Portugal

Official name República Portuguesa (Portuguese Republic)
Form of government republic with one legislative house (Assembly of the Republic [230])
Head of state President: Aníbal Cavaco Silva
Head of government Prime Minister: Pedro Passos Coelho
Capital Lisbon
Official language Portuguese
Official religion none1
Monetary unit euro (€)
Population (2013 est.) 10,610,000COLLAPSE
Total area (sq mi) 35,603
Total area (sq km) 92,212
Urban-rural population

Urban: (2011) 61.1%

Rural: (2011) 38.9%

Life expectancy at birth

Male: (2011) 77.6 years

Female: (2011) 84 years

Literacy: percentage of population age 15 and over literate

Male: not available

Female: not available

GNI per capita (U.S.$) (2013) 20,670

1A 2004 concordat with the Vatican acknowledges the special role of the Roman Catholic Church in Portugal.

About Portugal

Portugal, officially Portuguese Republic, Portuguese República Portuguesa, country lying along the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. Once continental Europe’s greatest power, Portugal shares commonalities—geographic and cultural—with the countries of both northern Europe and the Mediterranean. Its cold, rocky northern coast and mountainous interior are sparsely settled, scenic, and wild, while the country’s south, the Algarve, is warm and fertile. The rugged Estrela Mountains (Serra da Estrela, or “Star Mountain Range”), which lie between the Tagus and Mondego rivers, contain the country’s highest point.

In the 1st millennium bce the Celtic Lusitani entered the Iberian Peninsula and settled the land, and many traces of their influence remain. According to national legend, though, Lisbon, the national capital, was founded not by Celts but by the ancient Greek warrior Odysseus, who was said to have arrived at a rocky headland near what is the present-day city after leaving his homeland to wander the world and who, liking what he saw, stayed there for a while; his departure was said to have broken the heart of the nymph Calypso, who, the legend goes, turned herself into a snake, her coils becoming the seven hills of Lisbon. Of course, had Odysseus actually come to Portugal, he would have found the land already well settled by the Lusitani.

Lusitani tribes battled the Romans for generations before acceding to empire, whereupon Rome established several important towns and ports; the Roman presence can be seen in the very name of the country, which derives from Portus Cale, a settlement near the mouth of the Douro River and the present-day city of Porto. Later, the descendants of Romans and the Lusitani would live under Moorish rule for several centuries until an independent kingdom was established.

In constant battle and rivalry with Spain, its eastern neighbour, Portugal then turned to the sea and, after Henry the Navigator’s establishment of a school of navigation at Sagres, in time founded a vast overseas empire that would become Europe’s largest and richest. Much of that empire was quickly lost, but even then Portugal retained sizable holdings along the African coast, in southern and eastern Asia, and in South America. Portugal remained a colonial power until the mid-1970s, when a peaceful revolution transformed the country from a dictatorship into a democratic republic. Long among the poorest countries of Europe, Portugal modernized in the last decades of the 20th century, expanding its economy from one based primarily on textile manufacture and livestock raising to include a range of manufactures and services.

Lisbon is Portugal’s capital and economic and cultural centre. The city clings to low but steep hills situated on the right bank of the Tagus and is a popular tourist destination. Lisbon is rather more tranquil and reserved than Madrid in neighbouring Spain, but it shares with it a reputation for great food, melancholy and romantic music, dance, and sport. Portuguese traditionally have prized a simple and unostentatious life, favouring the rural over the urban and the traditional to the modern, where a fine meal might consist of carne de porco à Alentejana (lean pork stuffed with clams), thick-crusted bread, and dark wine. Portuguese delight in the countryside, where they gather to hold family picnics, tend to their gardens and orchards, and relax. It is from the countryside that the fado, a form of romantic ballad, is thought to have come (though it is now clearly associated with the cities of Lisbon and Coimbra), and it is in the countryside that the country’s traditional sport of bullfighting takes its finest form, though in Portuguese bullfighting the bull is not killed but rather is retired to the countryside for the rest of its life.

Geography of Portugal

The Land Portugal occupies one-sixth of the Iberian Peninsula at Europe’s southwestern perimeter. To its north and east is Spain, which makes up the rest of the peninsula; to the south and the west is the Atlantic Ocean; and to the west and southwest lie the Azores (Açores) and the Madeira Islands, which are part of metropolitan Portugal. Portugal is not a large country, but it offers a great diversity of physical geography, ranging from low-lying coasts and plains to the Estrela Mountains, which rise to nearly 6,500 feet (2,000 metres) at the country’s highest point.

With Spanish Galicia, northern Portugal comprises the mountainous border of the Meseta (the block of ancient rock that forms the core of the Iberian Peninsula); southern Portugal also contains extensive areas of limestone and other sedimentary strata, mostly plateaus or plains. Other physical features link Portugal with Spain: its major rivers—Douro, Tagus (Rio Tejo), Guadiana—rise in the central Meseta before draining west (or, in the case of the Guadiana, south) to the Atlantic, while the proximity of the Meseta affects the climate and increases the rainfall of the northern Portuguese interior, contributing to that region’s verdant vegetation. Southern Portugal, however, is predominantly Mediterranean both in vegetation and in climate. Despite Portugal’s remarkable scenic diversity, the essence of its relief and underlying geology can be described under three headings: the north, the northern interior, and the south. The old coastal provinces of Beira Litoral (see Beira) and Estremadura are transitional in cultural landscape, vegetation, and climate but southern in relief and geology.

In order to discuss Portugal’s physiographic regions, however, it is necessary to consider the provincial divisions of the country that no longer exist as administrative entities but that survive as important geographical designations. Although superseded by several planning regions and districts (see below Local government) that now organize Portugal, six provinces have traditionally divided the country since the Middle Ages (though these never served as administrative units): Minho, located between the Minho and Douro rivers; Trás-os-Montes, bounded by Spain (north and east), by the gorges of the Douro River (south), and by the mountains (west); Beira, extending from the Douro River in the north to the Tagus in the southeast and from the border with Spain to the Atlantic Ocean; Estremadura, containing Lisbon; the Alentejo, covering south-central Portugal; and the Algarve, in southern Portugal. From 1933 to 1959, mainland Portugal also was officially further divided into 11 new provinces that were created on a geographic and economic basis: the Algarve, the Alto (Upper) Alentejo, the Baixo (Lower) Alentejo, Beira Alta (Upper Beira), Beira Baixa (Lower Beira), Beira Litoral, Douro Litoral, Estremadura, Minho, Ribatejo, and Trás-os-Montes e Alto (Upper) Douro.

• Relief-Portugal

Less than one-eighth of Portugal rises above 2,300 feet (700 metres). Most of the country’s mountains are north of the Tagus River, which flows northeast to southwest and divides the country. North of the Tagus, more than nine-tenths of the land rises above 1,300 feet (400 metres); in the south, only one range, São Mamede, surpasses 3,200 feet (1,000 metres).--->>>>Read More.<<<

• Drainage

All of Portugal’s main rivers flow from Spain over the edge of the Meseta in a series of defiles (narrow gorges), and their usefulness, either for navigation or as routeways for roads and railways, is thus limited. The longest river crossing Portugal, the Douro, which extends some 200 miles (300 km) in the country, has been made navigable from near Porto to the Spanish frontier. In its upper reaches, the Douro riverbed drops 16 feet (5 metres) per mile in gorges 90 to 160 feet (30 to 50 metres) deep, a navigability problem resolved by locks built into five dams, including one that is 115 feet (35 metres) high. The longest river wholly in the country is the 137-mile (220-km) Mondego River, which rises in the Estrela Mountains. Other mainly Portuguese rivers include the Vouga, Sado, and Zêzere (a tributary of the Tagus). Like the Mondego, all are navigable for short distances. Rich silt land (campo) in the lower Tagus valley is the result of regular flooding, which is especially severe when strong southerly gales drive high seas up the estuary. The Guadiana, which flows south into the Gulf of Cádiz, forms part of the frontier with Spain, as does the Minho in the north.

Portugal has more than 500 miles (800 km) of coastline, four-fifths of which faces westward. Except at the mouths of the larger rivers, there are few major indentations or natural harbours; the most important are those of Lisbon, on the Tagus, and Setúbal, on the Sado. The entrance to the Tagus is a long, narrow deepwater channel opening out into a broad expanse of inland water. Other harbours depend on the protection of headlands (e.g., the artificial harbours of Leixões and Sines).

• Soils

Most of Portugal’s soils are arid, acidic, and sandy, though in the north the soil often is rocky. Except for parts of northern Portugal that receive significant precipitation and along the country’s primary rivers, which deposit fertile alluvium, the soils are not suitable for intensive agricultural production. In the central and southern parts of the country, the soils are generally poor and incapable of significant agricultural production without extensive irrigation schemes.

• Climate

Climate, through its effect on vegetation, divides Portugal. As in Spain, three sets of influences are involved: Atlantic, continental (Mesetan), and Mediterranean. The Atlantic climate predominates overall, putting most of the country into the humid zone of the Iberian Peninsula; this is especially true in the northwest, where the climate is mild and rainy. Summer temperatures near sea level may average up to 76 °F (24 °C) but are rather lower at exposed higher elevations. Winter temperatures average 37 to 40 °F (3 to 4 °C) but tend to be milder south of the Douro. Annual rainfall averages more than 40 inches (1,000 mm).

In the extreme northwest, much of the Minho receives 40 to 80 inches (1,000 to 2,000 mm) of precipitation, with more than 100 inches (2,500 mm) falling on mountain slopes. Inland, lee slopes are arid, receiving at most 20 inches (500 mm), much of which is lost through high evaporation rates. In the interior, continental influences increase the duration of the summer drought to more than a month and intensify winter severity. High-pressure conditions from the Spanish Meseta or from Siberian anticyclones bring very cold temperatures. The Alentejo can experience both acute winter cold and extreme summer heat. In the highest areas of the Estrela Mountains and northern ranges, temperatures drop to 32 °F (0 °C), and snow remains on the summits for several months. In the south, where the Azores high-pressure system prevails in summer, the period of drought lengthens to two months or more. Temperatures average about 75 °F (24 °C) in summer and 50 °F (10 °C) in winter. Mean annual precipitation is slightly more than 20 inches (500 mm) along the coast and a bit higher in the mountains of the Algarve. Nevertheless, there is considerable climatic variability from one year to the next.

Mediterranean, Saharan, and oceanic influences produce seasonal precipitation, occasional dry winds, and thermal equability, respectively, in the Madeiras. Climate varies markedly with altitude. In the Azores the anticyclone dominates, though conditions can be highly variable. Rainfall, for example, is irregular both in annual total and in regime: Horta (on Faial Island) may have more than 40 inches (1,000 mm) a year or may suffer severe drought.

• Plant and animal life-Portugal

VEGETATION

Portugal’s vegetation is a mixture of Atlantic, or European, and Mediterranean (with some African) species. Overall, the former accounts for some two-thirds of species, but the regional distribution is revealing. North of the Mondego valley, nearly three-fifths of the plants are European species (some seven-eighths in the northern interior), and only one-fourth are Mediterranean. In the south the proportions are three-tenths and nearly one-half, respectively. One-third are foreign species, introduced in periods of colonization.--->>>>Read More.<<<

Demography of Portugal

The People

• Ethnic groups and languages

Although western Iberia has been occupied for a long time, relatively few human remains of the Paleolithic Period (Old Stone Age) have been found. Neolithic Period (New Stone Age) and Bronze Age discoveries are more common, among them many dolmens (stone monuments). Some of the earliest permanent settlements were the northern castros, hill villages first built by Neolithic farmers who began clearing the forests. Incoming peoples—Phoenicians, Greeks, and Celts—intermingled with the settled inhabitants, and Celticized natives occupied the fortified castros. For two centuries these were centres of resistance to the Roman legions. Subsequently the Romans, Suebi, Visigoths, Moors, and Jews exerted influence on the territory. Portugal’s location at the western extremity of Europe made it a gathering place for invaders by land, and its long coastline invited settlement by seafarers.

More than nine-tenths of the country’s population are ethnic Portuguese, and there are also small numbers of Brazilians, Han Chinese, and people from Portugal’s former colonial possessions in Africa and Asia. Ethnic Marranos (descendants of Jews who converted to Christianity but who secretly continued to practice Judaism) constitute about 1 percent of the population, and the country’s Roma (Gypsy) population lives primarily in the Algarve. Language is an extremely common bond: Portuguese is the first language of nearly the entire population.

• Religion

More than ninth-tenths of Portugal’s citizens are Roman Catholic. Regular attendance at mass, however, has declined in the cities and larger towns, particularly in the south. Less than 2 percent of the population is Protestant, with Anglicans and Methodists the oldest and largest denominations. In the late 20th century, fundamentalist and Evangelical churches grew in popularity, though the number of their adherents remained quite small. The Jewish population of Portugal is also tiny, as Jews were forced to convert or emigrate during the Inquisition in the late 15th century.

• Settlement patterns

The landscapes of mainland Portugal are the result of human activity since prehistoric times. Inhabited caves and rock shelters, some with rock art (e.g., in Escoural), indicate occupation during the Upper Paleolithic Period. The discovery of 20,000-year-old engravings in the Côa River valley led to the opening in 1996 of an archaeological park of prehistoric rock art. Most of the later Neolithic megalithic monuments and rock-cut tombs are found in west-central Portugal or south of the Tagus. Known sites of early metal-using (Copper Age [Chalcolithic Period] and Bronze Age) people are concentrated in the drier portions of Portugal. Only from the Early Iron Age onward does the whole of Portugal appear to have been equally densely occupied, although the area lying between Braga and the Gerez (Gerês) valley is singularly rich in Roman remains.

Many of Portugal’s urban centres date from Roman times. Settlements developed on lower ground around native fortified hilltop castros in northern Portugal. The harbour at Lisbon had been used by the Carthaginians, but it was the Romans who enlarged the site into a strategically located administrative centre for the province of Lusitania. Lisbon continued as a Visigothic stronghold. Indeed, fortification is the keynote for most of Portugal’s settlement history. The Middle Ages and the Reconquista (Reconquest) left fortified, usually hilltop towns throughout the country but especially toward the Spanish frontier in the south (e.g., Santarém, Tomar, Évora, Portalegre, Estremoz, Beja, Castelo Branco, Abrantes, and Monsanto). Other small towns grew from Cistercian colonization on the Estremadura coast (e.g., the abbey at Alcobaça and granges at Alvominha, Cós, Maiorga, Salir do Porto, and Turquel). New towns were created later for a variety of reasons, including proximity to mineral springs (Caldas da Rainha) or important fortresses (Leiria and Viana do Castelo). Along the coasts the fortunes of port settlements were as unstable as the shifting sands that blocked their harbours, and most modern ports are of relatively recent origin (e.g., Faro, in the south, and Olhão, an 18th-century fishing settlement).

The pattern of rural settlement also reflects both historical and physical factors. The bocage (hedgerow country: fields surrounded by woodlands) of the Minho is associated with a dense distribution of individual holdings on granite that drops to a thin scatter in areas of schist. Most buildings are of two stories with an outside staircase. Nucleated settlement, formerly associated with communal farming systems, is characteristic of the Trás-os-Montes and the pastoral districts of Beira Alta. In Estremadura, traditional farmsteads consist of a number of single-storied buildings. In the formerly feudal south, estate labourers and tenants were housed centrally in long barracklike buildings grouped around montes (courtyards), whose origins date from Arab and even Roman times. The waterwheels and fig-drying floors associated with the dispersed farmsteads of arboriculture districts in the Algarve are another Arab legacy. Neither the Madeiras nor the Azores were occupied before the start of colonization by the Portuguese in the 16th century.

Today the population distribution within Portugal reveals striking contrasts between the more densely populated north and the more sparsely populated south. A number of rural areas have suffered considerable population losses, resulting in economic and social depression, particularly in parts of the north, the Alentejo, and southern inland areas. The coastal zones between Braga and Setúbal, with their low-lying plains and urban development, have attracted a large proportion of the population. Few places outside the industrial areas of Lisbon, Setúbal, and Porto are able to absorb their own working populations. Areas such as the Minho and parts of the coastal plains are seriously overpopulated. Overall, about two-thirds of Portugal’s population live in urban areas.

In the main, rural settlement is dispersed, with inhabitants living in small villages under a system of open-field farming. Beira Litoral and Estremadura have settlements varying between dispersed and clustered farmsteads. In the Aveiro district, clusters of farmsteads and other dwellings are strung along roads in strips, often of considerable length and density. Fishing, one of the earliest enterprises of the Portuguese, still plays an important role in coastal communities. Owing in part to the rigours and hazards of this and certain other traditionally male occupations, as well as intensive waves of largely male emigration, women have substantially outnumbered men in the Portuguese population since the first modern census in 1864 (a previous census had been carried out in 1527).

Demographic trends The decolonization process that took place after the Revolution of the Carnations (April 25, 1974) inevitably had demographic repercussions on metropolitan Portugal because of the large number of people (mostly Portuguese) who left the former overseas provinces. Some one million refugees, most of whom came from Angola in part because of the civil war between the liberation movements, settled in Portugal. The majority of the repatriates (retornados) crowded into Portuguese cities and towns, the effect of which was a high unemployment rate that continued for the next decade.

Portugal has one of the highest rates of emigration in Europe. Before 1960 most of its émigrés went to Brazil and a few other Latin American countries. The population underwent its only decline in the modern period during the 1960s, when two external developments coincided: severe labour shortages in industrialized western Europe induced an outflow of Portuguese workers, and Portugal’s efforts to suppress the liberation movements in its African colonies prompted thousands of young men to emigrate illegally in order to avoid conscription. From Madeira and the Azores too, emigration was a continuing pattern—from the Azores mainly to the United States and from Madeira mainly to South America.

Life expectancy in Portugal is high in comparison with the rest of the world, but it is slightly lower than most other countries in western Europe. Birth rates are about half the world average; death rates are slightly higher than the world average. At the beginning of the 21st century, population growth was slow, and it was anticipated to begin a slight decline.

Disclaimer

This is not the official site of this country. Most of the information in this site were taken from the U.S. Department of State, The Central Intelligence Agency, The United Nations, [1],[2], [3], [4], [5],[6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14],[15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24],[25], [26], [27], [28], [29], [30],[31], [32], [33], [34], and the [35].

Other sources of information will be mentioned as they are posted.