【對外關係】
主張在平等互利基礎上同世界各國普遍發展友好合作關係。把同歐美的傳統關係作為其對外政策的基石，積極參與和促進歐洲一體化、履行北約義務，着力加強同非洲和拉美以及北非地區國傢的傳統關係。日益重視發展同亞洲國傢平等互利的合作關係。主張持久公正地解决中東問題，希望該地區國傢通過對話和平解决爭端。葡與世界上180個國傢和地區建立有外交關係，共設146個駐外使領館。其中使館70個，職業領館66個，駐國際組織代表團10個。
【同中國的關係】中葡交往歷史悠久。１５０２年，葡萄牙就嚮明朝政府派遣了使節。中葡1979年2月8日建交。１９９９年澳門問題順利解决，為兩國關係全面發展翻開了新的一頁。2005年兩國關係發展平穩。葡方主要來訪有：總統桑帕約（1月11日- 17日），裏斯本市議會議長納瓦羅（6月26日-29日），總理府國秘拉康（8月28日-9月2日），最高行政法院院長塞拉來華出席第22屆世界法律大會（9月1日- 14日），貿易國秘費爾南多（9月9日- 12日），科技及高教部長加戈（9月19日- 21日）。中方主要出訪有：審計署副審計長餘效明（4月11日-12日），回良玉副總理經停裏斯本（4月24日- 25日），中國紅十字會會長彭佩雲（9月24日- 27日），教育部副部長章新勝（9月24日- 27日），全國政協副主席周鐵農（10月27日-31日）。12月9日-10日，國務院總理溫傢寶訪葡，中葡宣佈建立全面戰略夥伴關係。
據中國海關總署統計，2005年全年雙邊貿易額為12.36億美元，同比增長42.2%,其中我出口9.12億美元，同比增長55.0%，進口3.24億美元，同比增長15.3％。
中國駐葡萄牙大使：馬恩漢。
葡萄牙駐中國大使：桑塔納·卡洛斯。
【同歐盟的關係】 歐盟是葡對外關係中的基礎。葡於1986年1月1日加入歐共體。1988年11月加入西歐聯盟。1999年成為歐元創始國。葡每年從歐盟得到近30億美元的經濟援助，極大地促進了國民經濟的發展。葡積極支持並參與歐洲一體化進程，贊成歐盟東擴；反對將國傢分成不同等級，反對歐盟决策權過分集中在少數國傢手中。2004年9月，葡與法、意、西和荷蘭5國簽署組建歐盟憲兵部隊聲明，執行民事維和任務，擴大了葡在歐盟的影響。同年11月，葡前總理巴羅佐就任歐盟擴大後的首任歐盟委員會主席。同月，歐盟委員會取消1998年以來禁止葡牛肉出口的禁令。歐盟憲法約批準進程在法國、荷蘭等國受挫後，葡推遲了原定於2005年10月在本國舉行的歐洲憲法公投。葡認為歐盟發展速度和擴大進程應放緩，但不希望停止。2005年11月，葡國防部長宣佈葡加入由西班牙、法國和德國組成的地面戰鬥小組，將於2007年1月起參與北約組織的快速反應部隊維和行動。葡對外貿易主要集中在歐盟內部。2005年，葡嚮歐盟其它成員國的出口額約占葡對外貿易總額的79.1％，從歐盟國傢進口額占葡進口總額的75.7％。
【同美國的關係】 葡是美國的傳統盟國，也是北約成員國，歷來把同美國的關係放在優先地位。二戰後，美藉實施馬歇爾援助計劃在葡亞速爾群島建立了軍事基地。1983年底，雙方續簽為期7年的美租用亞速爾群島拉日什基地協定，美允給葡13.25億美元的軍援和經援。1994年葡美簽訂《避免雙重徵稅和防止逃稅條約》和《海關互助協定》。1995年6月簽署《葡美合作與防務協定》。2000年5月，美國總統剋林頓訪葡，兩國簽署了有關航空、相互引渡罪犯等三個協議。“9.11”事件後，葡堅决支持美反恐軍事行動，並為其執行反恐和救援任務的飛機在亞速爾群島拉日什軍事基地起降提供便利。2002年9月，葡總理巴羅佐訪美。2003年1月30日，葡總理巴羅佐參與聯署《八國聲明》，支持美對伊拉剋動武。巴還表示支持美在未獲聯合國授權情況下對伊拉剋采取軍事行動。3月16日，葡作為東道國在亞速爾群島召開美英西葡領導人峰會，着重討論伊拉剋問題和歐美關係問題。3月20日美伊開戰後，葡允許美使用拉日什軍事基地，但未對伊宣戰、未派兵赴伊作戰，也未關閉伊駐葡使館。戰後，支持美、英在戰後主導伊重建；嚮伊派出128名國民衛隊官兵，參與維持當地治安行動；嚮伊援助資金1750萬歐元；推動葡政界人士進入伊拉剋臨時管理會任職；呼籲美國、歐盟和聯合國化解在伊問題上的分歧。2003年5月，葡國防部長波爾塔斯應邀訪美；6月，美國防部長拉姆斯菲爾德對葡進行短暫訪問。6月，巴羅佐葡總理再次訪美。2004年，葡在保持發展與美政治、經濟關係的同時，進一步加強軍事合作。雙方就葡購買美2艘軍艦達成協議。為消除支持美武力攻打伊拉剋所産生的負面影響，葡着重強調聯合國在伊穩定和重建中應起主要作用。葡駐伊國民衛隊已於2005年2月到期回國。2005年，葡美雙方進行了外長級互訪，雙方重新簽署了引渡條約，並表示願意推動建立葡、美和非洲葡語國傢三方合作機製。葡主張歐洲應創造條件，進行更富建設性的跨大西洋合作。同年9月，美國遭受颶風災害後，葡嚮美援助了大量日用品，並提供了占葡2%石油儲備量的50萬桶原油。
【同非洲葡語國傢和巴西的關係】 發展同非洲葡語國傢（莫桑比剋、安哥拉、佛得角、幾內亞比紹、聖多美和普林西比）關係是葡外交重點之一。由於歷史原因，葡同五國的關係較為密切。近幾年，為發揮葡在歐、非兩大陸的橋梁作用，葡積極發展同五國在各個領域的合作。2005年2月葡新政府上臺以來，與非洲葡語國傢高層保持密切交往。聖普、莫桑比剋總統，佛得角和幾內亞比紹總理和安哥拉外長等先後應邀訪問葡萄牙；葡總統、外長也先後訪問了莫桑比剋、佛得角、安哥拉並出席幾比新總統就職典禮。2004年，葡對非洲葡語國傢共提供6.402億歐元的雙邊援款，其中對安哥拉、佛得角、幾內亞比紹、莫桑比剋、聖多美與普林西比提供的雙邊援款分別為5.759億歐元、2477萬歐元、976.7萬歐元、1951.2萬歐元和1029.9萬歐元，主要用於各國社會、經濟發展、基礎設施建設及跨領域合作項目。2005年1月，葡與安哥拉簽署2005年雙邊合作計劃協議，葡將提供2230萬歐元用於兩國在教育、衛生、文化和人員培訓等領域的合作。2月，援助幾比國際會議籌備大會在葡召開，葡嚮幾比提供100萬歐元用於恢復經濟發展。12月，葡宣佈擬在安哥拉投資1億歐元興建一所醫院，葡還表示將提供20萬歐元用於支持聖普2006年大選。葡重視加強與巴西的傳統關係。2005年5月，葡外長多阿馬拉爾對巴西進行正式訪問，重申發展與巴關係是葡外交重點。10月，巴西總統盧拉訪問葡萄牙，與葡總理共同主持召開第8屆葡巴首腦會議和企業傢研討會，雙方簽署了關於經濟、文化、反對販毒和移民合作協定。近10年來，葡對巴西投資90億歐元，有600傢企業參與。葡每年進口巴西産品額約7.7億美元，出口約2億美元。2004年，葡對巴西提供雙邊援款71.04萬歐元。葡還積極利用葡語國傢共同體（Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries, Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa，簡稱CPLP，即葡共體），與巴西一道，推動葡語國傢之間的政治、外交、經貿、文化合作。該共同體於1996年7月由葡萄牙和巴西倡議成立，總部設在裏斯本，成員國包括葡萄牙、巴西、安哥拉、莫桑比剋、佛得角、幾內亞比紹、聖多美和普林西比、東帝汶（2002年加入）。葡積極推動葡共體發展，充分利用該組織企業論壇和葡語教學計劃，希望通過擴大葡共體在世界上的影響，提升其國際地位。2004年，葡嚮葡共體提供了1056.2萬歐元的援助。
【同西班牙的關係】 葡1974年“四·二五”革命後，葡西關係一度緊張，1975年末起趨於正常。1977年11月，兩國簽訂友好和互不侵犯條約。兩國政府首腦定期舉行會晤，就雙邊關係和共同關心的其他問題交換意見。2003年2月，葡西兩國總理在馬德裏舉行雙邊會晤；葡外長達剋魯斯也於同月訪西，雙方簽署了《海事安全事務合作與建立快速報警共同機製的聯合聲明》。2004年2月，葡總理巴羅佐訪問西班牙，承諾於2005年在西設葡文化中心，稱西是葡近鄰，不對葡構成威脅。同年5月，西班牙新任首相薩帕特羅訪葡，表示儘管兩國政府對聯軍在伊拉剋駐軍問題上有分歧，但兩國全方位友好關係不受影響。2005年10月，葡議長訪問西班牙，呼籲西與葡加強邊境合作。葡在西還舉辦了葡議會百年展（1903年至2003年）。11月，葡西首腦會議在葡舉行，兩國總理出席，雙方簽署了邊境合作、旅遊、就業、建立伊比利亞電力市場、高速鐵路、海洋測量等雙邊合作協定。西是葡最大的貿易夥伴。2004年，葡從西進口額占其總進口額的29.3%，嚮西出口額占其總出口額的24.9%，西為葡對外貿易中份量最重的國傢。
【同獨聯體和其他東歐國傢的關係】 蘇聯解體後，葡主張西方加強對俄的援助，幫助俄從計劃經濟嚮市場經濟過渡。葡支持俄與歐盟改善關係，認為俄在平衡國際關係中作用十分重要。葡願與俄建立全方位合作，在良好的政治基礎上，加強雙方貿易、文化關係。1994年7月，葡總理席爾瓦對俄進行工作訪問，兩國政府簽署了友好合作條約以及投資保護、文化、工業技術、公路運輸、醫藥科學等六項合作協議。2001年，葡總統桑帕約訪俄，雙方簽署了《領事協議》和《外長級政治磋商議定書》。1998年至2003年，葡在俄投資每年46.2萬歐元，俄在葡投資為5.2萬歐元。葡對俄出口僅占俄進口的0.08％。2004年11月，俄羅斯總統普京訪葡，係俄最高領導人首次訪葡。2005年5月，葡總理索剋拉特斯出席在俄國舉行的紀念衛國戰爭勝利60周年活動；10月，葡外長、文化部長和經濟部長訪問俄羅斯，葡俄簽署了2009年前雙方大學生交流計劃協定，還簽署了信息和旅遊協定。近年來，葡與東歐國傢的往來有所增加，葡表示支持東歐國傢加入歐盟和北約的要求，但認為應以與俄保持穩定的安全關係為基礎。
【同東帝汶的關係】 東帝汶是葡萄牙前殖民地，1951年名義上改為葡海外省。1974年葡國內發生“四·二五”事件後，葡新政權主張非殖民化，允許東帝汶舉行公民投票，實行自决。1975年，成立不久的革陣、民盟和民協三個東帝汶主要政黨因權力之爭發生內亂，局勢失控。同年12月，印尼趁機出兵東帝汶，並於次年7月宣佈東為其第27個省。1992－1999年，在聯合國秘書長主持下，葡與印尼外長就東帝汶問題進行了12輪談判，最終雙方就東帝汶的民族自决問題達成共識。1999年8月，在聯合國的監督下，東帝汶進行了全民投票，78.5％的東帝汶人支持獨立。同年12月，葡外長伽馬訪問東帝汶。2000年，葡總統、總理和議長相繼對東進行了訪問。2002年5月20日，葡總統、總理出席了東帝汶建國慶典。1999年以來，葡除嚮東帝汶提供大量經濟和人道主義援助外，還派遣了1000餘人的維和部隊和警察以及100名教師。葡是國際社會對東帝汶援助最多的國傢。2002年，葡政府與東帝汶政府進行了金額達8048.5萬歐元的合作項目，其中包括提供900萬歐元的援助。兩國已簽署2004至2006年合作計劃書，根據該計劃葡將援助5000萬歐元。2004年，葡援助額為2056.8萬歐元。同年6月，葡參與聯合國在東帝汶的最後的一批維和軍人253人返葡。2005年6月，東帝汶總理阿爾卡蒂裏訪問葡萄牙，葡同意嚮東派30名警察幫助其培訓地方安全部隊。
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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