| Country | Portugal |
|
| Flag |  |
|
| Capital | name: Lisbon geographic coordinates: 38 43 N, 9 08 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
|
| Population | 10,642,836 (July 2007 est.) |
|
| GMT | +1 |
|
| Location | Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain
see map |
|
| Area | total: 92,391 sq km land: 91,951 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands |
|
| Ethnic groups | 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 |
|
| Religions | Roman Catholic 84.5%, other Christian 2.2%, other 0.3%, unknown 9%, none 3.9% (2001 census) |
|
| Languages | Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally used) |
|
| Government type | parliamentary democracy |
|
| National holiday | Portugal Day (Day of Portugal), 10 June (1580); note - also called Camoes Day, the day that revered national poet Luis de Camoes (1524-80) died |
|
| Constitution | adopted 2 April 1976; effective 25 April 1976; revised many times |
|
| Legal system | civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
|
| Background | Following its heyday as a world 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 in 1822 of Brazil as a colony. 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. |
|
Internet country code | .pt |
|