Portugal

Introduction

Background:
Following its heyday as a global maritime power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence of its wealthiest colony of Brazil in 1822. A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy; for most of the next six decades, repressive governments ran the country. In 1974, a left-wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms. The following year, Portugal granted independence to all of its African colonies. Portugal is a founding member of NATO and entered the EC (now the EU) in 1986.

People

Population:
10,707,924 (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 75

Nationality:
noun: Portuguese (singular and plural)
adjective: Portuguese

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

Country name:
conventional long form: Portuguese Republic
conventional short form: Portugal
local long form: Republica Portuguesa
local short form: Portugal

Government type:
republic; parliamentary democracy

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

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

Flag description:
two vertical bands of green (hoist side, two-fifths) and red (three-fifths) with the Portuguese coat of arms centered on the dividing line

Economy

Economy - overview:
Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Community in 1986. Over the past two decades, successive governments have privatized many state-controlled firms and liberalized key areas of the economy, including the financial and telecommunications sectors. The country qualified for the European Monetary Union (EMU) in 1998 and began circulating the euro on 1 January 2002 along with 11 other EU member economies. Economic growth had been above the EU average for much of the 1990s, but fell back in 2001-08. GDP per capita stands at roughly two-thirds of the EU-27 average. A poor educational system, in particular, has been an obstacle to greater productivity and growth. Portugal has been increasingly overshadowed by lower-cost producers in Central Europe and Asia as a target for foreign direct investment. The budget deficit surged to an all-time high of 6% of GDP in 2005, but the government reduced the deficit to 2.6% in 2007 - a year ahead of Portugal's targeted schedule. Nonetheless, the government faces tough choices in its attempts to boost the economy, which declined 0.1% in 2008, while keeping the budget deficit within the euro-zone 3%-of-GDP ceiling.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$237.3 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 48
$237.3 billion (2007 est.)
$232.9 billion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$22,200 (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 54
$22,300 (2007 est.)
$22,000 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars

Budget:
revenues: $105.5 billion
expenditures: $111.9 billion (2008 est.)

Industries:
textiles, clothing, footwear, wood and cork, paper, chemicals, auto-parts manufacturing, base metals, diary products, wine and other foods, porcelain and ceramics, glassware, technology, telecommunications; ship construction and refurbishment; tourism

Exports:
$56.42 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 54
$51.81 billion (2007 est.)

Imports:
$87.83 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 37
$75.98 billion (2007 est.)

Exchange rates:
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6827 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)