Following its heyday as a global maritime 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 of its wealthiest colony of Brazil in 1822. 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. In January 2011, Portugal assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2011-12 term.

Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain

slightly smaller than Indiana

maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south

mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in south

fish, forests (cork), iron ore, copper, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble, clay, gypsum, salt, arable land, hydropower

Azores subject to severe earthquakes

soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas

Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar

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

Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official, but locally used)

Roman Catholic 84.5%, other Christian 2.2%, other 0.3%, unknown 9%, none 3.9% (2001 census)

10,781,459 (July 2012 est.)

9.76 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

10.86 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

2.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

LISBON (capital) 2.808 million; Porto 1.344 million (2009)

8 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

1.51 children born/woman (2012 est.)

3.755 physicians/1,000 population (2009)

3.37 beds/1,000 population (2008)

urban: 100% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 100% of population

fewer than 500 (2009 est.)

republic; parliamentary democracy

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

1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 5 October 1910 (republic proclaimed)

Portugal Day (Dia de Portugal), 10 June (1580); note - also called Camoes Day, the day that revered national poet Luis de Camoes (1524-80) died

adopted 2 April 1976; subsequently revised

civil law system; Constitutional Tribunal review of legislative acts

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (230 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional) consists of 13 judges (10 appointed by the Assembly and 3 are coopted by the 10 judges) for six-year terms; Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal de Justica); Audit Court (auditoria do Tribunal); Supreme Administrative Court (Supremo Tribunal Administrativo); all judges are appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura

Democratic and Social Center/Popular Party or CDS/PP [Paulo PORTAS]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Pedro PASSOS COELHO]; Socialist Party or PS [Jose SEGURO]; The Left Bloc or BE [Pedro Filipe SOARES]; Unitarian Democratic Coalition or CDU [Jeronimo DE SOUSA] (includes Portuguese Communist Party or PCP and Ecologist Party ("The Greens") or PEV)

Armed Forces Officers' Association (AOFA) [Colonel Pereira CRACEL]; the Desperate Generation (youth movement protesting against low wages, precarious labor conditions, and unemployment); the General Workers Union or General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (UGT) [Joao PROENCA]; Portuguese National Workers' Conference (CGTP) [Armenio CARLOS]; TugaLeaks (a website that has become a mouthpiece for publicizing diverse protest action)

ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BIS, CD, CE, CERN, CPLP, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAIA (observer), MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club (associate), PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIT, UNSC (temporary), UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

two vertical bands of green (hoist side, two-fifths) and red (three-fifths) with the national coat of arms (armillary sphere and Portuguese shield) centered on the dividing line; explanations for the color meanings are ambiguous, but a popular interpretation has green symbolizing hope and red the blood of those defending the nation

armillary sphere (a spherical astrolabe modeling objects in the sky)

Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Community - the EU's predecessor - in 1986. Over the following two decades, successive governments privatized many state-controlled firms and liberalized key areas of the economy, including the financial and telecommunications sectors. The country qualified for the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in 1998 and began circulating the euro on 1 January 2002 along with 11 other EU members. The economy grew by more than the EU average for much of the 1990s, but the rate of growth slowed in 2001-08. The economy contracted 2.5% in 2009, before growing 1.4% in 2010, but GDP fell again in 2011 and 2012, as the government began implementing spending cuts and tax increases to comply with conditions of an EU-IMF financial rescue package, agreed to in May 2011. GDP per capita stands at roughly two-thirds of the EU-27 average. Portugal also has been increasingly overshadowed by lower-cost producers in Central Europe and Asia as a destination for foreign direct investment, in part because its rigid labor market hindered greater productivity and growth. However, the government of Pedro PASSOS COELHO has enacted several measures to introduce more flexibility into the labor market, and, this, along with steps to reduce high levels of public debt, could make Portugal more attractive to foreign investors. The government reduced the budget deficit from 10.1% of GDP in 2009 to 4.5% in 2011, an achievement made possible only by the extraordinary revenues obtained from the one-time transfer of bank pension funds to the social security system. The budget deficit worsened in 2012 as a sharp reduction in domestic consumption took a bigger bite out of value-added tax revenues while rising unemployment benefits increased expenditures more than anticipated. Poor growth prospects over the next year have reinforced investors' concerns about the government's ability to achieve its budget deficit targets and regain full access to bond market financing when the EU-IMF financing program expires in 2013.

$245 billion (2012 est.)

$252.5 billion (2011 est.)

$256.8 billion (2010 est.)

$210.6 billion (2012 est.)

5.48 million (2012 est.)

16.1% of GDP (2012 est.)

44.9% of GDP (2012 est.)

-6.1% of GDP (2012 est.)

119.7% of GDP (2012 est.)

107.8% of GDP (2011 est.)

1.5% (31 December 2012)

1.75% (31 December 2010)

6.6% (31 December 2012 est.)

5.71% (31 December 2011 est.)

$86.55 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$89.42 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$298.3 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$322.7 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$390.4 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$451.3 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$61.69 billion (31 December 2011)

$82 billion (31 December 2010)

$98.65 billion (31 December 2009)

grain, potatoes, tomatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, pigs, poultry, dairy products; fish

-$6 billion (2012 est.)

-$15.44 billion (2011 est.)

$57.8 billion (2012 est.)

$59.22 billion (2011 est.)

agricultural products, food products, wine, oil products, chemical products, plastics and rubber, hides, leather, wood and cork, wood pulp and paper, textile materials, clothing, footwear, machinery and tools, base metals

Spain 25.1%, Germany 13.6%, France 12.1%, Angola 5.5%, UK 5.1% (2011)

$67.03 billion (2012 est.)

$77.62 billion (2011 est.)

agricultural products, chemical products, vehicles and other transport material, and optical and precision instruments, computer accessories and parts, semi-conductors and related devices, oil products, base metals, food products, textile materials

Spain 31.8%, Germany 12.4%, France 6.9%, Italy 5.4%, Netherlands 4.8% (2011)

$21.34 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$21 billion (2010 est.)

$548.3 billion (30 June 2011)

$497.8 billion (30 June 2010)

$128.2 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$120.4 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$64.25 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$64.25 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

euros (EUR) per US dollar -

50.3 billion kWh (2010 est.)

47.81 billion kWh (2009 est.)

3.191 billion kWh (2010 est.)

5.814 billion kWh (2010 est.)

17.39 million kW (2009 est.)

48.3% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

23.3% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

22.5% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

1,926 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

205,400 bbl/day (2009 est.)

237,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

259,700 bbl/day (2011 est.)

49,650 bbl/day (2009 est.)

83,520 bbl/day (2009 est.)

5.212 billion cu m (2011 est.)

5.181 billion cu m (2011 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

51.43 million Mt (2010 est.)

12.335 million (2011)

Radio e Televisao de Portugal (RTP),the publicly-owned TV broadcaster, operates 2 domestic channels and external service channels to Africa; overall, roughly 40 domestic TV stations; viewers have widespread access to international broadcasters with more than half of all households connected to multi-channel cable or satellite TV systems; publicly-owned radio operates 3 national networks and provides regional and external services; several privately-owned national radio stations and some 300 regional and local commercial radio stations (2008)

3.748 million (2012)

5.168 million (2009)

gas 1,307 km; oil 11 km; refined products 188 km (2010)

210 km (on Douro River from Porto) (2011)

Leixoes, Lisbon, Setubal, Sines

Portuguese Army (Exercito Portuguesa), Portuguese Navy (Marinha Portuguesa; includes Marine Corps), Portuguese Air Force (Forca Aerea Portuguesa, FAP) (2010)

18 years of age for voluntary military service; no compulsory military service; women serve in the armed forces, on naval ships since 1993, but are prohibited from serving in some combatant specialties; reserve obligation to age 35 (2010)

2.3% of GDP (2005 est.)

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

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