Etymology
The word ''Portugal'' derives from the Roman- Celtic place nameHistory
Prehistory
The early history of Portugal is shared with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula located in south-western Europe. The name of Portugal derives from the joined Romano-Celtic nameRoman Lusitania and Gallaecia
Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 BC. The Carthaginians, Rome's adversary in the Punic Wars, were expelled from their coastal colonies. During the last days of Julius Caesar, almost the entire peninsula was annexed to the Roman Republic. The Roman conquest of what is now part of Portugal took almost two hundred years and took many lives of young soldiers and the lives of those who were sentenced to a certain death in the slave mines when not sold as slaves to other parts of the empire. It suffered a severe setback in 155 BC, when a rebellion began in the north. TheGermanic kingdoms: Suebi and Visigoths
In the early 5th century,Islamic period and the Reconquista
Today's continental Portugal, along with most of modern Spain, was part of al-Andalus between 726 and 1249, following the Umayyad Caliphate conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. This rule lasted from some decades in the North to five centuries in the South. After defeating the Visigoths in only a few months, the Umayyad Caliphate started expanding rapidly in the peninsula. Beginning in 726, the land that is now Portugal became part of the vast Umayyad Caliphate's empire of Damascus, which stretched from the Indus river in the Indian sub-continent up to the South of France, until its collapse in 750. That year the west of the empire gained its independence under Abd-ar-Rahman I with the establishment of the Emirate of Córdoba. After almost two centuries, the Emirate became the Caliphate of Córdoba in 929, until its dissolution a century later in 1031 into no less than 23 small kingdoms, called Taifa kingdoms. The governors of the taifas each proclaimed themselves Emir of their provinces and established diplomatic relations with the Christian kingdoms of the north. Most of present-day Portugal fell into the hands of the Taifa of Badajoz of the Aftasid Dynasty, and after a short spell of an ephemeral Taifa of Lisbon in 1022, fell under the dominion of the Taifa of Seville of the Abbadids poets. The Taifa period ended with the conquest of the Almoravids who came from Morocco in 1086 winning a decisive victory at the Battle of Sagrajas, followed a century later in 1147, after the second period of Taifa, by the Almohads, also from Marrakesh. Al-Andaluz was divided into different districts called ''Kura''. Gharb Al-Andalus at its largest consisted of ten kuras,A History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire, Vol. 1: From Beginnings to 1807: Portugal (Volume 1) p. 55 each with a distinct capital and governor. The main cities of the period in Portugal were in the southern half of the country: Beja (Portugal), Beja, Silves Municipality, Portugal, Silves, Alcácer do Sal, Santarém, Portugal, Santarém and Lisbon. The Muslim population of the region consisted mainly of native Iberian converts to Islam (the so-called ''Muwallad'' or ''Muladi'') and Arabs. The Arabs were principally noblemen from Syria and Oman; and though few in numbers, they constituted the elite of the population. The Berbers were originally from the Rif and Atlas mountains region of North Africa and were nomads.County of Portugal
An Asturian Visigothic noble named Pelagius of Asturias in 718 was elected leader by many of the ousted Visigoth nobles. Pelagius called for the remnant of the Christian Visigothic armies to rebel against the Moors and regroup in the unconquered northern Asturian highlands, better known today as the Cantabrian Mountains, in what is today the small mountain region in north-western Spain, adjacent to the Bay of Biscay.H. V. Livermore, ''A New History of Portugal'' (Cambridge University Press: London, 1969) pp. 32–33. Pelagius' plan was to use the Cantabrian mountains as a place of refuge and protection from the invading Moors. He then aimed to regroup the Iberian Peninsula's Christian armies and use the Cantabrian mountains as a springboard from which to regain their lands. In the process, after defeating the Moors in the Battle of Covadonga in 722, Pelagius was proclaimed king, thus founding the Christian Kingdom of Asturias and starting the war of Christian reconquest known in Portuguese language, Portuguese as the ''Reconquista, Reconquista Cristã''. At the end of the 9th century, the region of Portugal, between the rivers Minho and Douro, was reconquered from the Moors by the nobleman and knight Vímara Peres on the orders of King Alfonso III of Asturias. Finding that the region had previously had two major cities –Independence and Afonsine era
On 24 June 1128, theJoanine era and Age of Discoveries
In 1383, John I of Castile, husband of Beatrice of Portugal and son-in-law of Ferdinand I of Portugal, claimed the throne of Portugal. A faction of petty noblemen and commoners, led by John I of Portugal, John of Aviz (later King John I of Portugal) and commanded by General Nuno Álvares Pereira defeated the Castilians in the Battle of Aljubarrota. With this battle, the House of Aviz became the ruling house of Portugal. The new ruling dynasty would proceed to push Portugal to the limelight of European politics and culture, creating and sponsoring works of literature, like the ''Crónicas d'el Rei D. João I'' by Fernão Lopes, the first riding and hunting manual ''Bem cavalgar, Livro da ensinança de bem cavalgar toda sela'' and ''Leal Conselheiro, O Leal Conselheiro'' both by Edward, King of Portugal, King Edward of Portugal and the Portuguese translations of Cicero, Cicero's ''De Officiis, De Oficiis'' and Seneca the Younger, Seneca's ''De Beneficiis'' by the well traveled Peter, Duke of Coimbra, Prince Peter of Coimbra, as well as his magnum opus ''Tratado da Vertuosa Benfeytoria''. In an effort of solidification and centralization of royal power the monarchs of this dynasty also ordered the compilation, organization and publication of the first three compilations of laws in Portugal: the ''Ordenações d'el Rei D. Duarte'', which was never enforced; the ''Ordenações Afonsinas,'' whose application and enforcement was not uniform across the realm; and the Manueline Ordinances, ''Ordenações Manuelinas'', which took advantage of the printing press to reach every corner of the kingdom. The Avis Dynasty also sponsored works of architecture like the ''Mosteiro da Batalha'' (literally, the Batalha Monastery, Monastery of the Battle) and led to the creation of the Manueline, manueline style of architecture in the 16th century. Portugal also spearheaded European exploration of the world and the Age of Discovery. Prince Henry the Navigator, son of King John I of Portugal, became the main sponsor and patron of this endeavour. During this period, Portugal explored the Atlantic Ocean, discovering the Atlantic archipelagos the Azores, Madeira, and Portuguese Cape Verde, Cape Verde; explored the African coast; colonized selected areas of Africa; discovered an eastern Portuguese India Armadas, route to India via the Cape of Good Hope; Colonial Brazil#Discovery and early exploitation, discovered Brazil, explored the Indian Ocean, established trading routes throughout most of southern Asia; and sent the first direct European maritime trade and diplomatic missions to Jorge Álvares, China and Nanban trade, Japan. In 1415, Portugal acquired the first of its overseas colonies by conquering Ceuta, the first prosperous Islamic trade centre in North Africa. There followed the first discoveries in the Atlantic: Madeira and the Azores, which led to the first colonialism, colonization movements. In 1422, by decree of King John I, Portugal officially abandoned the previous dating system, the Era of Caesar (Iberian Peninsula), Era of Caesar, and adopted the ''Anno Domini'' system, therefore becoming the last catholic realm to do so. Throughout the 15th century, European exploration of Africa#Portuguese, Portuguese explorers sailed the coast of Africa, establishing trading posts for Economic history of Portugal#Expansion of the Portuguese empire (15th and 16th centuries), several common types of tradable commodities at the time, ranging from gold to slavery, slaves, as they looked for a route to India and its spices, which were coveted in Europe. The Treaty of Tordesillas, intended to resolve the dispute that had been created following the return of Christopher Columbus, was made by Pope Alexander VI, the mediator between Portugal and Spain. It was signed on 7 June 1494, and divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the two countries along a meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands (off the west coast of Africa). In 1498, Vasco da Gama accomplished what Christopher Columbus, Columbus set out to do and became the first European to reach India by sea, bringing Economic history of Portugal, economic prosperity to Portugal and its population of 1.7 million residents, and helping to start the Portuguese Renaissance. In 1500, the Portuguese explorer Gaspar Corte-Real reached what is now Canada and founded the town of Portugal Cove-St. Philip's, Newfoundland and Labrador, long before the French and English in the 17th century, and being just one of many Portuguese colonization of the Americas, Portuguese colonizations of the Americas. In 1500, Pedro Álvares Cabral discovered Brazil and claimed it for Portugal. Ten years later, Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Goa in India, Muscat, Oman, Muscat and Ormuz in the Persian Strait, and Malacca, now a States of Malaysia, state in Malaysia. Thus, the Portuguese empire held dominion over commerce in the Indian Ocean and South Atlantic. Portuguese sailors set out to reach Eastern Asia by sailing eastward from Europe, landing in such places as Taiwan, Japan, the island of Timor, and in the Moluccas. Although for a long period it was believed the Dutch people, Dutch were the first Europeans to arrive in Australia, there is also some evidence that the Theory of the Portuguese discovery of Australia, Portuguese may have discovered Australia in 1521. From 1519 to 1522, Ferdinand Magellan (Fernão de Magalhães) organized a Spanish expedition to the East Indies which resulted in the first circumnavigation of the globe. Magellan never made it back to Europe as he was killed by natives in the Philippines in 1521. The Treaty of Zaragoza, signed on 22 April 1529 between Portugal and Spain, specified the anti-meridian to the line of demarcation specified in the Treaty of Tordesillas. All these factors made Portugal one of the world's major economic, military, and political powers from the 15th century until the late 16th century.Iberian Union, Restoration and early Brigantine era
Portugal voluntarily entered a dynastic union between 1580 and 1640. This occurred because the last two kings of the House of Aviz – King Sebastian of Portugal, Sebastian, who died in the battle of Alcácer Quibir in Morocco, and his great-uncle and successor, King-Cardinal (Catholic Church), Cardinal Henry I of Portugal, Henry of Portugal – both died without heirs, resulting in the Portuguese succession crisis of 1580. Subsequently, Philip II of Spain claimed the throne and was accepted as Philip I of Portugal. Portugal did not lose its formal independence, briefly forming a Iberian Union, union of kingdoms. At this time Spain was a geographic region, geographic territory. The joining of the two crowns deprived Portugal of an independent foreign policy and led to its involvement in the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Netherlands. War led to a deterioration of the relations with Anglo-Portuguese Alliance, Portugal's oldest ally, England, and the loss of Ormus, Hormuz, a strategic trading post located between Iran and Oman. From 1595 to 1663 the Dutch-Portuguese War primarily involved the Dutch companies invading many Portuguese colonies and commercial interests in Brazil, Africa, India and the Far East, resulting in the loss of the Portuguese Indian sea trade monopoly. In 1640, John IV of Portugal spearheaded an uprising backed by disgruntled nobles and was proclaimed king. The Portuguese Restoration War ended the sixty-year period of the Iberian Union under the House of Habsburg. This was the beginning of the House of Braganza, which reigned in Portugal until 1910. King John IV's eldest son came to reign as Afonso VI of Portugal, Afonso VI, however his physical and mental disabilities left him overpowered by Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa, 3rd Count of Castelo Melhor. In a palace coup organized by the King's wife, Maria Francisca of Savoy, and his brother, Peter II of Portugal, Pedro, Duke of Beja, King Afonso VI was declared mentally incompetent and exiled first to the Azores and then to the Sintra National Palace, Royal Palace of Sintra, outside Lisbon. After Afonso's death, Pedro came to the throne as King Pedro II. Pedro's reign saw the consolidation of national independence, imperial expansion, and investment in domestic production. Pedro II's son, John V of Portugal, John V, saw a reign characterized by the influx of gold into the coffers of the royal treasury, supplied largely by the royal fifth (a tax on precious metals) that was received from the Portuguese empire, Portuguese colonies of State of Brazil, Brazil and State of Maranhão (colonial), Maranhão. Disregarding traditional Portuguese institutions of governance, John V acted as an absolute monarch, nearly depleting the country's tax revenues on ambitious architectural works, most notably Mafra National Palace, Mafra Palace, and on commissions and additions for his sizeable art and literary collections. Owing to his craving for international diplomatic recognition, John also spent large sums on the embassies he sent to the courts of Europe, the most famous being those he sent to Paris in 1715 and Rome in 1716. Official estimates – and most estimates made so far – place the number of Portuguese migrants to Colonial Brazil during the gold rush of the 18th century at 600,000. This represented one of the largest movements of European populations to their colonies in the Americas during colonial times.Pombaline era and Enlightenment
In 1738, ''fidalgo'' Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo (later ennobled as the 1st Marquis of Pombal (title), Marquis of Pombal) began a diplomatic career as the Portuguese Ambassador in London and later in Vienna. The Queen consort of Portugal, Maria Anna of Austria, Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria, was fond of Carvalho e Melo; and after his first wife died, she arranged the widowed Carvalho e Melo's second marriage to the daughter of the Austrian field marshal Leopold Josef, Count von Daun. King John V of Portugal, John V, however, was not pleased and recalled Carvalho e Melo to Portugal in 1749. John V died the following year and his son, Joseph I of Portugal, Joseph I, was crowned. In contrast to his father, Joseph I was fond of Carvalho e Melo, and with the Queen Mother's approval, he appointed Carvalho e Melo as political minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs. As the King's confidence in Carvalho e Melo increased, the King entrusted him with more control of the state. By 1755, Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo was made Prime Minister. Impressed by British economic success that he had witnessed from his time as an Ambassador, he successfully implemented similar Economic system, economic policies in Portugal. He Slavery in Portugal#Banning, abolished slavery in mainland Portugal and in the Portuguese colonies in India, reorganized the army and the navy, restructured the University of Coimbra, and ended legal discrimination against different Christianity, Christian sects in Portugal by abolishing the distinction between Old Christian, Old and New Christians. Carvalho e Melo's greatest reforms were economic and financial, with the creation of several companies and guilds to regulate every commercial activity. He created one of the first appellation, appellation systems in the world by demarcating the region for production of port wine, Port to ensure the wine's quality; and this was the first attempt to control wine quality and production in Europe. He ruled with a strong hand by imposing strict law upon all classes of Portuguese society from the high nobility to the poorest working class, along with a widespread review of the country's tax system. These reforms gained him enemies in the upper classes, especially among the high nobility, who despised him as a social upstart. Disaster fell upon Portugal in the morning of 1 November 1755, when Lisbon was struck by 1755 Lisbon earthquake, a violent earthquake with an estimated Moment magnitude scale, moment magnitude of 8.5–9. The city was razed to the ground by the earthquake and the subsequent tsunami and ensuing fires. Carvalho e Melo survived by a stroke of luck and then immediately embarked on rebuilding the city, with his famous quote: "What now? We bury the dead and take care of the living." Despite the calamity and huge death toll, Lisbon suffered no epidemics and within less than one year was already being rebuilt. The new city centre of Lisbon was designed to resist subsequent earthquakes. Architectural models were built for tests, and the effects of an earthquake were simulated by having troops march around the models. The buildings and large squares of the Lisbon Baixa, Pombaline Downtown still remain as one of Lisbon's tourist attractions. Carvalho e Melo also made an important contribution to the study of seismology by designing a detailed inquiry on the effects of the earthquake, the Parochial Memories of 1758, that was sent to every parish in the country; this wealth of information allows modern scientists to reconstruct the event with some degree of scientific precision while also giving current historians an immense amount of Demography, demographic, Topography, topographic and Prosopography, prosopographic information on the rest of the kingdom as well as information on its urban and rural areas. Following the earthquake, Joseph I of Portugal, Joseph I gave his Prime Minister even more power, and Carvalho de Melo became a powerful, Enlightened absolutism, progressive dictator. As his power grew, his enemies increased in number, and bitter disputes with the upper nobility became frequent. In 1758 Joseph I was wounded in an attempted assassination. The Marquis of Távora, Távora family and the Dukes of Aveiro, Duke of Aveiro were implicated and Távora affair, summarily executed after a quick trial. The following year, the Society of Jesus, Jesuits were Suppression of the Society of Jesus, suppressed and expelled from the country and their assets confiscated by the crown. Carvalho e Melo spared none involved, even women and children (notably, eight-year-old Leonor de Almeida Portugal, Marquise of Alorna, Leonor de Almeida Portugal, imprisoned in a convent for nineteen years). This was the final stroke that crushed all opposition by publicly demonstrating even the aristocracy was powerless before the King's loyal minister. Joseph I ennobled Carvalho e Melo as Count of Oeiras, Portugal, Oeiras in 1759. In 1762, Spanish–Portuguese War, 1761–1763, Spain invaded Portuguese territory as part of the Seven Years' War, but by 1763 the ''status quo'' between Spain and Portugal before the war had been restored. Following the Távora affair, the new Count of Oeiras knew no opposition. Further titled "Marquês de Pombal" in 1770, he effectively ruled Portugal until Joseph I's death in 1777. The new ruler, Queen Maria I of Portugal, disliked the Marquês de Pombal because of the power he amassed, and never forgave him for the ruthlessness with which he dispatched the Távora family, and upon her accession to the throne, she withdrew all his political offices. The Marquês de Pombal was banished to his estate at Pombal, Portugal, Pombal, where he died in 1782. However, historians also argue that Pombal's "enlightenment," while far-reaching, was primarily a mechanism for enhancing autocracy at the expense of individual liberty and especially an apparatus for crushing opposition, suppressing criticism, and furthering colonial economic exploitation as well as intensifying book censorship and consolidating personal control and profit.Napoleonic era
With the invasions by Napoleon, Portugal began a slow but inexorable decline that lasted until the 20th century. This decline was hastened by the independence of Brazil, the country's largest colonial possession. In the autumn of 1807, Napoleon moved French troops through Spain to invade Portugal. From 1807 to 1811, British-Portuguese forces successfully fought against the French invasion of Portugal in the Peninsular War, during which the royal family and the Portuguese nobility, including Maria I, relocated to the Colonial Brazil, Portuguese territory of Brazil, at that time a colony of the Portuguese Empire, in South America. This episode is known as the Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil. In 1807, as Napoleon's army closed in on Lisbon, João VI of Portugal, the prince regent, transferred his court to Brazil and established Rio de Janeiro as the capital of the Portuguese Empire. In 1815, Brazil was declared a Kingdom and the Kingdom of Portugal was united with it, forming a pluricontinental state, the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. As a result of the change in its status and the arrival of the Portuguese royal family, Brazilian administrative, civic, Economic history of Brazil#The economy at independence, 1822, economical, military, History of education in Brazil, educational, and Brazilian science and technology#History, scientific apparatus were expanded and highly modernized. Portuguese and their allied British troops fought against the French Invasion of Portugal and by 1815 the situation in Europe had cooled down sufficiently that João VI would have been able to return safely to Lisbon. However, the King of Portugal remained in Brazil until the Liberal Revolution of 1820, which started in Porto, demanded his return to Lisbon in 1821. Thus he returned to Portugal but left his son Pedro I of Brazil, Pedro in charge of Brazil. When the Portuguese Government attempted the following year to return the Kingdom of Brazil to subordinate status, his son Pedro, with the overwhelming support of the Brazilian elites, declared War of Independence of Brazil, Brazil's independence from Portugal. Cisplatina (today's sovereign state of Uruguay), in the south, was one of the last additions to the territory of Brazil under Portuguese rule. Brazilian independence was recognized in 1825, whereby Emperor Pedro I granted to his father the titular honour of ''Emperor of Brazil''. John VI's death in 1826 caused serious questions in his succession. Though Pedro was his heir, and reigned briefly as Pedro IV, his status as a Brazilian monarch was seen as an impediment to holding the Portuguese throne by both nations. Pedro abdicated in favour of his daughter, Maria II of Portugal, Maria II (Mary II). However, Pedro's brother, Miguel I of Portugal, Infante Miguel, claimed the throne in protest. After a proposal for Miguel and Maria to marry failed, Miguel seized power as King Miguel I, in 1828. In order to defend his daughter's rights to the throne, Pedro launched the Portuguese Civil War, Liberal Wars to reinstall his daughter and establish a constitutional monarchy in Portugal. The war ended in 1834, with Miguel's defeat, the promulgation of a constitution, and the reinstatement of Queen Maria II.Constitutional monarchy
Queen Maria II (Mary II) and King Ferdinand II of Portugal, Ferdinand II's son, King Pedro V (Peter V) modernized the country during his short reign (1853–1861). Under his reign, roads, telegraphs, and railways were constructed and improvements in public health advanced. His popularity increased when, during the cholera outbreak of 1853–1856, he visited hospitals handing out gifts and comforting the sick. Pedro's reign was short, as he died of cholera in 1861, after a series of deaths in the royal family, including his two brothers Infante Fernando of Portugal, Infante Fernando and Infante João, Duke of Beja, and his wife, Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. Pedro not having children, his brother, Luís I of Portugal (Louis I) ascended the throne and continued his modernization. At the height of European colonialism in the 19th century, Portugal had already lost its territory in South America and all but a few bases in Asia. Luanda, Benguela, Bissau, Maputo, Lourenço Marques, Porto Amboim and the Island of Mozambique were among the oldest Portuguese-founded port cities in its African territories. During this phase, Portuguese colonialism focused on expanding its outposts in Africa into nation-sized territories to compete with other European powers there. With the Berlin Conference (1884), Conference of Berlin of 1884, Portuguese territories in Africa had their borders formally established on request of Portugal in order to protect the centuries-long Portuguese interests in the continent from rivalries enticed by the Scramble for Africa. Portuguese towns and cities in Africa like Nova Lisboa, Lubango, Sá da Bandeira, Kuito, Silva Porto, Malanje, Tete, Vila Junqueiro, Vila Pery and Vila Cabral were founded or redeveloped inland during this period and beyond. New coastal towns like Beira, Mozambique, Beira, Namibe, Moçâmedes, Lobito, João Belo, Nacala and Porto Amélia were also founded. Even before the turn of the 20th century, railway tracks as the Benguela railway in Angola, and the Beira railway in Mozambique, started to be built to link coastal areas and selected inland regions. Other episodes during this period of the Portuguese presence in Africa include the 1890 British Ultimatum. This forced the Portuguese military to retreat from the land between the Portuguese colonies of Portuguese Mozambique, Mozambique and Portuguese Angola, Angola (most of present-day Zimbabwe and Zambia), which had been claimed by Portugal and included in its "Pink Map", which clashed with British aspirations to create a Cape to Cairo Railway. The Portuguese territories in Africa were Portuguese Cape Verde, Cape Verde, Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe, São Tomé and Príncipe, Portuguese Guinea, Angola (Portugal), Angola, and Mozambique (Portugal), Mozambique. The tiny fortress of São João Baptista de Ajudá on the coast of Dahomey, was also under Portuguese rule. In addition, Portugal still ruled the Asian territories of Portuguese India, Portuguese Timor and Portuguese Macau. On 1 February 1908, King Dom Carlos I of Portugal and his heir apparent and his eldest son, Luis Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal, Prince Royal Dom Luís Filipe, Duke of Braganza, Lisbon Regicide, were assassinated in Lisbon in the Terreiro do Paço by two Portuguese republican activist revolutionaries, Alfredo Luís da Costa and Manuel Buíça. Under his rule, Portugal had been declared bankrupt twice – first on 14 June 1892, and then again on 10 May 1902 – causing social turmoil, economic disturbances, angry protests, revolts and criticism of the monarchy. His second and youngest son, Manuel II of Portugal, became the new king, but was eventually overthrown by the 5 October 1910 revolution, 5 October 1910 Portuguese republican revolution, which abolished the monarchy and installed a republican government in Portugal, causing him and his royal family to flee into exile in London, England.First Republic and Estado Novo
The new republic had many problems. Portugal had 45 different governments in just 15 years. During World War I, World War 1 (1914–1918), Portugal helped the Allies of World War I, Allies fight the Central Powers, however the war hurt its weak economy. Political instability and economic weaknesses were fertile ground for chaos and unrest during the First Portuguese Republic. These conditions would lead to the failed Monarchy of the North, 28 May 1926 coup d'état, and the creation of the National Dictatorship (''Ditadura Nacional''). This in turn led to the establishment of the right-wing dictatorship of the Estado Novo under António de Oliveira Salazar in 1933. Portugal remained neutral in World War II. From the 1940s to the 1960s, Portugal was a founding member of NATO, OECD and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Gradually, new economic development projects and relocation of mainland Portuguese citizens into the overseas provinces in Africa were initiated, with Portuguese Angola, Angola and Portuguese Mozambique, Mozambique, as the largest and richest overseas territories, being the main targets of those initiatives. These actions were used to affirm Portugal's status as a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental nation and not as a colonial empire. After India attained independence in 1947, pro-Indian residents of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, with the support of the Indian government and the help of pro-independence organizations, separated the territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli from Portuguese rule in 1954.P S Lele, Dadra and Nagar Haveli: past and present, Published by Usha P. Lele, 1987, In 1961, Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá's annexation by the Republic of Dahomey was the start of a process that led to the final dissolution of the centuries-old Portuguese Empire. According to the census of 1921 São João Baptista de Ajudá had five inhabitants and, at the moment of the ultimatum by the Dahomey Government, it had only two inhabitants representing Portuguese Sovereignty. Another forcible retreat from overseas territories occurred in December 1961 when Portugal refused to relinquish the territories of Goa, Daman and Diu in India. As a result, the Portuguese army and navy were involved in armed conflict in its colony of Portuguese India against the Indian Armed Forces. The Annexation of Goa, operations resulted in the defeat and surrender of the limited Portuguese defensive garrison, which was forced to surrender to a much larger military force. The outcome was the loss of the remaining Portuguese territories in the Indian subcontinent. The Portuguese regime refused to recognize Indian sovereignty over the annexed territories, which continued to be represented in Portugal's National Assembly until the military coup of 1974. Also in the early 1960s, independence movements in the Portuguese overseas provinces of Portuguese Angola, Angola, Portuguese Mozambique, Mozambique and Portuguese Guinea, Guinea in Africa, resulted in the Portuguese Colonial War (1961–1974). The war lasted 13 years, mobilized around 1,4 million men for military and/or civilian support service, and led to big casualties from military to civilians, plus evacuations of thousands from war zones. Throughout the colonial war period Portugal had to deal with increasing dissent, arms embargoes and other punitive sanctions imposed by most of the international community. However, the authoritarian and conservative Estado Novo regime, first installed and governed by António de Oliveira Salazar and from 1968 onwards led by Marcelo Caetano, tried to preserve a vast centuries-long intercontinental empire with a total area of .Carnation Revolution and European integration
The Portuguese government and army resisted the decolonization of its overseas territories until April 1974, when a left-wing military coup in Lisbon, known as the Carnation Revolution, led the way for the independence of the overseas territories in Africa and Asia, as well as for the restoration of democracy after two years of a transitional period known as PREC (''Processo Revolucionário Em Curso''). This period was characterized by social turmoil and power disputes between left- and right-wing political forces. By the summer of 1975, the tension between these was so high, that the country was on the verge of civil war. The forces connected to the extreme left-wing launched a further ''coup d'état'' on 25 November but the Group of Nine, a moderate military faction, immediately initiated a counter-coup. The main episode of this confrontation was the successful assault on the barracks of the left-wing dominated 2nd Lancers Regiment (Portugal), Military Police Regiment by the moderate forces of the Commando Regiment, resulting in three soldiers killed in action. The Group of Nine emerged victorious, thus preventing the establishment of a communist state in Portugal and ending the period of political instability in the country. The retreat from the overseas territories and the acceptance of its independence terms by Portuguese head representatives for overseas negotiations, which would create independent states in 1975, prompted a mass exodus of Portuguese citizens from Portugal's African territories (mostly from Portuguese Overseas Province of Angola, Angola and Overseas Province of Mozambique, Mozambique). Over one million White African#Portuguese in Africa, Portuguese refugees fled the former Portuguese provinces as white settlers were usually not considered part of the new identities of the former Portuguese colonies in Africa and Asia. Mário Soares and António de Almeida Santos were charged with organizing the independence of Portugal's overseas territories. By 1975, all the Portuguese African territories were independent and Portugal held 1975 Portuguese Constituent Assembly election, its first democratic elections in 50 years. Portugal continued to be governed by a Junta de Salvação Nacional until the 1976 Portuguese legislative election, Portuguese legislative election of 1976. It was won by the Socialist Party (Portugal), Portuguese Socialist Party (PS) and Mário Soares, its leader, became Prime Minister of the 1st Constitutional Government on 23 July. Mário Soares would be Prime Minister from 1976 to 1978 and again from 1983 to 1985. In this capacity Soares tried to resume the economic growth and development record that had been achieved before the Carnation Revolution, during the last decade of the previous regime. He initiated the process of accession to the European Economic Community (EEC) by starting accession negotiations as early as 1977. After the transition to democracy, Portugal bounced between socialism and adherence to the neoliberal model. Land reform and nationalizations were enforced; the Portuguese Constitution (approved in 1976) was rewritten in order to accommodate socialist and communist principles. Until the constitutional revisions of 1982 and 1989, the constitution was a document with numerous references to socialism, the rights of workers, and the desirability of a socialist economy. Portugal's economic situation after the revolution obliged the government to pursue International Monetary Fund (IMF)-monitored stabilization programmes in 1977–78 and 1983–85. In 1986, Portugal, along with Spain, joined the European Economic Community (EEC) that later became the European Union (EU). In the following years Portugal's economy progressed considerably as a result of EEC/EU structural and cohesion funds and Portuguese companies' easier access to foreign markets. Portugal's last overseas and Asian colonial territory, Macau, was peacefully handed over to the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) on 20 December 1999, under the 1987 joint declaration that set the terms for Macau's handover from Portugal to the PRC. In 2002, the independence of East Timor (Asia) was formally recognized by Portugal, after an incomplete decolonization process that was started in 1975 because of the Carnation Revolution, but interrupted by an Indonesian armed invasion and Indonesian occupation of East Timor, occupation. On 26 March 1995, Portugal started to implement Schengen Area rules, eliminating border controls with other Schengen members while simultaneously strengthening border controls with non-member states. In 1996 the country was a co-founder of theGeography
The territory of Portugal includes an area on the Iberian Peninsula (referred to as ''the continent'' by most Portuguese) and two archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean: the archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores. It lies between latitudes 30th parallel north, 30° and 42nd parallel north, 42° N, and longitudes 32nd meridian west, 32° and 6th meridian west, 6° W. Continental Portugal, Mainland Portugal is split by its main river, the Tagus, that flows from Spain and disgorges in the Tagus Estuary Natural Reserve, Tagus Estuary, in Lisbon, before escaping into the Atlantic. The northern landscape is mountainous towards the interior with several plateaus indented by river valleys, whereas the south, including the Algarve and the Alentejo regions, is characterized by rolling plains. Portugal's highest peak is the similarly named Mount Pico on the island of Pico Island, Pico in the Azores. This ancient volcano, with a height of is an iconic symbol of the Azores, while the Serra da Estrela on the mainland (the summit being above sea level) is an important seasonal attraction for skiers and winter sports enthusiasts. The archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores are scattered within the Atlantic Ocean: the Azores straddling the Mid-Atlantic Ridge on a tectonic triple junction, and Madeira along a range formed by plate tectonics, in-plate hotspot (geology), hotspot geology. Geologically, these islands were formed by volcanic and seismic events. The last terrestrial volcanic eruption occurred in 1957–58 (Capelinhos) and minor earthquakes occur sporadically, usually of low intensity. Exclusive economic zone of Portugal, Portugal's exclusive economic zone, a sea zone over which the Portuguese have special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources, has . This is the 3rd largest exclusive economic zone of the European Union and the 20th largest in the world.Climate
Portugal is mainly characterized by a Mediterranean climate (''Csa'' in the South, central interior, and theBiodiversity
Portugal is located on the Mediterranean Basin, the third most diverse hotspot of flora in the world. Due to its geographical and climatic context - between the Atlantic and Mediterranean - Portugal has a high level of biodiversity on land and at sea. It is home to six terrestrial ecoregions: Azores temperate mixed forests, Cantabrian mixed forests, Madeira evergreen forests, Iberian sclerophyllous and semi-deciduous forests, Northwest Iberian montane forests, and Southwest Iberian Mediterranean sclerophyllous and mixed forests. Over 22% of its land area is included in the Natura 2000 network, including 62 special conservation areas and 88 types of protected landscape natural habitats. Eucalyptus (non-native, commercial plantations), cork oak and maritime pine together make up 71% of the total forested area of continental Portugal, followed by the Quercus rotundifolia, holm oak, the stone pine, the other oak trees (''Q. robur'', ''Quercus faginea, Q. faginea'' and ''Quercus pyrenaica, Q. pyrenaica'') and the sweet chestnut, respectively. In Madeira, laurisilva (recognized as a World Heritage Site) dominates the landscape, especially on the northern slope. The predominant species in this forest include ''Laurus novocanariensis'', ''Apollonias barbujana'', ''Ocotea foetens'' and ''Persea indica''. Before human occupation the Azores were also rich in dense laurisilva forests, today these native forests are undermined by the introduced ''Pittosporum undulatum'' and ''Cryptomeria japonica''. There have been several projects aimed to recover the Laurisilva present in the Azores. Remnants of these laurisilva forests are also present in continental Portugal with its few living testimonies ''Laurus nobilis'', ''Prunus lusitanica'', ''Arbutus unedo'', ''Myrica faya'' and ''Rhododendron ponticum''. These geographical and climatic conditions facilitate the introduction of exotic species that later turn to be invasive and destructive to the native habitats. Around 20% of the total number of extant species in continental Portugal are Introduced species, exotic. In Madeira, around 36% and in the Azores, around 70% species are exotic. Due to this, Portugal was placed 168th globally out of 172 countries on the Forest Landscape Integrity Index in 2019. Portugal is the second country in Europe with the highest number of threatened animal and plant species (488 as of 2020). Portugal as a whole is an important stopover for migratory bird species: the southern marshes of the eastern Algarve (Ria Formosa, Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António Marsh Natural Reserve, Castro Marim) and the Lisbon Region (Tagus Estuary Natural Reserve, Tagus Estuary, Sado Estuary Natural Reserve, Sado Estuary) hosting various aquatic bird species, the Bonelli's eagle and Egyptian vulture on the northern valleys of the Douro International Natural Park, Douro International, the black stork and griffon vulture on the Tagus International Natural Park, Tagus International, the seabird sanctuaries of the Savage Islands and Berlengas and the highlands of Madeira Island, Madeira and São Miguel Island, São Miguel all represent the great diversity of wild avian species (around 450 in continental Portugal), not only migratory but also endemic (e.g. trocaz pigeon, Azores bullfinch) or exotic (crested myna, pin-tailed whydah). The large mammalian species of Portugal (the European fallow deer, fallow deer, red deer, roe deer, Iberian ibex, wild boar, red fox, Iberian wolf and Iberian lynx) were once widespread throughout the country, but intense hunting, habitat degradation and growing pressure from agriculture and livestock reduced population numbers on a large scale in the 19th and early 20th century, others, such as the Portuguese ibex were even led to extinction. Today, these animals are re-expanding their native range. Smaller mammals include the red squirrel, European badger, Eurasian otter, Egyptian mongoose, Granada hare, European rabbit, common genet, European wildcat, among others. Due to their isolated location, the volcanic islands of the Azores, Madeira and Salvages, part of Macaronesia, have many endemic species that have evolved independently from their European, African and occasionally American relatives. The Portuguese west coast is part of the four major Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems of the ocean. This seasonal upwelling system typically seen during the summer months brings cooler, nutrient rich water up to the sea surface promoting phytoplankton growth, zooplankton development and the subsequent rich diversity in pelagic fish and other marine invertebrates. This, adding to its large Exclusive economic zone of Portugal, EEZ makes Portugal one of the largest per capita fish-consumers in the world. Sardines (''Sardina pilchardus'') and horse mackerel (''Trachurus trachurus'') are collected in the thousands every year. while blue whiting, monkfish, Atlantic cod, cephalopods, Skate (fish), skates or any other form of seafood are Artisanal fishing, traditionally fished in the local coastal villages. This upwelling also allows Portugal to have kelp forests which are otherwise very uncommon or non-existent on the Mediterranean. 73% of the freshwater fish occurring in the Iberian Peninsula are endemic, the largest out of any region in Europe. Many of these endemic species are concentrated in bodies of water of the central western region (Achondrostoma occidentale, one exclusively endemic), these and other bodies of water throughout the Peninsula are mostly temporary and prone to drought every year, placing most of these species under Threatened status. Around 24 to 28 species of cetacean roam through the Azores, making it one of four places in the world where most species of this infraorder occur. Starting in the mid-19th century and ceasing in 1984, whaling (especially of sperm whale) heavily exploited this diversity. Beginning in the early 90s, whale watching quickly grew to popularity and is now one of the main economic activities in the Portuguese archipelago. Some Protected areas of Portugal, protected areas in Portugal other than the ones previously mentioned include: the Serras de Aire e Candeeiros Natural Park, Serras de Aire e Candeeiros with its limestone formations, paleontological history and great diversity in bats and orchids, the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park with its well preserved, wild coastline. the Montesinho Natural Park which hosts some of the only populations of Iberian wolf and recent sightings of Iberian brown bear, which had been considered extinct in the country; among other species.Government and politics
Portugal has been a Semi-presidential system, semi-presidential Representative democracy, representative democratic republic since the ratification of the Portuguese Constitution of 1976, Constitution of 1976, with Lisbon, the nation's largest city, as its capital. The Constitution grants the division or separation of powers among four bodies referred as "organs of Sovereignty": the President of Portugal, President of the Republic, the Government of Portugal, Government, the Portuguese parliament, Assembly of the Republic and the Judiciary of Portugal, Courts. The President, who is elected to a five-year term, has an executive role: the current President is Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. The Assembly of the Republic is a single chamber parliament composed of a maximum of 230 deputies elected for a four-year term. The Government is headed by the List of Prime Ministers of Portugal, Prime Minister (currently António Costa) and includes Ministers and Secretaries of State. The Courts are organized into several levels, among the judicial, administrative and fiscal branches. The Portuguese Supreme Court, Supreme Courts are institutions of last resort/appeal. A thirteen-member Portuguese Constitutional Court, Constitutional Court oversees the constitutionality of the laws. Portugal operates a multi-party system of competitive legislatures/local administrative governments at the national, regional and local levels. The Assembly of the Republic, Regional Assemblies and local municipalities and parishes, are dominated by two political parties, the Socialist Party (Portugal), Socialist Party and the Social Democratic Party (Portugal), Social Democratic Party, in addition to the Unitary Democratic Coalition (Portuguese Communist Party and Ecologist Party "The Greens"), the Left Bloc (Portugal), Left Bloc and the Democratic and Social Centre – People's Party, which garner between 5 and 15% of the vote regularly.Presidency of the Republic
The Head of State of Portugal is the President of Portugal, President of the Republic, elected to a five-year term by direct, universal suffrage. Presidential powers include the appointment of the Prime Minister and the other members of the Government (where the President takes into account the results of legislative elections); dismissing the Prime Minister; dissolving the Assembly of the Republic (to call early elections); vetoing legislation (which may be overridden by the Assembly); and declaring a state of war or siege. The President has also supervisory and reserve powers and is the ''ex officio'' Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The President is advised on issues of importance by the Portuguese Council of State, Council of State, which is composed of six senior civilian officers, any former Presidents elected under the 1976 Constitution, five members chosen by the Assembly, and five selected by the president.Government
The Government is headed by the presidentially appointed Prime Minister of Portugal, Prime Minister, also including one or more Deputy Prime Ministers, Ministers, Secretaries of State and Under-Secretaries of State. The Government is both the organ of sovereignty that conducts the general politics of the country and the superior body of the public administration. It has essentially Executive powers, but has also limited legislative powers. The Government can legislate about its own organization, about areas covered by legislative authorizations conceded by the Assembly of the Republic and about the specific regulation of generalist laws issued by the Assembly. The Council of Ministers (Portugal), Council of Ministers – under the presidency of the Prime Minister (or the President of Portugal at the latter's request) and the Ministers (may also include one or more Deputy Prime Ministers) – acts as the Cabinet (government), cabinet. Each government is required to define the broad outline of its policies in a programme, and present it to the Assembly for a mandatory period of debate. The failure of the Assembly to reject the government programme by an absolute majority of deputies confirms the cabinet in office.Parliament
The Assembly of the Republic (Portugal), Assembly of the Republic, in Lisbon, is the national parliament of Portugal. It is the main legislative body, although the Government also has limited legislative powers. The Assembly of the Republic is a unicameral body composed of up to 230 deputies. Elected by universal suffrage according to a system of Closed list, closed party-list proportional representation, deputies serve four-year terms of office, unless the President dissolves the Assembly and calls for new elections. Currently the Government (Socialist Party (Portugal), PS) has an absolute majority of seats in Parliament. The Social Democratic Party (Portugal), PSD is the main opposition party, alongside Chega (political party), Chega, Liberal Initiative (Portugal), Liberal Initiative, Left Bloc (Portugal), BE, Portuguese Communist Party, PCP, People–Animals–Nature, PAN and LIVRE, Livre.Foreign relations
A member state of theMilitary
The armed forces have three branches: Portuguese Navy, Navy, Portuguese Army, Army and Portuguese Air Force, Air Force. They serve primarily as a self-defence force whose mission is to protect the territorial integrity of the country and provide humanitarian assistance and security at home and abroad. , the three branches numbered 39,200 active personnel including 7,500 women. List of countries by military expenditures, Portuguese military expenditure in 2009 was 5 billion US$, representing 2.1 per cent of GDP. Military conscription was abolished in 2004. The minimum age for voluntary recruitment is 18 years. The Army (21,000 personnel) comprises three brigades and other small units. An Portuguese Intervention Brigade, infantry brigade (mainly equipped with Pandur II Armoured personnel carrier, APC), a Portuguese Mechanized Brigade, mechanized brigade (mainly equipped with Leopard 2, Leopard 2 A6 tanks and M113 APC) and a Portuguese Rapid Reaction Brigade, Rapid Reaction Brigade (consisting of Paratroopers' Regiment, paratroopers, Portuguese Army Commandos, commandos and rangers). The Navy (10,700 personnel, of which 1,580 are Portuguese Marines, marines), the world's oldest surviving naval force, has five frigates, seven corvettes, two submarines, and 28 patrol and auxiliary vessels. The Air Force (7,500 personnel) has the Lockheed F-16 Fighting Falcon as the main combat aircraft. In addition to the three branches of the armed forces, there is the National Republican Guard (Portugal), National Republican Guard, a security force subject to military law and organization (gendarmerie) comprising 25,000 personnel. This force is under the authority of both the Defence and the Interior Ministry. It has provided detachments for participation in international operations in Iraq and East Timor. The United States maintains a military presence with 770 troops in the Lajes Air Base at Terceira Island, in the Azores. The Allied Joint Force Command Lisbon (JFC Lisbon) – one of the three main subdivisions of NATO's Allied Command Operations – it is based in Oeiras Municipality, Portugal, Oeiras, near Lisbon. In the 20th century, Portugal engaged in two major conflicts: Portugal in the Great War, World War I and the Portuguese Colonial War (1961–1974). After the end of the Portuguese Empire in 1975, the Portuguese Armed Forces have participated in peacekeeping missions in East Timor, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq (Nasiriyah), Lebanon, Mali and Central African Republic. Portugal also conducted several independent unilateral military operations abroad, as were the cases of the interventions of the Portuguese Armed Forces in Angola in 1992 and in Guinea-Bissau in 1998 with the main objectives of protecting and withdrawing of Portuguese and foreign citizens threatened by local civil conflicts.Law
The Portuguese legal system is part of the civil law legal system, also called the continental family legal system. The main laws include the Constitution (1976, as amended), the Portuguese Civil Code (1966, as amended) and the Penal Code of Portugal (1982, as amended). Other relevant laws are the ''Commercial Code'' (1888, as amended) and the ''Civil Procedure Code'' (1961, as amended). The supreme national courts are the Supreme Court of Justice (Portugal), Supreme Court of Justice and the Constitutional Court of Portugal, Constitutional Court. The Public Prosecution Service (Portugal), Public Ministry, headed by the Attorney General of the Republic, constitutes the independent body of public prosecutors. Portuguese laws were applied in the former Portuguese colonies, colonies and territories and continue to be major influences for those countries. Portugal was the first country in the world to abolish life imprisonment (in 1884) and was one of the first countries to Capital punishment in Portugal, abolish the death penalty. Maximum prison sentences are limited to 25 years. Portugal is also known for having decriminalized the usage of all common drugs in 2001, the first country in the world to do so. Portugal decriminalized possession of effectively all drugs that are still illegal in other developed nations including cannabis, cocaine, heroin, and LSD. While possession is legal, trafficking and possession of more than "10 days worth of personal use" are still punishable by jail time and fines. People caught with small amounts of any drug are given the choice to go to a rehab facility, and may refuse treatment without consequences. Despite criticism from other European nations, who stated Portugal's drug consumption would tremendously increase, overall drug use has declined along with the number of HIV infection cases, which had dropped 50 percent by 2009. Drug use among 16- to 18-year-olds also declined, however the use of marijuana rose only slightly among that age group. LGBT rights in Portugal, LGBTI rights have increased substantially in the past years. On 27 August 2003, Portugal added the anti-discrimination employment law on the basis of sexual orientation. At 24 July 2004, sexual orientation was added to the Constitution as part of the protected from discrimination characteristics. On 31 May 2010, Portugal became the sixth country in Europe and the eighth country in the world to legally recognize same-sex marriage in Portugal, same-sex marriage at the national level. The law came into force on 5 June 2010. LGBT adoption, Same-sex adoption has been allowed since 1 March 2016 as is female same-sex couple access to medically assisted reproduction since 13 May 2016. This bill was adopted by the Parliament and signed by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. As of January 2017 the New ''Law of Gender Identity'', simplified the legal process of gender and name change for transgender people, making it easier for minors to change their sex marker in legal documents. At August 2018, the right to gender identity and gender expression self-determination became protected, intersex minors became protected by law from unnecessary Intersex medical interventions, medical procedures "until the minor gender identity manifests" and the right of protection from discrimination on the basis of Sex characteristics (legal term), sex characteristics also became protected by the same law.Law enforcement
Portugal's main police organizations are the ''Guarda Nacional Republicana – GNR'' (National Republican Guard (Portugal), National Republican Guard), a gendarmerie; the ''Polícia de Segurança Pública – PSP'' (Public Security Police), a civilian police force who work in urban areas; and the ''Polícia Judiciária – PJ'' (Judicial Police), a highly specialized criminal investigation police that is overseen by the Public Ministry.Correctional services
Portugal has 49 correctional facilities in total run by the Ministry of Justice. They include seventeen central prisons, four special prisons, twenty-seven regional prisons, and one 'Cadeia de Apoio' (Support Detention Centre). , their current prison population is about 11,234 inmates, which comes to about 0.11% of their entire population. Their incarceration rate has been on the rise since 2010, with a 15% increase over the past eight years.Administrative divisions
Administratively, Portugal is divided into 308 municipalities of Portugal, municipalities ( pt, municípios or concelhos), which after a reform in 2013 Portuguese local election, 2013 are subdivided into 3,092 civil parishes ( pt, freguesia). Operationally, the municipality and civil parish, along with the national government, are the only legally local administrative units identified by the government of Portugal (for example, cities, towns or villages have no standing in law, although may be used as catchment for the defining services). For statistical purposes the Portuguese government also identifies Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS), inter-municipal communities and informally, the district system, used until European integration (and being phased-out by the national government). Continental Portugal is agglomerated into 18 districts, while the archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are governed as autonomous area, autonomous regions; the largest units, established since 1976, are either mainland Portugal ( pt, Portugal Continental) and the autonomous regions of Portugal ( Azores and Madeira). The 18 districts of mainland Portugal are: Aveiro District, Aveiro, Beja District, Beja, Braga District, Braga, Bragança District, Bragança, Castelo Branco District, Castelo Branco, Coimbra District, Coimbra, Évora District, Évora, Faro District, Faro, Guarda District, Guarda, Leiria District, Leiria, Lisbon District, Lisbon, Portalegre District, Portalegre, Porto District, Porto, Santarém District, Santarém, Setúbal District, Setúbal, Viana do Castelo District, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real District, Vila Real and Viseu District, Viseu – each district takes the name of the district capital. Within the European Union NUTS system, Portugal is divided into seven regions: the Azores, Alentejo, Algarve, Centro, Portugal, Centro, Lisboa Region, Lisboa, Madeira and Norte, Portugal, Norte, and with the exception of the Azores and Madeira, NUTS areas are subdivided into 28 subregions.Government finance
The Portuguese government is heavily indebted, and received a 78-billion-euro bailout from theEconomy
Portugal is a developed country, developed and a high income countries, high-income country, with a GDP per capita of 74% of the EU27 average in 2021 (a decrease from 76% in 2012) and a List of countries by Human Development Index, HDI of 0.866 (the 38th highest) in 2021. By the end of 2021, Portugal's GDP (PPP) was $36,381 per capita, according to OECD's report. The national currency of Portugal is the euro (€), which replaced the Portuguese Escudo in 2002, and the country was one of the original member states of the eurozone. Portugal's central bank is the ''Banco de Portugal'', an integral part of the European System of Central Banks. Most industries, businesses and financial institutions are concentrated in the Lisbon metropolitan area, Lisbon and Greater Metropolitan Area of Porto, Porto metropolitan areas – the Setúbal District, Setúbal, Aveiro District, Aveiro, Braga District, Braga, Coimbra District, Coimbra, Leiria District, Leiria and Faro District, Faro districts are the biggest economic centres outside these two main areas. According to World Travel Awards, Portugal was Europe's Leading Golf Destination in 2012 and 2013. Since the Carnation Revolution of 1974, which culminated in the end of one of Portugal's most notable Economic history of Portugal, phases of economic expansion (that started in the 1960s), a significant change has occurred in the nation's annual economic growth. After the turmoil of the 1974 revolution and the Processo Revolucionário Em Curso, PREC period, Portugal tried to adapt to a changing Globalization, modern global economy, a process that continues in 2013. Since the 1990s, Portugal's consumption (economics), public consumption-based economic development model has been slowly changing to a system that is focused on exports, private investment (macroeconomics), investment and the development of the high-tech sector. Consequently, business services have overtaken more traditional industries such as textiles, clothing, footwear and cork (material), cork (Portugal is the world's leading cork producer), wood products and beverages. In the second decade of the 21st century, the Portuguese economy suffered its most severe recession since the 1970s, resulting in the country having to be bailed out by the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). The bailout, agreed to in 2011, required Portugal and the IMF, Portugal to enter into a range of austerity measures in exchange for funding support of €78,000,000,000. In May 2014, the country exited the bailout but reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining its reformist momentum. At the time of exiting the bailout, the economy had contracted by 0.7% in the first quarter of 2014; however, unemployment, while still high, had fallen to 15.3%. The average salary in Portugal is €1,039 per month, excluding self-employed individuals and the minimum wage, which is regulated by law, is €705 per month (paid 14 times per annum) as of 2022. The Global Competitiveness Report for 2019, published by the World Economic Forum, placed Portugal on the 34th position on the economic index. The Economist Intelligence Unit's quality of life index placed Portugal as the country with the 19th-best quality of life in the world for 2005, ahead of other economically and technologically advanced countries like France, Germany, the United Kingdom and South Korea, but nine places behind its sole neighbour, Spain. This is despite the fact that Portugal remains as one of the countries with the lowest per capita GDP in Western Europe. Major Government-owned corporation, state-owned companies include: Águas de Portugal (water), Caixa Geral de Depósitos (banking), Comboios de Portugal (railways), Companhia das Lezírias (agriculture) and Rádio e Televisão de Portugal, RTP (media). Some former state-owned entities are managed by state-run holding company Parpública, which is a shareholder of several public and private companies. Among former state-owned companies recently privatized are: CTT Correios de Portugal, S.A., CTT (postal service) and ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, ANA (airports). Companies listed on Euronext Lisbon stock exchange like Energias de Portugal, EDP, Galp Energia, Galp, Jerónimo Martins, Mota-Engil, Novabase, Semapa, Portucel Soporcel, Portugal Telecom and Sonae, are amongst the largest corporations of Portugal by number of employees, net income or international market share. The Euronext Lisbon is the major stock exchange of Portugal and is part of the NYSE Euronext, the first global stock exchange. The PSI-20 is Portugal's most selective and widely known stock index. The International Monetary Fund issued an update report on the economy of Portugal in late-June 2017 with a strong near-term outlook and an increase in investments and exports over previous years. Because of a surplus in 2016, the country was no longer bound by the Excessive Deficit Procedure which had been implemented during an earlier financial crisis. The banking system was more stable, although there were still non-performing loans and corporate debt. The IMF recommended working on solving these problems for Portugal to be able to attract more private investment. "Sustained strong growth, together with continued public debt reduction, would reduce vulnerabilities arising from high indebtedness, particularly when monetary accommodation is reduced." The OECD economic reports since 2018 show recovery, albeit slow; and Portugal's growth prospects continue positive for 2020.Primary sector
Agriculture in Portugal is based on small to medium-sized family-owned dispersed units. However, the sector also includes larger scale intensive farming export-oriented agrobusinesses backed by companies (like Grupo RAR's Vitacress, Sovena, Lactogal, Vale da Rosa, Companhia das Lezírias and Valouro). The country produces a wide variety of crops and livestock products, including: tomatoes, citrus, green vegetables, rice, wheat, barley, maize, olives, oilseeds, Nut (fruit), nuts, Cherry, cherries, bilberry, table grapes, edible mushrooms, dairy products, poultry and beef. According to FAO, Portugal is the top producer of Cork (material), cork and carob in the world, accounting to about 50% and 30% of world production, respectively. It is also the third largest exporter of chestnuts and the third largest European producer of Pulp (paper), pulp. Portugal is among the top ten largest olive oil producers in the world and is the fourth largest exporter. The country is also one of the world's largest exporters of wine, being reputed for its fine wines. Forestry has also played an important economic role among the rural communities and industry (namely paper industry that includes Portucel Soporcel Group, engineered wood that includes Sonae Indústria, and furniture that includes several manufacturing plants in and around Paços de Ferreira, the core of Portugal's major industrial operations of IKEA). In 2001, the gross agricultural product accounted for 4% of the national GDP. Traditionally a sea power, Portugal has had a strong tradition in Fishing in Portugal, the Portuguese fishing sector and is one of the countries with the highest fish consumption per capita. The main landing sites in Portugal (including Azores and Madeira), according to total landings in weight by year, are the harbours of Matosinhos, Peniche, Portugal, Peniche, Olhão, Sesimbra, Figueira da Foz, Sines, Portugal, Sines, Portimão and Madeira. Portuguese-processed fish products are exported through several companies, under a number of different brands and registered trademarks, such as Conservas Ramirez, Ramirez, the world's oldest active canned fish producer. Portugal is a significant European minerals producer and is ranked among Europe's leading copper producers. The nation is also a notable producer of tin, tungsten and uranium. However, the country lacks the potential to conduct hydrocarbon exploration and aluminium, a limitation that has hindered the development of Portugal's Mining in Portugal, mining and metallurgy sectors. Although the country has vast iron and coal reserves – mainly in the north – after the 1974 revolution and the consequent economic globalization, low competitiveness forced a decrease in the extraction activity for these minerals. The Panasqueira and Neves-Corvo mines are among the most recognized Portuguese mines that are still in operation. Portugal is rich in its lithium subsoil, which is especially concentrated in the districts of Guarda District, Guarda, Viseu, Vila Real and Viana do Castelo, while most of the country's lithium comes from the Gonçalo aplite-pegmatite field. The largest lithium mine in Europe is operated by Grupo Mota, Felmica, in the Guarda region, which is estimated to have reserves for 30 years of production. It has five more deposits in its possession. Savannah Resources in May 2018 announced a 52% increase in the estimated lithium resources at the Mina do Barroso Lithium Project in northern Portugal, saying the country could become the first European supplier of spodumene, a lithium-bearing mineral. The company said the estimated mineral resources at the mine now stood at 14 million tonnes. Lithium prices have risen in expectation of growing demand for the mineral, which is used in batteries for electric vehicles and for storing electricity from the power grid. Europe consumes more than 20 per cent of the global supply of battery-grade lithium but currently has to import all its supplies of the mineral. W Resources stated in 2018 that it had started a new drilling campaign at its São Martinho gold project in Portugal. The so-called reverse circulation drilling programme included 15 holes with around of total drilling. The objective is to extend resources by integrating the data from 2016 drilling results with the expansion expected with the ongoing campaign.Secondary sector
Industry is diversified, ranging from Automotive industry, automotive (Volkswagen Autoeuropa and Peugeot Citroën) and bicycles, aerospace industry, aerospace (Embraer and OGMA), electronics industry, electronics and textile industry, textiles, to food industry, food, chemical industry, chemicals, cement and wood pulp. Volkswagen Group's AutoEuropa motor vehicle assembly plant in Palmela is among the largest foreign direct investment projects in Portugal. Modern non-traditional technology-based industries, such as aerospace, biotechnology and information technology, have been developed in several locations across the country. Alverca, Évora and Ponte de Sor are the main centres of the Portuguese aerospace industry, which is led by Brazil-based company Embraer and the Portuguese company OGMA. Following the turn of the 21st century, many major biotechnology and information technology industries have been founded, and are concentrated in the metropolitan areas of Lisbon metropolitan area, Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto,Tertiary sector
The banking and insurance sectors performed well until the financial crisis of 2007–2008, and this partly reflected a rapid deepening of the market in Portugal. While sensitive to various types of market and underwriting risks, it has been estimated that overall both the life and non-life sectors will be able to withstand a number of severe shocks, even though the impact on individual insurers varies widely. Travel and Tourism in Portugal, tourism continue to be extremely important for Portugal. It has been necessary for the country to focus upon its niche attractions, such as health, nature and rural tourism, to stay ahead of its competitors. Portugal is among the top 20 most-visited countries in the world, receiving an average of 20,000,000 foreign tourists each year. In 2014, Portugal was elected ''The Best European Country'' by USA Today. In 2017, Portugal was elected both ''Europe's Leading Destination'' and in 2018 and 2019, ''World's Leading Destination'' Tourist hotspots in Portugal are: Lisbon, Cascais, Fátima, Portugal, Fatima, Algarve, Madeira, Porto and Coimbra. Lisbon attracts the sixteenth-most tourists among European cities (with seven million tourists occupying the city's hotels in 2006). Notable luxury destinations include the Portuguese Riviera and the Comporta, Comporta Coast. Also, between 5–6 million religious pilgrims visit Fátima, Portugal, Fatima each year, where apparitions of the Virgin Mary to three shepherd children allegedly took place in 1917. The Sanctuary of Fátima, Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima is one of the largest Roman Catholic shrines in the world. The Portuguese government continues to promote and develop new tourist destinations, such as the Douro, Douro Valley, the island of Porto Santo Island, Porto Santo, and Alentejo. The legend of the Rooster of Barcelos tells the story of a dead rooster's miraculous intervention in proving the innocence of a man who had been falsely accused and sentenced to death. The story is associated with the 17th-century Calvary (sculpture), calvary that is part of the collection of the Archaeological Museum located in Paço dos Condes, a gothic-style palace in Barcelos, Portugal, Barcelos, a city in northwest Portugal. The Rooster of Barcelos is bought by thousands of tourists as a national souvenir. On 30 November 2016, the United Nations added the Portuguese tradition of making black pottery to the UNESCO Heritage Protection List. On 7 December 2017, theQuaternary sector
Scientific and technological research activities in Portugal are mainly conducted within a network of R&D units belonging to list of universities in Portugal, public universities and state-managed autonomous research institutions like the Instituto Nacional de Engenharia, Tecnologia e Inovação, INETI – Instituto Nacional de Engenharia, Tecnologia e Inovação and the Instituto Nacional dos Recursos Biológicos, INRB – Instituto Nacional dos Recursos Biológicos. The funding and management of this research system is mainly conducted under the authority of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education (MCTES) and the MCTES's Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT). The largest R&D units of the public universities by volume of research grants and peer-reviewed publications, include biosciences research institutions like the Instituto de Medicina Molecular, the Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, the IPATIMUP, the Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular and the Abel Salazar Biomedical Sciences Institute. Among the largest non-state-run research institutions in Portugal are the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência and the Champalimaud Foundation, a neuroscience and oncology research centre which awards every year 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, founded in 1779. Iberian peninsula, Iberian bilateral state-supported research efforts include the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory and the Ibercivis distributed computing platform, which are joint research programmes of both Portugal and Spain. Portugal is a member of several pan-European scientific organizations. These include the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), ITER, and the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Portugal has the largest aquarium in Europe, the Lisbon Oceanarium, and the Portuguese have several other notable organizations focused on science-related exhibits and divulgation, like the state agency ''Ciência Viva'', a programme of the Portuguese Ministry of Science and Technology to the promotion of a scientific and technological culture among the Portuguese population, the Science Museum of the University of Coimbra, the List of natural history museums#Portugal, National Museum of Natural History at the University of Lisbon, and the Visionarium (Portugal), Visionarium. With the emergence and growth of several science parks throughout the world that helped create many thousands of scientific, technological and knowledge-based businesses, Portugal started to develop several science parks across the country. These include the Taguspark (in Oeiras Municipality, Portugal, Oeiras), the Coimbra iParque (in Coimbra), the biocant (in Cantanhede Municipality, Cantanhede), the Madeira Tecnopolo (in Funchal), Sines Tecnopolo (in Sines, Portugal, Sines), Tecmaia (in Maia Municipality, Maia) and Parkurbis (in Covilhã). Companies locate in the Portuguese science parks to take advantage of a variety of services ranging from financial and legal advice through to marketing and technological support. Egas Moniz, a Portuguese physician who developed the cerebral angiography and leucotomy, received in 1949 the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine – he is the first Portuguese recipient of a Nobel Prize and the only in the sciences. The European Innovation Scoreboard 2011, placed Portugal-based innovation in the 15th position, with an impressive increase in innovation expenditure and output. Portugal was ranked 31st in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, up from 32nd in 2019.Transport
By the early-1970s, Portugal's Economic history of Portugal, fast economic growth with increasing mass consumption, consumption and purchase of new automobiles set the priority for improvements in transportation. Again in the 1990s, after joining the European Economic Community, the country built many new motorways. Today, the country has a road network, of which almost are part of system of 44 motorways. Opened in 1944, the first motorway (which linked Lisbon to the National Stadium) was an innovative project that made Portugal one of the first countries in the world to establish a motorway (this roadway eventually became the Lisbon-Cascais highway, or A5). Although a few other tracts were created (around 1960 and 1970), it was only after the beginning of the 1980s that large-scale motorway construction was implemented. In 1972, BRISA Auto-estradas de Portugal S.A., Brisa, the highway concessionaire, was founded to handle the management of many of the region's motorways. On many highways, a toll needs to be paid (see Via Verde). Vasco da Gama bridge is the longest bridge in the European Union, EU (the second longest in Europe) at 12.345 km. Continental Portugal's territory is serviced by four international airports located near the principal cities of Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Portugal, Faro and Beja (Portugal), Beja. Lisbon's geographical position makes it a stopover for many foreign airlines at several airports within the country. The primary flag-carrier is TAP Air Portugal, although many other domestic airlines provide services within and without the country. The government decided to build a new airport outside Lisbon, in Alcochete, to replace Lisbon Portela Airport, though this plan has been suspended due to austerity measures. Currently, the most important airports are in Portela Airport, Lisbon, Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport, Porto, Faro Airport, Faro, Madeira Airport, Funchal (Madeira), and João Paulo II Airport, Ponta Delgada (Azores), managed by the national airport authority group ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal. One other important airport is the Aeroporto Internacional das Lajes on the island of Terceira in the Azores. This airport serves as one of two international airports serving countries outside the European Union for all nine islands of the Azores. It also serves as a military air base for the United States Air Force. The base remains in use to the present day. A national railway system that extends throughout the country and into Spain, is supported and administered by Comboios de Portugal (CP). Rail transport of passengers and goods is derived using the of railway lines currently in service, of which are electrified and about allow train speeds greater than . The railway network is managed by Infraestruturas de Portugal while the transport of passengers and goods are the responsibility of CP, both public companies. In 2006, the CP carried 133,000,000 passengers and of goods. The major seaports are located in Sines, Portugal, Sines, Lisbon, Leixões, Setúbal, Aveiro, Portugal, Aveiro, Figueira da Foz, and Faro, Portugal, Faro. The two largest metropolitan areas have subway systems: Lisbon Metro and ''Metro Sul do Tejo'' in the Lisbon metropolitan area and Porto Metro in the Porto Metropolitan Area, each with more than of lines. In Portugal, Trams in Lisbon, Lisbon tram services have been supplied by the ''Companhia de Carris de Ferro de Lisboa'' (Carris), for over a century. In Porto, Trams in Porto, a tram network, of which only a tourist line on the shores of theEnergy
Portugal has considerable resources of wind and river power, the two most cost-effective renewable energy sources. Since the turn of the 21st century, there has been a trend towards the development of a renewable resource industry and reduction of both consumption and use of fossil fuels. In 2006, the world's largest solar energy, solar power plant at that date, the Moura Photovoltaic Power Station, began operating near Moura, Portugal, Moura, in the south, while the world's first commercial wave power farm, the Aguçadoura Wave Farm, opened in the Norte Region, Portugal, Norte region (2008). By the end of 2006, 66% of the country's electrical production was from coal and fuel power plants, while 29% were derived from hydroelectric dams, and 6% by wind energy. In 2008, renewable energy resources were producing 43% of the nation's consumption of electricity, even as hydroelectric production decreased with severe droughts. As of June 2010, electricity exports had outnumbered imports. In the period between January and May 2010, 70% of the national production of energy came from renewable sources. Portugal's national energy transmission company, Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), uses sophisticated modelling to predict weather, especially wind patterns, and computer programs to calculate energy from the various renewable-energy plants. Before the solar/wind revolution, Portugal had generated electricity from hydropower plants on its rivers for decades. New programmes combine wind and water: wind-driven turbines pump water uphill at night, the most blustery period; then the water flows downhill by day, generating electricity, when consumer demand is highest. Portugal's distribution system is also now a two-way street. Instead of just delivering electricity, it draws electricity from even the smallest generators, like rooftop solar panels. The government aggressively encouraged such contributions by setting a premium price for those who buy rooftop-generated solar electricity.Demographics
The Statistics Portugal ( pt, INE – Instituto Nacional de Estatística (Portugal), Instituto Nacional de Estatística) estimates that, according to the 2021 census, the population was 10,343,066 (of which 52.4% was female and 47.6% was male). The median life expectancy in 2022 was 82.47 years. This population has been relatively homogeneous for most of its history: a single religion (Roman Catholicism) and a single language have contributed to this ethnic and national unity. The most important demographic influence in the modern Portuguese seems to be the oldest one; current interpretation of Y-chromosome and mtDNA data suggests that the Portuguese have their origin in Paleolithic peoples that began arriving to the European continent around 45,000 years ago. All subsequent migrations did leave an impact, genetically and culturally, but the main population source of the Portuguese is still Paleolithic. Genetic studies show Portuguese populations not to be significantly different from other European populations. Portuguese people have a preponderancy of genetics (Iron Age Period) which belong to R1b haplogroup family along with Brittonic languages, Brythonic, Alpine states, Alpine and Goidelic languages, Goidelic genetical markers. Also expectable but not so common are South European (Sardinian, Italian and Balkans), broadly North-western (West Germanic) and to a lesser extent British/Irish (Brythonic/Gaelic) and French (Alpine). With a low confidence range there are Scandinavian and East European genetical markers. Other sources would point out a small presence of Berbers, Berber and Jewish that would be also part of a low confidence region. Native Portuguese are an Iberian Peninsula, Iberian ethnic group and they form 95% of the whole population, whose ancestry is very similar to Spaniards and have strong ties with fellow Atlantic Europe, Atlantic Arc countries like Ireland, British Isles, France and Belgium due to maritime trade dated as far back as the Bronze Age. These maritime contacts and the prevalence of R1b haplogroup as the main genetical marker of these countries suggest a common ancestry and cultural proximity. Other maritime contacts with the Mediterranean especially with Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans and Moors added some phenotypes in southern Portugal and particularly southern Spain (the Tartessos culture), making Portugal and north-western Spain a bridge between north-western Europe and the Mediterranean but maintaining the Atlantic character. Despite good economic development in the past three decades, the Portuguese have been the shortest in Europe since 1890. This emerging height gap took place in the 1840s and has increased since. One of the driving factors was the modest real wage development, given the late industrialization and economic growth in Portugal compared to the European core. Another determinant was the delayed human capital formation. The total fertility rate (TFR) was estimated at 1.52 children born/woman, one of the lowest in the world, which is below the replacement rate of 2.1, it remains considerably below the high of 5.02 children born per woman in 1911. In 2016, 52.8% of births were to unmarried women. Like most Western countries, Portugal has to deal with low fertility levels: the country has experienced a sub-replacement fertility rate since the 1980s. Portugal subsequently has the 17th oldest population in the world, with the average age of 43.7 years. The structure of Portuguese society is characterized by a significant inequality which in 2016 placed the country in the lowest seventh of the Social Justice Index for the European Union. In 2018, Portugal's parliament approved a budget plan for 2019 that includes tax breaks for returning emigrants in a bid to lure back those who left during the financial crisis of 2007–2008. The expansionary 2019 budget, backed by a left-wing majority in parliament, also aims to boost the purchasing power of households while cutting the already low deficit even further. Circular migration, Returning emigrants will be allowed to declare only half their taxable income for five years if they return, provided they have lived abroad for at least three years. The "Return Programme" is to run for two years. Around 500,000 residents left Portugal between 2010 and 2015 after the Great Recession. Although some 350,000 have since returned, this scheme aims to encourage more to return – a similar scheme exists in Ireland. Portugal has approved a credit line for Portuguese emigrants aiming to invest in the country on their return. Furthermore, emigrants returning in 2019 and 2020 will see their taxes halved as part of the stimulus to bring native Portuguese back and revitalize the population and promote continued economic growth – as Portugal struggles with a low birth rate and an ageing population. According to projections by the national statistics office, Portugal's population will fall to 7.7 million by 2080 from 10.3 million now and the population will continue to age.Urbanization
Since the 2013 local government reform, there are Metropolitan areas of Portugal, two metropolitan areas: Lisbon metropolitan area, Lisbon and Greater Metropolitan Area of Porto, Porto.Fernanda Paula Oliveira (2009), Several metropolitan areas were created under this law (Greater Metropolitan Area of the Algarve, Algarve, Greater Metropolitan Area of Aveiro, Aveiro, Greater Metropolitan Area of Coimbra, Coimbra, Greater Metropolitan Area of Minho, Minho and Greater Metropolitan Area of Viseu, Viseu), but a law passed in 2008 abolished these, converting them into Intermunicipal communities of Portugal, intermunicipal communities, whose territories are (roughly) based on the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, NUTS III statistical regions.Immigration
In 2007, Portugal had 10,617,575 inhabitants, of whom about 332,137 were legal Immigration to Portugal, immigrants. In 2015, Portugal had 10,341,330 inhabitants, of whom about 383,759 were legal migrants, making up 3.7% of the population. In 2017, Portugal had 416,682 legal residents of foreign origin, of which 203,753 identified as male, and 212,929 as female. As of 2020, 32,147 residents of foreign origin acquired Portuguese nationality, of which 17,021 were female and 15,126 were male. Portugal's Portuguese Empire, colonial history has long since been a cornerstone of its national identity, as has its geographic position at the south-western corner of Europe, looking out into the Atlantic Ocean. It was one of the last western colonial European powers to give up its overseas territories (among them Portuguese West Africa, Angola and Portuguese East Africa, Mozambique in 1975), turning over the administration of Macau to the People's Republic of China at the end of 1999. Consequently, it has both influenced and been influenced by cultures from former colonies or dependencies, resulting in immigration from these former territories for both economic and personal reasons. Portugal, long a country of emigration (the vast majority of Portuguese Brazilian, Brazilians have Portuguese ancestry),Portugal – EmigrationReligion
According to the 2021 Census, 80.2% of the Portuguese population was Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Christian. The country has small Protestant, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Latter-day Saint, Islam in Portugal, Muslim, Hinduism in Portugal, Hindu, Sikh, Eastern Orthodox Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Baháʼí Faith, Baháʼí, Buddhism, Buddhist, Judaism, Jewish and Spiritism, Spiritist communities. Influences from African Traditional Religion and Chinese Traditional Religion are also felt among many people, particularly in fields related with Traditional Chinese Medicine and Traditional African Herbal Medicine. Some 14.1% of the population declared themselves to be non-religious. 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 History of Portugal (1279-1415), 13th and 14th centuries, the church enjoyed power and close identification with early Portuguese nationalism and the foundation of the Portuguese educational system, including its University of Coimbra, first university. The growth of the Portuguese Empire, Portuguese overseas empire made its Mission (Christian), missionaries important agents of colonization, with important roles in the Teaching, education and evangelization of people from all the inhabited continents. The growth of Liberal Revolution of 1820, liberal and nascent Republicanism, republican movements during the eras leading to the formation of the First Portuguese Republic (1910–26) changed the role and importance of organized religion. Portugal is a secular state: Separation of church and state, church and state were formally separated during the First Portuguese Republic, and this was reiterated in the 1976 Portuguese Constitution. Other than the Constitution, the two most important documents relating to religious freedom in Portugal are the 1940 Concordata (later amended in 1971) between Portugal and the Holy See and the 2001 Religious Freedom Act.Languages
Portuguese is the official language of Portugal. It is a Romance language that is derived from Galician-Portuguese, which was spoken in what is now Galicia and Northern Portugal. There are still strong similarities between the Galicians, Galician and Portuguese people, Portuguese cultures. Galicia is a consultative observer of theEducation
The educational system is divided into preschool (for those under age six), basic education (nine years, in three stages, compulsory), secondary education (three years, compulsory since 2010), and higher education (subdivided in university and polytechnic (Portugal), polytechnic education). Universities are usually organized into faculty (division), faculties. Institutes and schools are also common designations for autonomous subdivisions of list of colleges and universities in Portugal, Portuguese higher education institutions. The total adult literacy rate is 99.4 per cent. Portuguese primary school enrolments are 100 per cent. According to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018, Portugal scored around the OECD average in reading, mathematics and science. In reading and mathematics, mean performance in 2018 was close to the level observed in 2009 to 2015; in science, mean performance in 2018 was below that of 2015, and returned close to the level observed in 2009 and 2012. About 46,9% of college-age citizens (20 years old) attend one of Portugal's higher education institutions (compared with 50% in the United States and 35% in the OECD countries). In addition to being a destination for international students, Portugal is also among the top places of origin for international students. All higher education students, both domestic and international, totalled 380,937 in 2005. Portuguese universities have existed since 1290. The University of Coimbra, oldest Portuguese university was first established in Lisbon before moving to Coimbra. Historically, within the scope of the Portuguese Empire, the Portuguese founded the oldest engineering school of the Americas (the ''Real Academia de Artilharia, Fortificação e Desenho'' of Rio de Janeiro) in 1792, as well as the oldest medical college in Asia (the ''Escola Médico-Cirúrgica de Goa, Escola Médico-Cirúrgica'' of Goa) in 1842. Presently, the largest university in Portugal is the University of Lisbon. The Bologna process has been adopted by Portuguese universities and poly-technical institutes in 2006. Higher education in state-run educational establishments is provided on a competitive basis, a system of ''numerus clausus'' is enforced through a national database on student admissions. However, every higher education institution offers also a number of additional vacant places through other extraordinary admission processes for sportsmen, mature applicants (over 23 years old), international students, foreign students from the Lusosphere, degree owners from other institutions, students from other institutions (Transfer admissions in the United States, academic transfer), former students (readmission), and course change, which are subject to specific standards and regulations set by each institution or course department. Most student costs are supported with public money. However, with the increasing tuition fees a student has to pay to attend a Portuguese state-run higher education institution and the attraction of new types of students (many as international students and part-time students or in evening classes) like employees, businessmen, parents, pensioners and foreigners (most prominently from Brazil, a Portuguese-speaking country), many departments make a substantial profit from every additional student enrolled in courses, with benefits for the college or university's gross tuition revenue and without loss of educational quality (teacher per student, computer per student, classroom size per student, etc.). Portugal has entered into Higher education in Portugal#International partnership agreements, cooperation agreements with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other US institutions to further develop and increase the effectiveness of Portuguese higher education and research.Health
According to the Human Development Report, the average life expectancy in Portugal had reached 82 years in 2017; in 2020 it was estimated at 82.11 years. As projected by the United Nations, the life expectancy of the Portuguese population will be over 90 years when we reach 2100. The trajectory of the Portuguese life expectancy is visualized with historical data from 1950 and future projections up to 2100, as can be seen in the graph on the left. Portugal ranks 12th in the best public health systems in the world, ahead of other countries like the United Kingdom, Germany or Sweden. The Portuguese health system is characterized by three coexisting systems: the National Health Service (''Serviço Nacional de Saúde'', SNS), special social health insurance schemes for certain professions (health subsystems) and voluntary private health insurance. The SNS provides universal coverage. In addition, about 25% of the population is covered by the health subsystems, 10% by private insurance schemes and another 7% by mutual funds. The Ministry of Health is responsible for developing health policy as well as managing the SNS. Five regional health administrations are in charge of implementing the national health policy objectives, developing guidelines and protocols and supervising health care delivery. Decentralization efforts have aimed at shifting financial and management responsibility to the regional level. In practice, however, the autonomy of regional health administrations over budget setting and spending has been limited to primary care. The SNS is predominantly funded through general taxation. Employer (including the state) and employee contributions represent the main funding sources of the health subsystems. In addition, direct payments by the patient and voluntary health insurance premiums account for a large proportion of funding. Similar to the other Eur-A countries, most Portuguese die from noncommunicable diseases. Mortality from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is higher than in the eurozone, but its two main components, ischaemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease, display inverse trends compared with the Eur-A, with cerebrovascular disease being the single biggest killer in Portugal (17%). Portuguese people die 12% less often from cancer than in the Eur-A, but mortality is not declining as rapidly as in the Eur-A. Cancer is more frequent among children as well as among women younger than 44 years. Although lung cancer (slowly increasing among women) and breast cancer (decreasing rapidly) are scarcer, cervical cancer and prostate cancer are more frequent. Portugal has the highest mortality rate for diabetes in the Eur-A, with a sharp increase since the 1980s. Portugal's infant mortality rate is around 2 deaths per 1000 newborns, with 2.4 deaths per 1000 live births. People are usually well informed about their health status, the positive and negative effects of their behaviour on their health, and their use of health care services. Yet their perceptions of their health, can differ from what administrative and examination-based data show about levels of illness within populations. Thus, survey results based on self-reporting at household level, complement other data on health status and the use of services. Only one third of adults rated their health as good or very good in Portugal (Kasmel et al., 2004). This is the lowest of the Eur-A countries reporting and reflects the relatively adverse situation of the country in terms of mortality and selected morbidity. Hospital de Santa Maria is the largest university hospital in Portugal.Culture
Portugal 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 Portugal in the Age of Discovery, Age of Discovery. In the 1990s and 2000s (decade), Portugal modernized its public cultural facilities, in addition to the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation established in 1956 in Lisbon. These include the Belém Cultural Centre 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 that were built or renovated in many municipalities across the country. Portugal is home to List of World Heritage Sites in Portugal, 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, ranking it World Heritage Sites by country, 9th in Europe and 18th in the world.Architecture
Traditional architecture is distinctive and include the Manueline, also known as Portuguese late Gothic architecture, Gothic a sumptuous, composite Portuguese style of architectural ornamentation of the first decades of the 16th century, followed by Pombaline style of the 18th century. A 20th-century interpretation of traditional architecture, Soft Portuguese style, appears extensively in major cities, especially Lisbon. Modern Portugal has given the world renowned architects like Eduardo Souto de Moura, Álvaro Siza Vieira (both Pritzker Prize winners) and Gonçalo Byrne. In Portugal Tomás Taveira is also noteworthy, particularly for stadium design.Cinema
Cinema of Portugal, Portuguese cinema has a long tradition, reaching back to the birth of the medium in the late 19th century. António Lopes Ribeiro, António Reis, Pedro Costa, Manoel de Oliveira, João César Monteiro, José Fonseca e Costa, Edgar Pêra, António-Pedro Vasconcelos, Fernando Lopes (filmmaker), Fernando Lopes, João Botelho, João Mário Grilo and Leonel Vieira, are among those that gained notability. Noted Portuguese film actors include Joaquim de Almeida, Nuno Lopes, Daniela Ruah, Maria de Medeiros, Diogo Infante, Soraia Chaves, Ribeirinho, Lúcia Moniz, and Diogo Morgado.Literature
Portuguese literature, one of the earliest Western literatures, developed through text as well as song. Until 1350, the Portuguese-Galician troubadours spread their literary influence to most of the Iberian Peninsula, like King Denis of Portugal, D. Dinis (1261-1325) who became famous for his poetry. Other kings would write and sponsor works of literature across Portuguese history, like Ferdinand I of Portugal, D. Fernando (1367-1383) who supported Pêro Menino in writing o ''Livro da Falcoaria''''.'' Another notable name in Portuguese literature is Gil Vicente (c. 1465–c. 1536), one of the founders of Portuguese dramatic traditions. Adventurer and poet Luís de Camões (c. 1524–1580) wrote the epic poem ''Os Lusíadas'' (''The Lusiads''), with Virgil's ''Aeneid'' as his main influence. Modern Portuguese poetry is rooted in neoclassic and contemporary styles, as exemplified by Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage, Bocage (1765–1805), Antero de Quental (1842–1891) and Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935). Modern Portuguese literature is represented by authors such as Almeida Garrett, Camilo Castelo Branco, José Maria de Eça de Queirós, Eça de Queirós, Fernando Pessoa, Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, António Lobo Antunes, Miguel Torga and Agustina Bessa-Luís. Particularly popular and distinguished is José Saramago, recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature.Cuisine
Portuguese cuisine is very diverse. The Portuguese consume a lot of dry cod (''bacalhau'' in Portuguese), for which there are hundreds of Bacalhau#Bacalhau dishes, recipes. Two other popular fish recipes are grilled sardines and caldeirada, a tomato-based stew that can be made from several types of fish or molluscs with a mix of onion, garlic, bay leaf, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, parsley or coriander. Typical Portuguese meat recipes made out of beef, pork, chicken, goat, lamb, duck, include ''cozido à portuguesa'', ''feijoada'', ''frango de churrasco'', ''leitão'' (roast suckling pig), ''chanfana'' and ''carne de porco à alentejana''. A very popular northern dish is Dobrada (food), dobrada, a tripe with white beans and carrots stew, often served with steamed white rice. Peri-peri chicken is a spicy charcoal chicken dish served with fries or rice and vegetables, a favourite throughout Portugal, but most common in the Algarve region. Typical fast food dishes include the Francesinha (Frenchie) from Porto, "Tripas à moda do Porto" which is also a traditional dish from Porto, and ''bifanas'' (grilled pork) or ''prego'' (grilled beef) sandwiches, which are well known around the country. The Portuguese art of pastry has its origins in the many medieval Catholic monasteries spread widely across the country. These monasteries, using very few ingredients (mostly eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, flour, almonds and some liqueurs), managed to create a spectacular wide range of different pastries, of which pastéis de Belém (or ''pastéis de nata'') originally from Lisbon, and ''ovos moles'' from Aveiro are examples. Portuguese cuisine is very diverse, with different regions having their own traditional dishes. The Portuguese have a culture of good food, and throughout the country there are myriad good restaurants and typical small ''tasquinhas''. Portuguese wines have enjoyed international recognition since the times of the Romans, who associated Portugal with their god Dionysus, 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 and Madeira are particularly appreciated in a wide range of places around the world.Music
Music of Portugal, Portuguese music encompasses a wide variety of genres. The traditional one is the Portuguese folk music which has deep roots in local customs having as instruments bagpipes (''Gaita (bagpipe), gaita''), drums, flutes, tambourines, accordions and ukuleles (''cavaquinho''). Within Portuguese folk music is the renowned genre of Fado, a melancholic urban music originated in Lisbon in the 19th century, probably inside bohemian environments, usually associated with the Portuguese guitar and ''saudade'', or longing. Coimbra fado, a unique type of "troubadour serenading" fado, is also noteworthy. Internationally notable performers include Amália Rodrigues, Carlos Paredes, José Afonso, Mariza, Carlos do Carmo, António Chainho, Mísia, Dulce Pontes and Madredeus. In the classical music domain, Portugal is represented by names as the pianists Artur Pizarro, Maria João Pires, Sequeira Costa, the violinists Carlos Damas, Gerardo Ribeiro and in the past by the great cellist Guilhermina Suggia. Notable composers include Marcos Portugal, José Vianna da Motta, Carlos Seixas, João Domingos Bomtempo, João de Sousa Carvalho, Luís de Freitas Branco and his student Joly Braga Santos, Fernando Lopes-Graça, Emmanuel Nunes and Sérgio Azevedo. Similarly, contemporary composers such as Nuno Malo and Miguel d'Oliveira have achieved some international success writing. In addition to Folk music, Folk, Fado and Classical music, other genres are present at Portugal like pop and other types of modern music, particularly from North America and the United Kingdom, as well as a wide range of Portuguese, Caribbean, Lusophone African and Brazilian artists and bands. Artists with international recognition include Dulce Pontes, Moonspell, Buraka Som Sistema, Blasted Mechanism, David Carreira and The Gift (band), The Gift, with the three latter being nominees for a MTV Europe 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, Boom Festival in Idanha-a-Nova Municipality, ''NOS Alive'', ''Sumol Summer Fest'' in Ericeira, ''Rock in Rio#Lisboa, Portugal, and Madrid, Spain, Rock in Rio Lisboa'' and ''Super Bock Super Rock'' in Greater 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 central Portugal every two years, the Boom Festival, that is also the only festival in Portugal to win international awards: European Festival Award 2010 – Green'n'Clean Festival of the Year and the Greener Festival Award Outstanding 2008 and 2010. There is also the student festivals of ''Queima das Fitas'' are major events in a number of cities across Portugal. In 2005, Portugal held the MTV Europe Music Awards, in Pavilhão Atlântico, Lisbon. Furthermore, Portugal won the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv with the song "Amar pelos dois" presented by Salvador Sobral, and subsequently hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, 2018 contest at the Altice Arena in Lisbon.Visual arts
Portugal has a List of Portuguese artists, rich history in painting. The first well-known painters dating back to the 15th century – like Nuno Gonçalves and Grão Vasco, Vasco Fernandes – were part of the late Gothic painting period. During the Renaissance, Portuguese painting was highly influenced by Northern European painting. In the Baroque period Josefa de Óbidos and Vieira Lusitano were the most prolific painters. 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 school of painting, naturalist painting. The 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 the Delaunays (Robert Delaunay, Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Sonia). Among his best-known works is ''Canção Popular a Russa e o Fígaro''. Other great modernist painters/writers include Carlos Botelho and Almada Negreiros, friend to the poet Fernando Pessoa, who painted Pessoa's portrait. He was deeply influenced by both Cubist and Futurism (art), Futurist trends. Prominent international figures in visual arts nowadays include painters Vieira da Silva, Júlio Pomar, Helena Almeida, Joana Vasconcelos, Julião Sarmento and Paula Rego.Sport
Association football, Football is the most popular sport in Portugal. There are several football competitions ranging from local amateur to world-class professional level. The legendary Eusébio is still a major symbol of Portuguese football history. FIFA World Player of the Year winners Luís Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo, who won the FIFA Ballon d'Or, are two world-class Portuguese football players. Portuguese football managers are also noteworthy, with José Mourinho being among the most renowned. The Portugal national football team – ''Seleção Nacional'' – have won one UEFA European Championship title: the UEFA Euro 2016, with a 1–0 victory in the UEFA Euro 2016 Final, final over France national football team, France, the tournament hosts. In addition, Portugal finished first in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League with a 1–0 win over the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands in the 2019 UEFA Nations League Final, final (held in Portugal), second in the 2004 European Football Championship, Euro 2004 (also held in Portugal), third in the 1966 FIFA World Cup and 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, and fourth in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. At youth level, Portugal have won two FIFA World Youth Championships (in 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship, 1989 and 1991 FIFA World Youth Championship, 1991) and several UEFA European Youth Championships. S.L. Benfica, Sporting CP and FC Porto are the largest sports clubs by popularity and by number of trophies won, often known as "''os três grandes''" (Big Three (Portugal), "the big three"). They have won eight titles in the European UEFA club competitions, were present in 21 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, these may include roller hockey (quad), roller hockey, basketball, futsal, Team handball, handball, volleyball and Sport of athletics, athletics. The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) – ''Federação Portuguesa de Futebol'' – annually hosts the Algarve Cup, a prestigious Women's association football, women's football tournament that has been celebrated in the Portuguese region of Algarve. The Portugal national rugby union team, Portuguese national rugby union team qualified for the 2007 Rugby World Cup and the Portugal national rugby sevens team, Portuguese national rugby sevens team has played in the World Rugby Sevens Series. In athletics (sport), athletics, the Portuguese have won a number of gold, silver and bronze medals in the European, World and Olympic Games competitions. Road bicycle racing, Road cycling, with Volta a Portugal being the most important race, is also a popular sports event and includes professional cycling teams such as Sporting CP, Boavista (cycling team), Boavista, Clube de Ciclismo de Tavira and União Ciclista da Maia. At international level, Portuguese cyclists have already achieved good results. Joaquim Agostinho finished on the podium in 1978 and 1979 Tour de France, and 1974 Vuelta a España. Rui Costa (cyclist), Rui Costa has won the UCI Road World Championships, world title in the men's road race. The country has also achieved notable performances in sports including fencing, judo, kitesurf, rowing (sport), rowing, sailing, surfing, shooting, taekwondo, triathlon and windsurfing, winning several European and world titles. Portugal's paralympic athletes have also won many medals in sports including swimming (sport), swimming, boccia, Sport of athletics, athletics, mixed martial arts and wrestling. In motorsport, Portugal is internationally noted for the Rally of Portugal, and the Estoril Circuit, Estoril and Algarve Circuits as well as the revived Porto Street Circuit which holds a stage of the WTCC every two years, as well as for a number of internationally noted pilots and racers such as Miguel Oliveira, Tiago Monteiro, António Félix da Costa, Filipe Albuquerque, Pedro Lamy, Armindo Araújo and others in a wide range of varied motorsports. In equestrian sports, Portugal won the only Horseball-Pato World Championship in 2006 achieved the third position in the First Horseball World Cup and has achieved several victories in the European Working Equitation Championship. In water sports, Portugal has three major sports: swimming (sport), swimming, water polo and surfing. Most recently, Portugal had success in canoeing with several world and European champions, such as olympic medalists. Annually, the country also hosts one of the stages of the World Surf League men's and women's ''Championship Tour'', the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal at the Supertubos in Peniche, Portugal, Peniche. Northern Portugal has its own original martial art, ''Jogo do Pau'', in which the fighters use staffs to confront one or several opponents. Other popular sport-related recreational outdoor activities with thousands of enthusiasts nationwide include airsoft, fishing, golf, hiking, hunting and orienteering. Portugal is one of the world's best golf destinations. It has received several awards by the World Golf Awards. High-profile, successful competitive athleticism and sportsmanship in Portugal can be traced back to the time of Ancient Rome. Gaius Appuleius Diocles (104after 146 AD) was a noteworthy chariot racing, charioteer born in Lamego, Portugal, Lamego who became one of the most celebrated athletes in ancient history. He is often cited as the Forbes' list of the world's highest-paid athletes, highest-paid athlete of all time.See also
* Index of Portugal-related articles * Outline of PortugalNotes
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