【对外关系】
主张在平等互利基础上同世界各国普遍发展友好合作关系。把同欧美的传统关系作为其对外政策的基石，积极参与和促进欧洲一体化、履行北约义务，着力加强同非洲和拉美以及北非地区国家的传统关系。日益重视发展同亚洲国家平等互利的合作关系。主张持久公正地解决中东问题，希望该地区国家通过对话和平解决争端。葡与世界上180个国家和地区建立有外交关系，共设146个驻外使领馆。其中使馆70个，职业领馆66个，驻国际组织代表团10个。
【同中国的关系】中葡交往历史悠久。１５０２年，葡萄牙就向明朝政府派遣了使节。中葡1979年2月8日建交。１９９９年澳门问题顺利解决，为两国关系全面发展翻开了新的一页。2005年两国关系发展平稳。葡方主要来访有：总统桑帕约（1月11日- 17日），里斯本市议会议长纳瓦罗（6月26日-29日），总理府国秘拉康（8月28日-9月2日），最高行政法院院长塞拉来华出席第22届世界法律大会（9月1日- 14日），贸易国秘费尔南多（9月9日- 12日），科技及高教部长加戈（9月19日- 21日）。中方主要出访有：审计署副审计长余效明（4月11日-12日），回良玉副总理经停里斯本（4月24日- 25日），中国红十字会会长彭佩云（9月24日- 27日），教育部副部长章新胜（9月24日- 27日），全国政协副主席周铁农（10月27日-31日）。12月9日-10日，国务院总理温家宝访葡，中葡宣布建立全面战略伙伴关系。
据中国海关总署统计，2005年全年双边贸易额为12.36亿美元，同比增长42.2%,其中我出口9.12亿美元，同比增长55.0%，进口3.24亿美元，同比增长15.3％。
中国驻葡萄牙大使：马恩汉。
葡萄牙驻中国大使：桑塔纳·卡洛斯。
【同欧盟的关系】 欧盟是葡对外关系中的基础。葡于1986年1月1日加入欧共体。1988年11月加入西欧联盟。1999年成为欧元创始国。葡每年从欧盟得到近30亿美元的经济援助，极大地促进了国民经济的发展。葡积极支持并参与欧洲一体化进程，赞成欧盟东扩；反对将国家分成不同等级，反对欧盟决策权过分集中在少数国家手中。2004年9月，葡与法、意、西和荷兰5国签署组建欧盟宪兵部队声明，执行民事维和任务，扩大了葡在欧盟的影响。同年11月，葡前总理巴罗佐就任欧盟扩大后的首任欧盟委员会主席。同月，欧盟委员会取消1998年以来禁止葡牛肉出口的禁令。欧盟宪法约批准进程在法国、荷兰等国受挫后，葡推迟了原定于2005年10月在本国举行的欧洲宪法公投。葡认为欧盟发展速度和扩大进程应放缓，但不希望停止。2005年11月，葡国防部长宣布葡加入由西班牙、法国和德国组成的地面战斗小组，将于2007年1月起参与北约组织的快速反应部队维和行动。葡对外贸易主要集中在欧盟内部。2005年，葡向欧盟其它成员国的出口额约占葡对外贸易总额的79.1％，从欧盟国家进口额占葡进口总额的75.7％。
【同美国的关系】 葡是美国的传统盟国，也是北约成员国，历来把同美国的关系放在优先地位。二战后，美借实施马歇尔援助计划在葡亚速尔群岛建立了军事基地。1983年底，双方续签为期7年的美租用亚速尔群岛拉日什基地协定，美允给葡13.25亿美元的军援和经援。1994年葡美签订《避免双重征税和防止逃税条约》和《海关互助协定》。1995年6月签署《葡美合作与防务协定》。2000年5月，美国总统克林顿访葡，两国签署了有关航空、相互引渡罪犯等三个协议。“9.11”事件后，葡坚决支持美反恐军事行动，并为其执行反恐和救援任务的飞机在亚速尔群岛拉日什军事基地起降提供便利。2002年9月，葡总理巴罗佐访美。2003年1月30日，葡总理巴罗佐参与联署《八国声明》，支持美对伊拉克动武。巴还表示支持美在未获联合国授权情况下对伊拉克采取军事行动。3月16日，葡作为东道国在亚速尔群岛召开美英西葡领导人峰会，着重讨论伊拉克问题和欧美关系问题。3月20日美伊开战后，葡允许美使用拉日什军事基地，但未对伊宣战、未派兵赴伊作战，也未关闭伊驻葡使馆。战后，支持美、英在战后主导伊重建；向伊派出128名国民卫队官兵，参与维持当地治安行动；向伊援助资金1750万欧元；推动葡政界人士进入伊拉克临时管理会任职；呼吁美国、欧盟和联合国化解在伊问题上的分歧。2003年5月，葡国防部长波尔塔斯应邀访美；6月，美国防部长拉姆斯菲尔德对葡进行短暂访问。6月，巴罗佐葡总理再次访美。2004年，葡在保持发展与美政治、经济关系的同时，进一步加强军事合作。双方就葡购买美2艘军舰达成协议。为消除支持美武力攻打伊拉克所产生的负面影响，葡着重强调联合国在伊稳定和重建中应起主要作用。葡驻伊国民卫队已于2005年2月到期回国。2005年，葡美双方进行了外长级互访，双方重新签署了引渡条约，并表示愿意推动建立葡、美和非洲葡语国家三方合作机制。葡主张欧洲应创造条件，进行更富建设性的跨大西洋合作。同年9月，美国遭受飓风灾害后，葡向美援助了大量日用品，并提供了占葡2%石油储备量的50万桶原油。
【同非洲葡语国家和巴西的关系】 发展同非洲葡语国家（莫桑比克、安哥拉、佛得角、几内亚比绍、圣多美和普林西比）关系是葡外交重点之一。由于历史原因，葡同五国的关系较为密切。近几年，为发挥葡在欧、非两大陆的桥梁作用，葡积极发展同五国在各个领域的合作。2005年2月葡新政府上台以来，与非洲葡语国家高层保持密切交往。圣普、莫桑比克总统，佛得角和几内亚比绍总理和安哥拉外长等先后应邀访问葡萄牙；葡总统、外长也先后访问了莫桑比克、佛得角、安哥拉并出席几比新总统就职典礼。2004年，葡对非洲葡语国家共提供6.402亿欧元的双边援款，其中对安哥拉、佛得角、几内亚比绍、莫桑比克、圣多美与普林西比提供的双边援款分别为5.759亿欧元、2477万欧元、976.7万欧元、1951.2万欧元和1029.9万欧元，主要用于各国社会、经济发展、基础设施建设及跨领域合作项目。2005年1月，葡与安哥拉签署2005年双边合作计划协议，葡将提供2230万欧元用于两国在教育、卫生、文化和人员培训等领域的合作。2月，援助几比国际会议筹备大会在葡召开，葡向几比提供100万欧元用于恢复经济发展。12月，葡宣布拟在安哥拉投资1亿欧元兴建一所医院，葡还表示将提供20万欧元用于支持圣普2006年大选。葡重视加强与巴西的传统关系。2005年5月，葡外长多阿马拉尔对巴西进行正式访问，重申发展与巴关系是葡外交重点。10月，巴西总统卢拉访问葡萄牙，与葡总理共同主持召开第8届葡巴首脑会议和企业家研讨会，双方签署了关于经济、文化、反对贩毒和移民合作协定。近10年来，葡对巴西投资90亿欧元，有600家企业参与。葡每年进口巴西产品额约7.7亿美元，出口约2亿美元。2004年，葡对巴西提供双边援款71.04万欧元。葡还积极利用葡语国家共同体（Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries, Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa，简称CPLP，即葡共体），与巴西一道，推动葡语国家之间的政治、外交、经贸、文化合作。该共同体于1996年7月由葡萄牙和巴西倡议成立，总部设在里斯本，成员国包括葡萄牙、巴西、安哥拉、莫桑比克、佛得角、几内亚比绍、圣多美和普林西比、东帝汶（2002年加入）。葡积极推动葡共体发展，充分利用该组织企业论坛和葡语教学计划，希望通过扩大葡共体在世界上的影响，提升其国际地位。2004年，葡向葡共体提供了1056.2万欧元的援助。
【同西班牙的关系】 葡1974年“四·二五”革命后，葡西关系一度紧张，1975年末起趋于正常。1977年11月，两国签订友好和互不侵犯条约。两国政府首脑定期举行会晤，就双边关系和共同关心的其他问题交换意见。2003年2月，葡西两国总理在马德里举行双边会晤；葡外长达克鲁斯也于同月访西，双方签署了《海事安全事务合作与建立快速报警共同机制的联合声明》。2004年2月，葡总理巴罗佐访问西班牙，承诺于2005年在西设葡文化中心，称西是葡近邻，不对葡构成威胁。同年5月，西班牙新任首相萨帕特罗访葡，表示尽管两国政府对联军在伊拉克驻军问题上有分歧，但两国全方位友好关系不受影响。2005年10月，葡议长访问西班牙，呼吁西与葡加强边境合作。葡在西还举办了葡议会百年展（1903年至2003年）。11月，葡西首脑会议在葡举行，两国总理出席，双方签署了边境合作、旅游、就业、建立伊比利亚电力市场、高速铁路、海洋测量等双边合作协定。西是葡最大的贸易伙伴。2004年，葡从西进口额占其总进口额的29.3%，向西出口额占其总出口额的24.9%，西为葡对外贸易中份量最重的国家。
【同独联体和其他东欧国家的关系】 苏联解体后，葡主张西方加强对俄的援助，帮助俄从计划经济向市场经济过渡。葡支持俄与欧盟改善关系，认为俄在平衡国际关系中作用十分重要。葡愿与俄建立全方位合作，在良好的政治基础上，加强双方贸易、文化关系。1994年7月，葡总理席尔瓦对俄进行工作访问，两国政府签署了友好合作条约以及投资保护、文化、工业技术、公路运输、医药科学等六项合作协议。2001年，葡总统桑帕约访俄，双方签署了《领事协议》和《外长级政治磋商议定书》。1998年至2003年，葡在俄投资每年46.2万欧元，俄在葡投资为5.2万欧元。葡对俄出口仅占俄进口的0.08％。2004年11月，俄罗斯总统普京访葡，系俄最高领导人首次访葡。2005年5月，葡总理索克拉特斯出席在俄国举行的纪念卫国战争胜利60周年活动；10月，葡外长、文化部长和经济部长访问俄罗斯，葡俄签署了2009年前双方大学生交流计划协定，还签署了信息和旅游协定。近年来，葡与东欧国家的往来有所增加，葡表示支持东欧国家加入欧盟和北约的要求，但认为应以与俄保持稳定的安全关系为基础。
【同东帝汶的关系】 东帝汶是葡萄牙前殖民地，1951年名义上改为葡海外省。1974年葡国内发生“四·二五”事件后，葡新政权主张非殖民化，允许东帝汶举行公民投票，实行自决。1975年，成立不久的革阵、民盟和民协三个东帝汶主要政党因权力之争发生内乱，局势失控。同年12月，印尼趁机出兵东帝汶，并于次年7月宣布东为其第27个省。1992－1999年，在联合国秘书长主持下，葡与印尼外长就东帝汶问题进行了12轮谈判，最终双方就东帝汶的民族自决问题达成共识。1999年8月，在联合国的监督下，东帝汶进行了全民投票，78.5％的东帝汶人支持独立。同年12月，葡外长伽马访问东帝汶。2000年，葡总统、总理和议长相继对东进行了访问。2002年5月20日，葡总统、总理出席了东帝汶建国庆典。1999年以来，葡除向东帝汶提供大量经济和人道主义援助外，还派遣了1000余人的维和部队和警察以及100名教师。葡是国际社会对东帝汶援助最多的国家。2002年，葡政府与东帝汶政府进行了金额达8048.5万欧元的合作项目，其中包括提供900万欧元的援助。两国已签署2004至2006年合作计划书，根据该计划葡将援助5000万欧元。2004年，葡援助额为2056.8万欧元。同年6月，葡参与联合国在东帝汶的最后的一批维和军人253人返葡。2005年6月，东帝汶总理阿尔卡蒂里访问葡萄牙，葡同意向东派30名警察帮助其培训地方安全部队。
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa), is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are also part of Portugal.
The land within the borders of today's Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times. Some of the earliest civilizations include Lusitanians and Celtic societies. Incorporation into the Roman Republic dominions took place in the 2nd century BC. The region was ruled and colonized by Germanic peoples, such as the Suebi and the Visigoths, from the 5th to the 8th century. From this era, some vestiges of the Alans were also found. The Muslim Moors arrived in the early 8th century and conquered the Christian Germanic kingdoms, eventually occupying most of the Iberian Peninsula. In the early 1100s, during the Christian Reconquista, Portugal appeared as a kingdom independent of its neighbour, the Kingdom of León and Galicia. In a little over a century, in 1249, Portugal would establish almost its entire modern-day borders by conquering territory from the Moors.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, with a global empire that included possessions in Africa, Asia and South America, Portugal was one of the world's major economic, political, and cultural powers. In the 17th century, the Portuguese Restoration War between Portugal and Spain ended the sixty year period of the Iberian Union (1580-1640). In the 19th century, armed conflict with French and Spanish invading forces and the loss of its largest territorial possession abroad, Brazil, disrupted political stability and potential economic growth. After the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution coup d'état in 1974, the ruling regime was deposed in Lisbon and the country handed over its last overseas provinces in Africa. Portugal's last overseas territory, Macau, was handed over to China in 1999.
Portugal is a developed country, has a high Human Development Index and is among the world's 20 highest rated countries in terms of quality of life, although having one of the lowest GDP per capita of Western European countries. It is a member of the European Union (since 1986) and the United Nations (since 1955); as well as a founding member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa (Community of Portuguese Language Countries, CPLP), European Union's Eurozone, and is also a Schengen state.
History
Main language areas in Iberia circa 200BC.The early history of Portugal, whose name derives from the Roman name Portus Cale, is shared with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula. The region was settled by Pre-Celts and Celts, giving origin to peoples like the Gallaeci, Lusitanians, Celtici and Cynetes, visited by Phoenicians and Carthaginians, incorporated in the Roman Republic dominions (as Lusitania in 138 BC), settled again by Suevi, Buri, and Visigoths, and conquered by Moors. Other minor influences include some 5th century vestiges of Alan settlement, which were found in Alenquer, Coimbra and even Lisbon. In 868, during the Reconquista (by which Christians reconquered the Iberian peninsula from the Muslim and Moorish domination), 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 (County of Portugal as a fief of the Kingdom of León and Castile) into an independent kingdom.
On June 24, 1128, the Battle of São Mamede occurred near Guimarães. 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 officially declared Portugal's independence when he proclaimed himself king of Portugal on July 25, 1139, after the Battle of Ourique, he was recognized as such in 1143 by Afonso VII, king of León and Castile, and in 1179 by Pope Alexander III.
Progress of the Christian ReconquistaAfonso 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.
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, LisbonThroughout the 15th century, Portuguese explorers sailed the coast of Africa, establishing trading posts for several common types of tradable commodities at the time, ranging from gold to slaves, 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. The Portuguese sailors set out to reach Eastern Asia by sailing eastward from Europe landing in such places like Taiwan, Japan, the island of Timor, and it may also have been 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, as a personal union; in 1640, John IV spearheaded an uprising backed by disgruntled nobles and was proclaimed king. The Portuguese Restoration War between Portugal and Spain on the aftermath of the 1640 revolt, ended the sixty-year period of the Iberian Union under the House of Habsburg. This was the beginning of the House of Braganza, which was to reign in Portugal until 1910. On 1 November 1755, Lisbon, the largest city and capital of the Portuguese Empire, was strongly shaken by an earthquake which killed between 60,000 and 90,000 people and destroyed eighty-five percent of the city.
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.
Map of the Portuguese Overseas provinces in Africa by the time of the Portuguese Colonial War (1961-1974)At the height of European colonialism in the 19th century, Portugal had lost its territory in South America and all but a few bases in Asia. During this phase, Portuguese colonialism focused on expanding its outposts in Africa into nation-sized territories to compete with other European powers there. Portuguese territories eventually included the modern nations of Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Guinea-Bissau, Angola, and Mozambique.
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 the right-wing dictatorship of the Estado Novo under António de Oliveira Salazar.
In December 1961, the Portuguese army was involved in armed action in its colony of Portuguese India against an Indian invasion. The operations resulted in the defeat of the isolated and relatively small Portuguese defense force which was not able to resist a much larger enemy. The outcome was the loss of the Portuguese territories in the Indian subcontinent.
Community of Portuguese Language Countries.Also in the early 1960s, independence movements in the Portuguese overseas provinces of Angola, Mozambique, and Portuguese Guinea, in Africa, resulted in the Portuguese Colonial War (1961-1974). In 1974, a bloodless left-wing military coup in Lisbon, 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. However, Portugal's last overseas territory, Macau (Asia), was not handed over to the People's Republic of China until as late as 1999.
Portugal was a founding member of NATO, OECD and EFTA. In 1986, Portugal joined the European Union (then the European Economic Community). It is also a co-founder of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.
Administrative divisions
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).
The European Union's system of Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics is also used. According to this system, Portugal is divided into 7 regions (Alentejo, Algarve, Açores, Centro, Lisboa, Madeira, and Norte), which are subdivided into 30 subregions.
Geography and climate
The climate can be classified as Mediterranean type csa in the south and csb in the north, according to the Köppen climate classification. Portugal is one of the warmest European countries, the annual temperature averages in mainland Portugal are 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. Generally, spring and summer are sunny, whereas autumn and winter are rainy and windy. Extreme temperatures occur in Northeastern parts of the country in winter (where they may fall to -15 °C) and Southeastern parts in summer (where they can soar up to 45 °C). Sea coastal areas are milder, temperatures varying between -2 °C on the coldest winter mornings and 40 °C on the hottest summer afternoons. Absolute extremes registered so far have been -23 °C in Serra da Estrela and 48 °C in the Alentejo region.
A Portuguese ski resort during the winter season in Serra da Estrela mountain range, Centro.Mainland Portugal is split by its main river, the Tagus. The northern landscape is mountainous in the 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 much like southern Spain. Snow falls occasionally (on some cold winter days) in the northern interior of the country, from October to May. However, it is a very rare event in the south. The coast registers snow usually once in five or six years.
Alentejo - Cork Oak on wheat field, a typical image of the Alentejo region, PortugalThe islands of the Azores are located in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge whilst the Madeira islands were formed by the activity of an in-plate hotspot, much like the Hawaiian archipelago. 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). Mainland Portugal's highest point is Serra da Estrela, measuring 1993 m (6,558 ft).
Portugal's Exclusive Economic Zone, a seazone over which the Portuguese have special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources, has 1,727,408 km². This is the 3rd largest Exclusive Economic Zone of the European Union and the 11th in the world.
Conservation areas of Portugal include one national park (Parque Nacional), 12 natural parks (Parque Natural), 9 natural reserves (Reserva Natural), 5 natural monuments (Monumento Natural), and 7 protected landscapes (Paisagem Protegida), ranging from the Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês to the Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela to the Paul de Arzila.
Government and politics
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. Portugal like most European countries has no state religion, making it a secular state.
The president, who is elected to a five-year term, has a supervising, non-executive 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 Unitarian Democratic Coalition (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
Portugal is a founding member of NATO (1949), OECD and EFTA; it left the latter in 1986 to join the European Union. In 1996 it co-founded the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP). It has a friendship alliance and dual citizenship treaty with Brazil. Portugal is part of the world's oldest active alliance through its treaty with the United Kingdom.
The only international dispute concerns the municipality of Olivença. Under Portuguese sovereignty since 1297, the municipality of Olivença was ceded to Spain under the Treaty of Badajoz in 1801, after the War of the Oranges. Portugal claimed it back in 1815 under the Treaty of Vienna. Nevertheless, bilateral diplomatic relations between the two neighbouring countries are cordial, as well as within the European Union.
Military
The armed forces have three branches: Army, Navy, and Air Force. The military of Portugal serves primarily as a self-defense force whose mission is to protect the territorial integrity of the country and providing humanitarian assistance and security at home and abroad. Since the early 2000s, compulsory military service is no longer practised. The changes also turned the forces' focus towards professional military engagements. The age for voluntary recruitment is set at 18. In the 20th century, Portugal engaged in two major military interventions: the First Great War and the Portuguese Colonial War (1961-1974). Portugal has participated in peacekeeping missions in East Timor, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq (Nasiriyah), and Lebanon. The Portuguese Military's Rapid Reaction Brigade, a combined force of the nations elite Paratroopers, Special Operations Troops Center, and Commandos, is a special elite fighting force.
Economy
Portugal's economy is based on industries such as textiles, clothing, footwear, cork and wood products, beverages (wine, beer, juice, soft drinks), porcelain and earthenware, and glass and glassware. In addition, the country has increased its role in Europe's automotive sector and has a world-class mold-making industry. Services, particularly tourism, are playing an increasingly important role. Portugal's European Union (EU) funding will be cut by 10%, to 22.5 billion euros, during the 2007-2013 period. EU expansion into eastern Europe has erased Portugal's historic competitive advantage and relative low labor costs. The governments are working to change Portugal's economic development model from one based on public consumption and public investment to one focused on exports, private investment, and development of the high-tech sector.
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.
Portuguese national side of a 1 euro coin. The centrepiece is the 1144 royal seal of King Afonso Henriques.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). Manufacturing accounts for 33% of exports. Portugal is the world's fifth-largest producer of tungsten, and the world's eighth-largest producer of wine. Agriculture and Fishing (see Portugal EEZ) 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.
Funchal, Madeira - tourism is an important economic activity in the Portuguese island of Madeira.The Global Competitiveness Report for 2005, published by the World Economic Forum, places Portugal on the 22nd position, ahead of countries such as 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 the Economist Intelligence Unit's quality of life survey places Portugal as the country with the 19th-best quality of life in the world, ahead of other economically and technologically advanced countries like France, Germany, the United Kingdom and South Korea. This is despite the fact that Portugal has the lowest per capita GDP in Western Europe and among the lowest in the European Union.
Caixa Geral de Depósitos, EDP, Galp, Millennium bcp, Portugal Telecom and Sonae are among the largest corporations of Portugal by both number of employees and net income.
The major stock exchange is the Euronext Lisbon which is part of the NYSE Euronext, the first global stock exchange. The PSI-20 is Portugal's most selective and widely known stock index.
Energy, transportation, communications, water supply and sanitation
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 $38,000,000,000 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 José Sócrates said.
Alqueva Dam, Alentejo - irrigation and hydroelectric power generation facility which created the largest artificial lake in Western Europe.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 almost 3,000 km (1,864 mi) are part of a 44 motorways system.
The two principal metropolitan areas have subway systems: Lisbon Metro and Metro Sul do Tejo in Lisbon Metropolitan Area 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.
Lisbon's geographical position makes it a stopover point for many foreign airlines at airports all over the country. The government decided to build a new airport outside Lisbon, in Alcochete, to replace Lisbon's Portela 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). This network also provides wireless mobile Internet connections as well, and covers the entire territory. 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). Paid Internet connections are available at many cafés, as well as many post offices. One can also surf on the Internet at hotels, conference centres and shopping centres, where special areas are reserved for this purpose. Free internet access is also available to Portuguese residents at "Espaços de Internet" across the country.
Portugal has also modernized its water supply and sanitation system, in particular by increasing the rate of wastewater treated with support from EU subsidies to 80%. The country has also established a modern institutional and legal framework for the water and sanitation sector, including an autonomous regulatory agency, a national asset holding company called Águas de Portugal and a number of multi-municipal utilities. This replaced an institutionally fragemented sector structure, under which the country's 308 municipalities - many of them very small - had exclusive responsibility for water and sanitation.
Demographics
Douro river crossing Grande Porto, Portugal's second most populated subregionThe country is fairly homogeneous linguistically and religiously. Native Portuguese are ethnically a combination of pre-Celts, Celts, and the Lusitanians, along with some other minor contributions by Phoenicians, Romans, Germanic (Visigoths, Suebi, Buri), Alans, some Jews and Moors (mostly Berbers and some Arabs).
In the 2001 census, the population was 10,356,117, of which 52% was female, 48% was male. Portugal, long a country of emigration, has now become a country of net immigration, and not just from the former Asian 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, though a large percentage consider themselves non-practicing, especially in urban lands.
The most populous cities are Lisbon, Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia, Amadora, Braga, Coimbra, Almada, Funchal and Setúbal. There are seven Greater Metropolitan Areas (GAMs): Algarve, Aveiro, Coimbra, Lisbon, Minho, Porto and Viseu.
Education, science and technology
The tower of the University of Coimbra, Coimbra - the university is one of the oldest in continuous operation in the world.
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.
Scientific and technological research activities in Portugal are mainly conducted within a network of R&D units belonging to public universities and state-managed autonomous research institutions like the INETI - Instituto Nacional de Engenharia, Tecnologia e Inovação. The funding of this research system is mainly conducted under the authority of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education. The largest R&D units of the public universities by number of publications which achieved significant international recognition, include biosciences research institutions like the Instituto de Medicina Molecular, the Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, the IPATIMUP and the Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, among others. Internationally notable state-supported research centres in other fields include the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, a joint research effort between Portugal and Spain. Among the largest non-state-run research institutions in Portugal are the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência and the Champalimaud Foundation which yearly awards one of the highest monetary prizes of any science prize in the world. A number of both national and multinational high-tech and industrial companies, are also responsible for research and development projects. One of the oldest learned societies of Portugal is the Sciences Academy of Lisbon.
Portugal made agreements with several European scientific organizations aiming at full membership. These include the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), ITER, and the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Portugal has entered into cooperation agreements with MIT (USA) and other North American institutions in order to further develop and increase the effectiveness of Portuguese higher education and research.
Law
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
Portuguese society is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic. 84% of the population are nominally Roman Catholic, but only about 19% attend mass and take the sacraments regularly. A larger number wish to be baptized, married in the church, and receive last rites.
Many Portuguese holidays, festivals and traditions have a Christian origin or connotation. Although relations between the Portuguese state and the Roman Catholic Church were generally amiable and stable since the earliest years of the Portuguese nation, their relative power fluctuated. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the church enjoyed both riches and power stemming from its role in the reconquest and its close identification with early Portuguese nationalism and the foundation of the Portuguese educational system, including the first university. The growth of the Portuguese overseas empire made its missionaries important agents of colonization with important roles of evangelization and teaching in all inhabited continents.
Culture
Roman temple, ÉvoraPortugal 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.
Belém Tower, built in the 1510s and a symbol of the Age of Discovery, LisbonPortuguese 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 Virgil's Aeneid as his main influence. Modern Portuguese poetry is rooted in neoclassic and contemporary styles, as exemplified by Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935). Modern Portuguese literature is represented by authors such as Almeida Garrett, Camilo Castelo Branco, Eça de Queirós, Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, and António Lobo Antunes. Particularly popular and distinguished is José Saramago, winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize for literature.
Belém Cultural Center, LisbonPortuguese 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, José Afonso, Mariza, Carlos do Carmo, 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, particularly from North America and the United Kingdom, as well as a wide range of Portuguese and Brazilian artists and bands. 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 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, and the student festivals of Queima das Fitas are major events in a number of cities across Portugal.
In the Classical music domain, Portugal is represented by names as the pianist Maria João Pires, the violinist Carlos Damas, the operatic baritone Jorge Chaminé, and in the past by the great cellist Guilhermina Suggia. Notable composers include Luís de Freitas Branco and his student Joly Braga Santos.
Casa da Música (Music House), PortoIt has also a rich history as far as 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.
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, LisbonThe 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 like Eduardo Souto de Moura, Álvaro Siza Vieira and Gonçalo Byrne. 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 in Lisbon. These include the Belém Cultural Center in Lisbon, Serralves Foundation and the Casa da Música, both in Porto, as well as new public cultural facilities like municipal libraries and concert halls which were built or renovated in many municipalities across the country.
Cuisine
Portuguese cuisine is diverse. The Portuguese love dry cod (bacalhau in Portuguese), for which there are hundreds of recipes. There are more than enough bacalhau dishes for each day of the year. 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.
Vintage port from 1870 and 1873Typical 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 (or pastéis de nata) originally from Lisbon, 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
Portuguese football fans supporting the national teamFootball is the most known, loved and practiced sport. The legendary Eusébio is still a major symbol of Portuguese football history and Luís Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo are among the numerous examples of other world-class footballers born in Portugal and noted worldwide.
The Portuguese national teams, have titles in the FIFA World Youth Championship and in the UEFA youth championships. The main national team - Selecção Nacional - finished second in Euro 2004, reached the third place in the 1966 FIFA World Cup, and reached the fourth place in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, their best results in major competitions to date.
F.C. Porto, S.L. Benfica and Sporting C.P. are the largest sports clubs by popularity and in terms of trophies won, often known as "os três grandes" ("the big three"). They have a number of titles won in the European UEFA club competitions, were present in many finals and have been regular contenders in the last stages almost every season. Other than football, many Portuguese sports clubs, including the "big three", compete in several other sports events with a varying level of success and popularity.
Pavilhão Atlântico (Atlantic Pavilion), an indoor sports venue and concert hall in LisbonPortugal 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 successful Portuguese rink hockey clubs in the history of European championships are F.C. Porto, S.L. Benfica, Sporting CP, and Óquei de Barcelos.
The national rugby union team made a dramatic qualification into the 2007 Rugby World Cup and become the first all amateur team to qualify for the World Cup since the dawn of the professional era. The Portuguese national team of rugby sevens has performed well, becoming one of the strongest teams in Europe, and proved their status as European champions in several occasions.
Rui Silva, in men's athletics, has won several gold, silver and bronze medals in the European, World and Olympic Games competitions. Francis Obikwelu in the 100 m and the 200 m, had silver in the 2004 Summer Olympics. Naide Gomes in pentathlon and long jump, is another Portuguese elite athlete, which led to a gold medal in the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships' long jump competition. In the triathlon, Vanessa Fernandes, has won a large number of medals and major competitions across the world and in 2007 became the world champion both in Triathlon and Duathlon. In judo, Telma Monteiro is European champion in the women's under-52 kg category. Nelson Évora is world champion in triple jump.
Cycling, with Volta a Portugal being the most important race, is also a popular sports event and include professional cycling teams such as S.L. Benfica, Boavista, Clube de Ciclismo de Tavira, and União Ciclista da Maia. Noted Portuguese cyclists include, among others, names as Joaquim Agostinho, Marco Chagas, José Azevedo and Sérgio Paulinho (an olympic medalist in Athens).
The country has also achieved notable performances in sports like fencing, surfing, windsurf, kitesurf, kayaking, sailing and shooting, among others. The paralympic athletes have also conquered many medals in sports like swimming, boccia and wrestling. Portugal has its own original martial art, jogo do pau, in which the fighters use staffs to confront one or several opponents.
International rankings
Political and economic rankings
Political freedom ratings - Free; political rights and civil liberties both rated 1 (the highest score available)
Press freedom - 8th freest, at 2.00
GDP per capita - 34th highest, at I$22,677
Human Development Index - 29th highest, at 0.897
Income Equality - 59th most equal, at 38.5 (Gini Index)
Unemployment rate - 98th lowest, at 8.00%
Corruption - 28th least corrupt, at 6.5 on index
Economic Freedom - 30th freest, at 2.29 on index
Health rankings
Fertility rate- 188th most fertile, at 1.48 per woman
Birth rate - 167th most births, at 10.50 per 1000 people
Death rate - 52nd highest death rate, at 10.60 per 1000 people
Life Expectancy - 49th highest, at 77.87 years
Suicide Rate - 42nd highest suicide rate, at 18.9 for males and 4.9 for females
HIV/AIDS rate - 73rd most cases, at 0.40%
Other rankings
Global Peace Index - 7th highest (2008), out of 121 countries
CO2 emissions - 68th highest emissions, at 5.63 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 - 22nd highest, at 59.6 litres per capita
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 widely used — 10.000
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 €
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