Portugal

Portuguese Republic República Portuguesa
Flag Coat of arms of Portugal Coat of arms
Anthem: A Portuguesa
Capital and largest city	Lisbon
Official languages	Portuguese1
Government	Parliamentary democracy
• President	Aníbal Cavaco Silva
• Prime Minister	José Sócrates
Formation  June 24 1128
• Battle of São Mamede	June 24 1128
• Kingdom	25 July 1139
• Recognized	5 October 1143
• Republic	5 October 1910
• Carnation Revolution	25 April 1974
• Water (%)	0.5
Population
• July 2007 estimate	10,642,836 (75th)
• 2001 census	10,148,259
GDP (PPP)	2006 estimate
• Total	$229.881 billion (40th)
• Per capita	$22,677 (34th)
HDI (2006)	0.904  (28th)
Currency	Euro (€)2 (EUR)
Time zone	WET3
• Summer (DST)	UTC0 (WEST)
Calling code	351
ISO 3166 code	PT
Internet TLD	.pt4
Mirandese, spoken in some villages of the municipality of Miranda do Douro, was officially recognized in 1999 (Lei n.° 7/99 de 29 de Janeiro), since then awarding an official right-of-use Mirandese to the linguistic minority it is concerned. The Portuguese Sign Language is also recognized. Prior to 1999: Portuguese escudo. Azores: UTC-1; UTC in summer. The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states.

Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa; IPA: [ʁɛ'publikɐ puɾtu'gezɐ]), is located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and is the westernmost country of mainland Europe. Portugal is bordered by Spain to the north and east and by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are also part of Portugal.it is widely accepted that the population of Portugal are among the most hospitable and friendly humans on earth.

The territory which forms the modern Portuguese Republic has witnessed a constant flow of civilizations during the past 3,100 years, since the earlier pre-Roman Iberian and Celtic inhabitants, to the Roman, Germanic, and Moorish peoples who made an imprint on the country's culture, history, language, and ethnic composition. During the 15th and 16th centuries, with its global empire, Portugal was one of the world's major economic, political, and cultural powers. Portugal is a developed country, member of the European Union (since 1986) and the United Nations (since 1955); as well as a founding member of the Eurozone, OECD, NATO and CPLP (Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa — Community of Portuguese Language Countries).

History

Main article: History of Portugal

The early history of Portugal is shared with the rest of the Iberian peninsula. The region was visited by Phoenicians and Carthaginians, settled by Celts, incorporated in the Roman empire (as Lusitania in 138 BC), settled again by Suevi, Buri and Visigoths and conquered by Muslims. In 868, during the Reconquista, the First County of Portugal was formed. A victory over the Muslims at Ourique in 1139 is traditionally taken as the occasion when Portugal is transformed from a county into an independent kingdom.

Portugal traces its national origin to June 24 1128 with the Battle of São Mamede. At the Battle of São Mamede, Afonso Henriques, Count of Portugal, defeated his mother, Countess Teresa, and her lover, Fernão Peres de Trava, in battle - thereby establishing himself as sole leader. Afonso Henriques proclaimed himself king of Portugal on July 25, 1139, after the Battle of Ourique and was recognized as such in 1143 by Alfonso VII, king of León and Castile, and in 1179 by Pope Alexander III.

Afonso Henriques and his successors, aided by military monastic orders, pushed southward to drive out the Moors, as the size of Portugal covered about half of its present area. In 1249, this Reconquista ended with the capture of the Algarve on the southern coast, giving Portugal its present day borders, with minor exceptions.

The Castle of Guimarães, known as the "Cradle of Portugal", Guimarães

In 1373, Portugal made an alliance with England, which is the longest-standing alliance in the world.

In 1383, the king of Castile, husband of the daughter of the Portuguese king who had died without a male heir, claimed his throne. An ensuing popular revolt led to the 1383-1385 Crisis. A faction of petty noblemen and commoners, led by John of Aviz (later John I), seconded by General Nuno Álvares Pereira defeated the Castilians in the Battle of Aljubarrota. This celebrated battle is still a symbol of glory and the struggle for independence from neighboring Spain.

In the following decades, Portugal spearheaded the exploration of the world and undertook the Age of Discovery. Prince Henry the Navigator, son of King João I, became the main sponsor and patron of this endeavor.

In 1415, Portugal gained the first of its overseas colonies when a fleet conquered Ceuta, a prosperous Islamic trade center in North Africa. There followed the first discoveries in the Atlantic: Madeira and the Azores, which led to the first colonization movements.

An anachronous map of the Portuguese Empire (1415-1999). Red - true possessions; Pink - explorations, areas of influence and trade and claims of sovereignty; Blue - main sea explorations, routes and areas of influence. The disputed discovery of Australia is not shown.

Padrão dos Descobrimentos, a monument to Prince Henry the Navigator and the Portuguese Age of Discovery, Lisbon

Throughout the 15th century, Portuguese explorers sailed the coast of Africa, establishing trading posts as they looked for a route to India and its spices, which were coveted in Europe. In 1498, Vasco da Gama finally reached India and brought economic prosperity to Portugal and its then population of one million residents.

In 1500, Pedro Álvares Cabral, en route to India, discovered Brazil and claimed it for Portugal. Ten years later, Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Goa, in India, Ormuz in the Persian Strait, and Malacca in what is now a state in Malaysia. Thus, the Portuguese empire held dominion over commerce in the Indian Ocean and South Atlantic. It was also the Portuguese sailors that were the first Europeans to discover Australia.

Portugal's independence was interrupted between 1580 and 1640. Because the heirless King Sebastian died in battle in Morocco, Philip II of Spain claimed his throne and so became Philip I of Portugal. Although Portugal did not lose its formal independence, it was governed by the same monarch who governed Spain, briefly forming a union of kingdoms; in 1640, John IV spearheaded an uprising backed by disgruntled nobles and was proclaimed king. This was the beginning of the House of Braganza, which was to reign until 1910.

By this time, however, the Portuguese empire was already under attack from other countries, specifically Britain and the Netherlands. Portugal began a slow but inexorable decline until the 20th century. This decline was hastened by the independence in 1822 of the country's largest colonial possession, Brazil.

In 1910, a revolution deposed the Portuguese monarchy, but chaos continued and considerable economic problems were aggravated by the military intervention in the First World War, which led to a military coup d'état in 1926. This in turn led to the establishment of a right-wing dictatorship by António de Oliveira Salazar.

In the early 1960s, independence movements in the colonies of Angola, Mozambique, and Portuguese Guinea resulted in the Portuguese Colonial War. In 1974, a bloodless left-wing military coup known as the Carnation Revolution led the way for a modern democracy as well as the independence of the last colonies in Africa shortly after. Portugal joined the European Union in 1986, and ever since it has engaged in a process of convergence with its EU counterparts.

Government and politics

Assembly of the Republic, Lisbon

Main article: Politics of Portugal

Portugal is a democratic republic ruled by the constitution of 1976 with Lisbon, the nation's largest city, as its capital. The four main governing components are the president of the republic, the assembly of the republic, the government, and the courts. The constitution grants the division or separation of powers among legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

The president, who is elected to a five-year term, has a supervising, nonexecutive role. The current President is Aníbal Cavaco Silva. The Assembly of the Republic is a unicameral parliament composed of 230 deputies elected for four-year terms.

The government is headed by the prime minister (currently José Sócrates), who chooses the Council of Ministers, comprising all the ministers and the respective state secretaries. The national and regional governments, and the Portuguese parliament, are dominated by two political parties, the Socialist Party and the Social Democratic Party. Minority parties CDU (Portuguese Communist Party plus Ecologist Party "The Greens"), Bloco de Esquerda (Left Bloc) and CDS-PP (People's Party) are also represented in the parliament and local governments.

The courts are organized into categories, including judicial, administrative, and fiscal. The supreme courts are the courts of last appeal. A thirteen-member constitutional court oversees the constitutionality of legislation.

Foreign relations and military

Main articles: Foreign Relations of Portugal and Military of Portugal

Portugal has been a member of NATO since 1949, the European Union since 1986, and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries since 1996. It has a friendship alliance and dual citizenship treaty with Brazil, and a treaty with the United Kingdom which is the world's oldest active alliance. It has good relations with the United States and China (due to Macau), as well as the other European Union countries.

The only international dispute concerns the municipality of Olivença, which Spain received in 1801 under the Treaty of Badajoz and has since administered. Portugal claimed it in 1815 under the Treaty of Vienna. Nevertheless, diplomatic relations between the two countries are cordial.

The armed forces have three branches: Army, Navy, and Air Force. In the 20th century, Portugal engaged in two major military interventions: the First Great War and the Colonial War (1961-1974). Portugal has participated in peacekeeping missions in East Timor, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq (Nasiriyah), and Lebanon.

Administrative divisions

Map of Mainland Portugal and the two autonomous regions of Portugal (not in their actual locations)

Main article: Administrative divisions of Portugal

Portugal has an administrative structure of 308 municipalities (Portuguese singular/plural: concelho/concelhos), which are subdivided into more than 4,000 parishes (freguesia/freguesias). Municipalities are grouped for administrative purposes into superior units. For continental Portugal the municipalities are gathered in 18 Districts, while the Islands have a Regional Government directly above them. Thus, the largest unit of classification is the one established since 1976 into either mainland Portugal (Portugal Continental) or the autonomous regions of Portugal (Azores and Madeira).

Geography and climate

Main articles: Geography of Portugal and Conservation areas of Portugal

Burgau, Algarve - a view of the Nature Park of Southwest Alentejo and Cape St. Vicente Coast

The climate can be classified as Oceanic in the north and Mediterranean in the south. One of the warmest European countries, yearly temperature averages in mainland Portugal 13 °C (55 °F) in the north and 18 °C (64 °F) in the south. The Madeira and Azores Atlantic archipelagos have a narrower temperature range. Spring and summer are sunny, whereas autumn and winter are rainy and windy. Extreme temperatures occur in North-Eastern parts of the country in winter (where it may reach -12 °C) and South-Eastern parts in summer (where temperatures can soar up to 44 °C). Sea coastal areas are milder, varying between -2 °C on some coldest winter mornings and 37 °C on some of the hottest summer afternoons.

Mainland Portugal is split by its main river, the Tagus. The northern landscape is mountainous in interior areas, with plateaus indented by river valleys. The south, between the Tagus and the Algarve (the Alentejo), features mostly rolling plains and a climate somewhat warmer and drier than in the cooler and rainier north. The Algarve, separated from the Alentejo by mountains, enjoys a Mediterranean climate like southern Spain. Snow happens sometimes (on some cold winter days) in the northern interior of the country. However it is a rare event in the south.

The islands of the Azores and Madeira are located in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Some islands have had volcanic activity as recently as 1957. Portugal's highest point is Mount Pico on Pico Island. It is an ancient volcano measuring 2,351 m (7,713 ft).

Economy

Parque das Nações, where Expo'98 took place, Lisbon

Main article: Economy of Portugal

Portugal joined the European Union in 1986 and started a process of modernization within the framework of a stable environment. It has achieved a healthy level of growth. Successive governments have implemented reforms and privatized many state-controlled firms and liberalized key areas of the economy. Portugal was one of the founding countries of the euro in 1999, and therefore is integrated into the Eurozone.

Major industries include oil refineries, automotive, cement production, pulp and paper industry, textile, footwear, furniture, and cork (of which Portugal is the world's leading producer). Agriculture no longer represents the bulk of the economy, but Portuguese wines, namely Port Wine (named after the country's second largest city, Porto) and Madeira Wine (named after Madeira Island), are exported worldwide. Tourism is also important, especially in mainland Portugal's southernmost region of the Algarve and in the Atlantic Madeira archipelago.

The Global Competitiveness Report for 2005, published by the World Economic Forum, places Portugal on the 22nd position, ahead of countries like Spain, Ireland, France, Belgium and Hong Kong. This represents an increase of two places from the 2004 ranking. Portugal was ranked 20th on the Technology index and 15th on the Public Institutions index.

Research about standard of living by Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Quality-of-life Survey places Portugal as the country with the 20th-best quality of life in the world.

The major Portuguese stock exchange is the Euronext Lisbon which is part of the NYSE Euronext, the first global stock exchange.

Energy, transportation and communications

File:Alqueva3.jpg

Alqueva Dam, Alentejo - the largest Portuguese hydroelectric power generation facility.

Main articles: Transportation in Portugal, Communications in Portugal, and Renewable energy in Portugal

In 2006 the world's largest solar power plant began operating in the nation's sunny south while the world's first commercial wave power farm opened in October 2006 in the Norte region. As of 2006, 55% of electricity production was from coal and fuel power plants. The other 40% was produced by hydroelectrics and 5% by wind energy. The government is channeling $3.8 billion into developing renewable energy sources over the next five years.

Portugal wants renewable energy sources like solar, wind and wave power to account for nearly half of the electricity consumed in the country by 2010. "This new goal will place Portugal in the frontline of renewable energy and make it, along with Austria and Sweden, one of the three nations that most invest in this sector", Prime Minister Jose Socrates said.

An Airbus A330-200 from national airline TAP Portugal.

Transportation was seen as a priority in the 1990s, pushed by the growing use of automobiles and industrialization. The country has a 68,732 km (42,708 mi) network of roads, of which 2,000 km (1,240 mi) are part of 44 motorways.

The two principal metropolitan areas have subway systems: Lisbon Metro and Metro Sul do Tejo (in final stages of completion) in Lisbon and Porto Metro in Porto, each with more than 35 km (22 mi) of lines. Construction of a high-speed TGV line connecting Porto with Lisbon and Lisbon with Madrid will begin in 2008; it will replace the Pendolinos. The government is currently studying two locations (Ota and Alcochete) to replace the present Lisbon airport. Currently, the most important airports are in Lisbon, Faro, Porto, Funchal (Madeira), and Ponta Delgada (Azores).

Portugal has one of the highest mobile phone penetration rates in the world (the number of operative mobile phones already exceeds the population). As of October 2006, 36.8% of households had high-speed Internet services and 78% of companies had Internet access. Most Portuguese watch television through cable (June 2004: 73.6% of households).

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Portugal

Douro river at Grande Porto, Portugal's second most populated subregion

The country is fairly homogeneous linguistically and religiously. Native Portuguese are ethnically a combination of pre-Roman Iberians and Celts with a fair amount of Roman and Germanic (Visigoths and Suebi), along with some other minor contributions (Jews, Berbers and Moors).

	File:200px-Salazar3.jpg	File:Nellyfgfdl.PNG
File:Cristina Branco.jpg
Portuguese people

In the 2001 census, the population was 10,356,117, of which 51.7% was female. Portugal, long a country of emigration, has now become a country of net immigration, and not just from the former Indian and African colonies; by the end of 2003, legal immigrants represented about 5% of the population, and the largest communities were from Brazil, Ukraine, Romania, Cape Verde, Angola, Russia, Guinea-Bissau and Moldova with other immigrants from parts of Latin America, China and Eastern Europe. The great majority of Portuguese are Roman Catholic. The biggest metropolitan areas are Lisbon, Porto, Braga, Coimbra, Setúbal and Aveiro.

Education

The tower of the University of Coimbra, Coimbra

Main articles: Education in Portugal and Higher education in Portugal

The educational system is divided into preschool (for those under age 6), basic education (9 years, in three stages, compulsory), secondary education (3 years), and higher education (university and polytechnic).

Portuguese universities have existed since 1290. The oldest Portuguese university was first established in Lisbon before moving to Coimbra. Universities are usually organized into faculties. Institutes and schools are also common designations for autonomous subdivisions of Portuguese higher education institutions, and are always used in the polytechnical system. The Bologna process has been adopted since 2006 by Portuguese universities and polytechnical institutes.

Law

Main article: Portuguese Legal System

The Portuguese legal system is part of the civil law legal system, also called the continental family legal system. Until the end of the 19th century, French law was the main influence. Since then the major influence has been German law. The main laws include the Constitution (1976, as amended), the Civil Code (1966, as amended) and the Penal Code (1982, as amended). Other relevant laws are the Commercial Code (1888, as amended) and the Civil Procedure Code (1961, as amended). Portuguese law applied in the former colonies and territories and continues to be the major influence for those countries.

Religion

Image of Our Lady of Fatima, Fátima

Main article: Religion in Portugal

Portuguese society is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic. Approximately 90% of the population consider themselves Roman Catholic, but only about one-third attend Mass and receive the sacraments regularly. Yet a larger number wish to be baptized, married in the Church, and receive Last Rites.

The practice of religion shows striking regional differences. Even in the 1990s, 60% to 70% of the population in the north regularly attended religious services, compared with 10% to 15% in the historically anti-clerical south. In the greater Lisbon area, about 30% were regular churchgoers.

The sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima, in Fátima, Portugal, has great religious significance for many Catholics around the world.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Portugal

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon

Portugal has developed a specific culture while being influenced by various civilizations that have crossed the Mediterranean and the European continent, or were introduced when it played an active role during the Age of Discovery.

Portuguese literature, one of the earliest Western literatures, developed through text and song. Until 1350, the Portuguese-Galician troubadours spread their literary influence to most of the Iberian Peninsula. Gil Vicente (ca. 1465 - ca. 1536), was one of the founders of both Portuguese and Spanish dramatic traditions. Adventurer and poet Luís de Camões (ca. 1524-1580) wrote the epic poem The Lusiads, with Vergil's Aeneid as his main influence. Modern Portuguese poetry is rooted in neoclassic and contemporary styles, as exemplified by Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935). Modern literature is internationally known through the works of Almeida Garrett, Camilo Castelo Branco, Eça de Queirós, Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, António Lobo Antunes, and 1998 Nobel Prize winner, José Saramago, and others.

Belém Cultural Center, Lisbon

Portuguese music encompasses a wide variety of genres. The most renowned is fado, a melancholy urban music, usually associated with the Portuguese guitar and saudade, or longing. Coimbra fado, a unique type of fado, is also noteworthy. Internationally notable performers include Amália Rodrigues, Carlos Paredes, Mariza, Mísia, and Madredeus. One of the most notable Portuguese musical groups outside the country, and specially in Germany, is the goth-metal band Moonspell. In addition to fado and folk, the Portuguese listen to pop and other types of modern music. Bands with international recognition include Blasted Mechanism and The Gift, both of which were nominated for an MTV Music Award. Portugal has several summer music festivals, such as Festival do Sudoeste in Zambujeira do Mar, Festival de Paredes de Coura in Paredes de Coura, Festival Vilar de Mouros near Caminha, and Rock in Rio Lisboa and Super Bock Super Rock in Lisbon. Out of the summer season, Portugal has a large number of festivals, designed more to an urban audience, like Flowfest or Hip Hop Porto. Furthermore, one of the largest international Goa trance festivals takes place in northern Portugal every two years.

Casa da Música (Music House), Porto

It has also a rich history in what painting is concerned. The first well-known painters date back to the XV century – like Nuno Gonçalves - were part of the Gothic painting period. José Malhoa, known for his work Fado, and Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro (who painted the portraits of Teófilo Braga and Antero de Quental) were both references in naturalist painting.

The 20th century saw the arrival of Modernism, and along with it came the most prominent Portuguese painters: Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso, who was heavily influenced by French painters, particularly by the Delaunays. Among his best known works is Canção Popular a Russa e o Fígaro. Another great modernist painter/writer was Almada Negreiros, friend to the poet Fernando Pessoa, who painted his (Pessoa’s) portrait. He was deeply influenced by both Cubist and Futurist trends. Prominent international figures in visual arts nowadays include painters Vieira da Silva, Júlio Pomar, and Paula Rego. Traditional architecture is distinctive. Modern Portugal has given the world renowned architects Eduardo Souto de Moura and Álvaro Siza Vieira. Internally, Tomás Taveira is also noteworthy.

Since the 1990s, Portugal has increased the number of public cultural facilities, in addition to the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation established in 1956. These include the Belém Cultural Center in Lisbon, Serralves Foundation and the Casa da Música, both in Porto.

Cuisine

File:Pasteis.jpg

Pastéis de Nata (cream custards)

Main articles: Portuguese Cuisine and Portuguese Wine

Portuguese cuisine is diverse. The Portuguese love dry cod (bacalhau in Portuguese), for which there are hundreds of recipes. Two other popular fish recipes are grilled sardines and caldeirada. Typical Portuguese meat recipes, that may take beef, pork, lamb, or chicken, include feijoada, cozido à portuguesa, frango de churrasco, and carne de porco à alentejana. Typical fast food dishes include the francesinha from Porto, and bifanas (grilled pork), prego (grilled beef) or leitão (piglet) sandwiches which are well known around the country. The Portuguese art of pastry has its origins in ancient recipes of which pastéis de Belém from Lisbon (also known as pastéis de nata) and ovos-moles from Aveiro are good examples.

Portuguese wines have deserved international recognition since the times of the Roman Empire, which associated Portugal with their God Bacchus. Today the country is known by wine lovers and its wines have won several international prizes. Some of the best Portuguese wines are: Vinho Verde, Vinho Alvarinho, Vinho do Douro, Vinho do Alentejo, Vinho do Dão, Vinho da Bairrada and the sweet: Port Wine, Madeira Wine and the Moscatel from Setúbal and Favaios. Port Wine is well known around the world and the most widely exported Portuguese wine.

Sports and games

Main article: Culture of Portugal § Sports and games

Portuguese football fans supporting the national team

Football is the most known, loved and practiced sport. The legendary Eusébio is still a major symbol of Portuguese football history. Luís Figo was one of the world's top players of his generation, along with other contemporary players like Rui Costa, Paulo Sousa, and Fernando Couto. Cristiano Ronaldo, Ricardo Quaresma, and Simão Sabrosa, are among the Portuguese-born widely known players currently active in professional football and the national football team. José Mourinho, the highest paid football manager in Europe, is regarded (by some) as being one of the brightest managers in world football.

The Portuguese national team, Selecção Nacional, has won two FIFA World Youth Championships and several other UEFA youth championships. After a third place in the 1966 FIFA World Cup, they finished in fourth place at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In addition, they finished second in Euro 2004, their best result in this competition to date.

S.L. Benfica, F.C. Porto and Sporting C.P. are the largest sports clubs, often known as "os três grandes" ("the big three"). In football, F.C. Porto has two titles in the UEFA Champions League and a UEFA Cup. S.L. Benfica has also two titles in the UEFA Champions League. S.L. Benfica is the biggest club by number of supporters and has more than 160,000 registered paying affiliates, being recognised by the Guinness World Records as the club with the most affiliates in the world. Sporting Clube de Portugal has won a European Cup Winners' Cup. Other than football, many Portuguese sports clubs, including the "the big three", compete in several other sports events with a varying level of success and popularity.

Vanessa Fernandes, World Cup winner in triathlon

Portugal has a successful rink hockey team, with 15 world titles and 20 european titles, making it the country with the most wins in both competitions. The most important Portuguese hockey clubs in the European championships are F.C. Porto, S.L. Benfica, and Óquei de Barcelos.

The national rugby team made a dramatic qualification into France 2007 and become the first all amateur team to qualify for the World Cup, taking the last place. They debut in Pool C with favourites the All Blacks, Italy, Romania and Scotland. The Portuguese national team of Rugby Sevens is also strong, becoming one of the strongest teams, proving their status as European champions in several occasions.

Francis Obikwelu again won two European gold medals in the 100 m and the 200 m in 2006, having already received gold and silver medals in 2004 and a silver in the 2004 Summer Olympics. Naide Gomes is a European elite athlete in pentathlon and long jump.

In the triathlon, Vanessa Fernandes, three times European champion in elite sub-23, won the silver medal in the World Championships and became the winner of 2006's World Cup by winning 12 consecutive Grand Prix (world record tied). In 2007 she won the Duathlon's World Championship.

International rankings

Political and economic rankings

• Political freedom ratings - Free; political rights and civil liberties both rated 1 (the highest score available)
  • Press freedom - 10th freest, at 3.00
• GDP per capita - 34th highest, at I$22,677
• Human Development Index - 28th highest, at 0.904
• Income Equality - 59th most equal, at 38.5 (Gini Index)
• Unemployment rate - 48th lowest, at 7.60%
• Corruption - 25th least corrupt, at 6.6 on index
• Economic Freedom - 30th freest, at 2.29 on index

Health rankings

• Fertility rate- 158th most fertile, at 1.48 per woman
  • Birth rate - 159th most births, at 10.72 per 1000 people
• Death rate - 58th highest death rate, at 10.56 per 1000 people
• Life Expectancy - 33rd highest, at 77.87 years
  • Suicide Rate - 40th highest suicide rate, at 18.9 for males and 4.9 for females
• HIV/AIDS rate - 73rd most cases, at 0.40%

Other rankings

• CO₂ emissions - 66th highest emissions, at 5.6 tonnes per capita
• Electricity Consumption - 44th highest consumption of electricity, at 44,010,000,000 kWh
• Broadband uptake - 21st highest uptake in OECD, at 11.5%
• Beer consumption - 20th highest, at 59.6 litres per capita
• Global Peace Index - 9th highest, out of 121 countries

Facts and figures

• Official date format: YYYY/MM/DD (ex. 2006/09/08)
• Common date format: DD/MM/YYYY (ex. 06/09/2006), dates are written out as DD de MM de YYYY (ex. 18 de Agosto de 2005)
• Decimal separator is a comma: 123,45
• Thousands are officially separated by a space — 10 000 — although the point is still used — 10.000.
• The currency is the euro, abbreviation €, divided into 100 cêntimos (main article: Linguistic issues concerning the euro#Portuguese)
• The euro sign is commonly placed either before or after the amount, with the separator either a comma or a point: 10,95 € - € 10,95 - € 10.95 - 10.95 €
• Postal code: 4+3 digits, separated by a hyphen (main article: Postal code#Portugal).

Notes

Sources

• Ribeiro, Ângelo & Saraiva, José Hermano História de Portugal I - A Formação do Território QuidNovi, 2004 (ISBN 989-554-106-6)
• Ribeiro, Ângelo & Saraiva, José Hermano História de Portugal II - A Afirmação do País QuidNovi, 2004 (ISBN 989-554-107-4)
• de Macedo, Newton & Saraiva, José Hermano História de Portugal III - A Epopeia dos Descobrimentos QuidNovi, 2004 (ISBN 989-554-108-2)
• de Macedo, Newton & Saraiva, José Hermano História de Portugal IV - Glória e Declínio do Império QuidNovi, 2004 (ISBN 989-554-109-0)
• Ribeiro, Ângelo & Saraiva, José Hermano História de Portugal V - A Restauração da Indepêndencia QuidNovi, 2004 (ISBN 989-554-110-4)
• Saraiva, José Hermano História de Portugal X - A Terceira República QuidNovi, 2004 (ISBN 989-554-115-5)
• Loução, Paulo Alexandre: Portugal, Terra de Mistérios Ésquilo, 2000 (third edition; ISBN 972-8605-04-8)
• Muñoz, Mauricio Pasto: Viriato, A Luta pela Liberdade Ésquilo, 2003 (third edition; ISBN 972-8605-23-4)
• Grande Enciclopédia Universal Durclub, 2004
• Constituição da República Portuguesa, VI Revisão Constitucional, 2004
• Programa do Movimento das Forças Armadas, 1974 [1]

External links

• Template:En icon Official Portuguese Government website
• Template:En icon Official Parliament website
• Template:En icon Official Travel and Tourism office website
• Template:En icon Wikitravel guide to Portugal
• Photos & Poetry of Portugal

38°42′N 9°11′W