by shallow-
draft craft limited to 300 metric-
ton or less cargo capacity
Pipelines: crude oil 22 km; petroleum products
58 km; natural gas 700 km
note: the secondary lines for the
natural gas pipeline that will be
300 km long have not yet been built
Ports and harbors: Aveiro, Funchal (Madeira Islands),
Horta (Azores), Leixoes, Lisbon,
Porto, Ponta Delgada (Azores), Praia
da Vitoria (Azores), Setubal, Viana
do Castelo
Merchant marine: total: 140 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 1,001,440 GRT/1,519,701 DWT
ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 71,
chemical tanker 17, container 10,
liquefied gas 8, multi-functional
large-load carrier 1, petroleum
tanker 10, refrigerated cargo 1,
roll on/roll off 6, short-sea
passenger 4, vehicle carrier 2
note: includes some foreign-owned
ships registered here as a flag of
convenience: Belgium 1, British
Virgin Islands 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark
6, Germany 20, Greece 1, Iceland 1,
Italy 16, Lebanon 1, Liberia 1,
Monaco 2, Norway 5, Panama 5, Spain
22, Switzerland 8, United Kingdom 1,
Virgin Islands (UK) 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: 67 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 40
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 14
under 914 m: 7 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 27
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 26 (2001)
Military Portugal
-----------------
Military branches: Army, Navy (PON) (includes Marines),
Air Force, Republican Guard
(includes Fiscal Guard)
Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 2,525,848 (2002
est.)
Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 2,024,526 (2002
service: est.)
Military manpower - reaching males: 71,404 (2002 est.)
military age annually:
Military expenditures - dollar $1.286 billion (FY99/00)
figure:
Military expenditures - percent of 2.2% (FY99/00)
GDP:
Transnational Issues Portugal
-----------------------------
Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: gateway country for Latin American
cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin
entering the European market;
transshipment point for hashish from
North Africa to Europe; consumer of
Southwest Asian heroin
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