Portugal

Location:

Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain

Border Countries:

Spain 1,214 km

Terrain:

mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in south

Geography:

Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar

Capital:

Lisbon

About Portugal

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

Population:

10,676,910 (July 2008 est.)

Language:

Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally used)

Religion:

Roman Catholic 84.5%, other Christian 2.2%, other 0.3%, unknown 9%, none 3.9% (2001 census)

Phone Service:

Portugal's telephone system has achieved a state-of-the-art network with broadband, high-speed capabilities

Currency:

euro (EUR)

Climate:

maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south

Natural Hazards:

Azores subject to severe earthquakes