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Portugal
Relevant information about Portugal.The Portuguese Republic is a developed country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, bordered by Spain to the north and east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south. Its capital city is Lisbon and the country has a total area of 92,090 km. In1910, the monarchy was overthrown in the first decade of the 20th century, followed by an unstable democracy, which was later replaced by a dictatorship. Finally, in 1947, due to the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution, a democratic government was established. As a member of the United Nations, the Latin Union, the Organization of Ibero-American States, NATO, OECD, the European Union’s Eurozone, Portugal is placed in the 19th place in the ranking of the world’s highest quality of life. It is also the 14th most peaceful and the 13th most globalized country in the planet.
Portugal has a population of 10,707,924 citizens (52% female, 48% male) of whom approximately 332,137 are legal immigrants. The population is homogeneous: they have a single religion, Roman Catholic (94%), a single language (Portuguese, and Mirandese, which is locally used) and a homogeneous ethnic group: native Portuguese are an Iberian ethnic group, connected with Mediterranean people and those of Western Europe. Portugal is divided into 18 districts: Aveiro, Beja, Braga, Bragança, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Évora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisbon (the capital city), Portalegre, Porto, Santarém, Setúbal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real and Viseu. The largest city is Lisbon, where 564,657 Portuguese live in; followed by Porto (263,131 citizens) and Vila Nova de Gaia (178,255 citizens). The life expectancy at birth is, in women, of 81.69 year, and in men, 74.95 years. The total fertility rate is 1.49 children born per woman, estimated in 2009, whereas the infant mortality rate is of 4.78 deaths per 1,000 live births. Portugal has a culture that has been influenced by the several civilizations, which passed through the Mediterranean and the European continent and by the Roman and Moorish invasion. They have all left a rich legacy of archaeological remains, which includes: prehistoric cave paintings at Escoral, the Roman township of Conimbriga, the typical Moorish architecture in different towns and the Temple of Diana in Évora. Among the public cultural facilities, you can find Serralves Foundation, Belém Cultural Center in the capital city and the Casa da Música, in addition to municipal libraries and concert halls. Portuguese cuisine is diverse and varies by regions: the north is famous for the caldo verde (a kale and potato soup with chouriço) and the grilled sardines; in the northeastern area, fresh and cured pork and a stew of mixed vegetables are the traditional dishes; in the central region cheese and fish are extremely used in recipes; in the south, gazpacho is the most popular dish. Dry cod, bacalhau, beef, lamb, pork, chicken are the main ingredients of the Portuguese gastronomy. In the area of music, one can find a wide variety of genres: fado (a melancholy urban music related to the Portuguese guitar) and folk are the most popular. Moonspell, a Goth-metal banc, is the most famous Portuguese musical group outside the country, whereas the bands Blasted Mechanism and The Gift have been internationally recognized by the nominations to the MTV Europe Awards. Pop and modern music is also listened by the Portuguese citizens (mainly from North America and the United Kingdom) in addition to Brazilian bands. Regarding sports, the most popular is football, and there are from local amateur competitions to world-class professional level. The famous and talented football players, Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo, are internationally known and they have both won the FIFA World Player of the Year award. The biggest clubs are Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Futebol Clube do Porto, and Sporting Clube de Portugal, “the big three”; between the three of them, they have won 12 titles in the European club competitions. Basketball, futsal, handball and volleyball are other sports that are practiced in the Portuguese country. The rink hockey team is also successful, having won 15 world titles and 20 European titles. In the European, World and Olympic Games, Portuguese won numerous gold, silver and bronze medals in athletics, windsurf, kitesurf, shooting, rowing, fencing, judo, sailing and triathlon.
Portugal’s economic has developed from one founded in public investment to an economy that has as priorities exports, private investment and development of the high-tech sector; and it has turned into a service based economy since Portugal join the European Union. The services have displaced industries like textiles, clothing and footwear. Portugal is the world’s leading producer of cork. Currently, the government is facing tough conditions in order to simulate the economy. The industrial sector is represented by textiles, clothing, footwear, paper, chemicals, base metals, wood, cork, glassware, food, porcelain and ceramics, technology, telecommunications, tourism, ship construction and refurbishment. Among the agricultural products, one can find grain, tomatoes, potatoes, grapes, olives; cattle, sheep, goats poultry, pigs, dairy products and fish. The labor force by occupation is: in agriculture, 10%: industry 30%, and services 60% (estimated in 2007). The unemployment rate is of 9.2%, estimated in 2009, whereas the population below the poverty line is of 18%. The inflation rate is of -0,9%.
The Portuguese Republic attracts thousands of tourists annually, making tourism’s role in economy extremely important. The capital city of Lisbon is the European city that attracts most tourists (after Barcelona): 7 million visited the city in the year 2006, mostly from the United Kingdom, Spain and Germany. The most visited areas are the Algarve, the Greater Lisbon, Greater Porto, Portuguese islands, Porto and Alentejo. Portugal has several conservation areas: the Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês, twelve natural parks (including the Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela), nine natural reserves, five natural monuments, and seven protected landscapes. Flora is shaped thanks to the diverse climate and geography: fox, Iberian lynx, Iberian wolf, wild goat, badger, polecat, hare, chameleon, hare, civet, weasel, and brown bear, among others. In the spring, you can appreciate the vast number of birds that migrate from Africa to Europe. There are approximately 600 bird species and more than 100 freshwater fish species. The chestnut tree, the eucalyptus, the pine tree, the holm oak and the cork oak are present in the Portuguese forests and incredibly spread. Other regions that are visited by tourists are Douro Sul, Templários, Dão-Lafões, Costa Azul, Costa do Sol and Planície Dourada, which are being organized so that they can attract even more tourists.
The World Trade Organization has highly rated the Portuguese health care system (12th of 191 countries). Portugal’s mild climate favors the recovery of the patients that have been through procedures, which have low prices compared to the ones in the United Kingdom or the United States. The most popular facilities are the dental and the cosmetic surgery clinics. Orthopedics, cardiology, and eye surgery are other medical procedures.
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