Everything about Portugual totally explained
Portugal, officially the
Portuguese Republic, is a country on the
Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern
Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the
Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by
Spain to the north and east. The Atlantic
archipelagos of the
Azores and
Madeira are also part of Portugal.
The land within the borders of today's Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since
prehistoric times. Some of the earliest
civilizations include
Lusitanians and
Celtic societies. Incorporation into the
Roman Republic dominions took place in the 2nd century BC. The region was ruled and colonized by
Germanic peoples, such as the
Suebi and the
Visigoths, from the 5th to the 8th century. From this era, some vestiges of the
Alans were also found. The
Muslim Moors arrived in the early 8th century and conquered the
Christian Germanic kingdoms, eventually occupying most of the Iberian Peninsula. In the early 1100s, during the Christian
Reconquista, Portugal appeared as a kingdom independent of its neighbour, the
Kingdom of León and
Galicia. In a little over a century, in 1249, Portugal would establish almost its entire modern-day borders by conquering territory from the Moors.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, with a
global empire that included possessions in
Africa,
Asia and
South America, Portugal was one of the world's major economic, political, and cultural powers. In the 17th century, the
Portuguese Restoration War between Portugal and Spain ended the sixty year period of the
Iberian Union (1580-1640). In the 19th century, armed conflict with French and Spanish invading forces and the loss of its largest territorial possession abroad,
Brazil, disrupted political stability and potential economic growth. After the
Portuguese Colonial War and the
Carnation Revolution coup d'état in 1974, the ruling
regime was deposed in Lisbon and the country handed over its last overseas provinces in Africa. Portugal's last overseas territory,
Macau, was handed over to
China in 1999.
Portugal is a
developed country, has a high
Human Development Index and is among the world's 20 highest rated countries in terms of
quality of life, although having one of the lowest
GDP per capita of
Western European countries. It is a member of the
European Union (since 1986) and the
United Nations (since 1955); as well as a founding member of the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),
North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa (
Community of Portuguese Language Countries, CPLP), and the European Union's
Eurozone.
History
The early history of Portugal, whose name derives from the Roman name
Portus Cale, is shared with the rest of the
Iberian Peninsula. The region was
settled by Pre-
Celts and Celts, giving origin to peoples like the
Gallaeci,
Lusitanians,
Celtici and
Cynetes, visited by
Phoenicians and
Carthaginians, incorporated in the
Roman Republic dominions (as
Lusitania in 138 BC), settled again by
Suevi,
Buri, and
Visigoths, and conquered by
Moors. Other minor influences include some 5th century vestiges of
Alan settlement, which were found in
Alenquer,
Coimbra and even
Lisbon. In 868, during the
Reconquista (by which Christians reconquered the Iberian peninsula from the Muslim and Moorish domination), the
First County of Portugal was formed. A victory over the Muslims at
Ourique in 1139 is traditionally taken as the occasion when Portugal is transformed from a county (
County of Portugal as a fief of the
Kingdom of León and Castile) into an
independent kingdom.
On
June 24 1128 the
Battle of São Mamede occurred near
Guimarães. At the Battle of São Mamede,
Afonso Henriques, Count of Portugal, defeated his mother,
Countess Teresa, and her lover,
Fernão Peres de Trava, in battle - thereby establishing himself as sole leader. Afonso Henriques officially declared Portugal's independence when he proclaimed himself
king of Portugal on
July 25,
1139, after the
Battle of Ourique, he was recognized as such in 1143 by
Afonso VII, king of León and Castile, and in 1179 by
Pope Alexander III.
Afonso Henriques and his successors, aided by military
monastic orders, pushed southward to drive out the Moors, as the size of Portugal covered about half of its present area. In 1249, this
Reconquista ended with the capture of the
Algarve on the southern coast, giving Portugal its present day borders, with minor exceptions.
In 1373, Portugal made an
alliance with England, which is the longest-standing alliance in the world.
In 1383, the king of Castile, husband of the daughter of the Portuguese king who had died without a male heir, claimed his throne. An ensuing popular revolt led to the
1383-1385 Crisis. A faction of petty noblemen and commoners, led by John of Aviz (later
John I), seconded by General
Nuno Álvares Pereira defeated the Castilians in the
Battle of Aljubarrota. This celebrated battle is still a symbol of glory and the struggle for independence from neighboring Spain.
In the following decades, Portugal spearheaded the exploration of the world and undertook the
Age of Discovery. Prince
Henry the Navigator, son of King João I, became the main sponsor and patron of this endeavor.
In 1415, Portugal gained the first of its overseas colonies when a fleet conquered
Ceuta, a prosperous Islamic trade center in North
Africa. There followed the first discoveries in the Atlantic:
Madeira and the
Azores, which led to the first
colonization movements.
Throughout the 15th century,
Portuguese explorers sailed the coast of Africa, establishing trading posts for
several common types of tradable commodities at the time, ranging from gold to slaves, as they looked for a route to India and its spices, which were coveted in Europe. In 1498,
Vasco da Gama finally reached India and brought economic prosperity to Portugal and its then population of one million residents.
In 1500,
Pedro Álvares Cabral, en route to India, discovered
Brazil and claimed it for Portugal. Ten years later,
Afonso de Albuquerque conquered
Goa, in
India,
Ormuz in the Persian Strait, and
Malacca in what is now a
state in
Malaysia. Thus, the Portuguese empire held dominion over commerce in the
Indian Ocean and South Atlantic. The Portuguese sailors set out to reach Eastern Asia by sailing eastward from Europe landing in such places like
Taiwan,
Japan, the island of
Timor, and it may also have been Portuguese sailors that were the first Europeans to discover
Australia.
Portugal's independence was interrupted between 1580 and 1640. Because the heirless King
Sebastian died in battle in Morocco,
Philip II of Spain claimed his throne and so became Philip I of Portugal. Although Portugal didn't lose its formal independence, it was governed by the same monarch who governed
Spain, briefly forming a
union of kingdoms, as a
personal union; in 1640,
John IV spearheaded an uprising backed by disgruntled nobles and was proclaimed king. The
Portuguese Restoration War between Portugal and Spain on the aftermath of the 1640 revolt, ended the sixty-year period of the
Iberian Union under the
House of Habsburg. This was the beginning of the
House of Braganza, which was to reign in Portugal until 1910. On
1 November 1755,
Lisbon, the largest city and capital of the Portuguese Empire, was strongly shaken by
an earthquake which killed between 60,000 and 90,000 people and destroyed eighty-five percent of the city.
By this time, however, the
Portuguese empire was already under attack from other countries, specifically Britain and the Netherlands. Portugal began a slow but inexorable decline until the 20th century. This decline was hastened by the independence in 1822 of the country's largest colonial possession,
Brazil.
At the height of European
colonialism in the 19th century, Portugal had lost its territory in
South America and all but a few bases in Asia. During this phase, Portuguese colonialism focused on expanding its outposts in Africa into nation-sized territories to compete with other European powers there. Portuguese territories eventually included the modern nations of
Cape Verde,
São Tomé and Príncipe,
Guinea-Bissau,
Angola, and
Mozambique.
In 1910, a revolution deposed the
Portuguese monarchy, but chaos continued and considerable economic problems were aggravated by the
military intervention in the First World War, which led to a
military coup d'état in 1926. This in turn led to the establishment of the right-wing dictatorship of the
Estado Novo under
António de Oliveira Salazar.
In December 1961, the Portuguese army was involved in armed action in its colony of
Portuguese India against an
Indian invasion. The operations resulted in the defeat of the isolated and relatively small Portuguese defense force which wasn't able to resist a much larger enemy. The outcome was the loss of the Portuguese territories in the
Indian subcontinent.
Also in the early 1960s, independence movements in the Portuguese overseas provinces of
Angola,
Mozambique, and
Portuguese Guinea, in Africa, resulted in the
Portuguese Colonial War (1961-1974). In 1974, a bloodless left-wing military
coup in
Lisbon, known as the
Carnation Revolution, led the way for a modern democracy as well as the independence of the last colonies in Africa shortly after. However, Portugal's last overseas territory,
Macau (Asia), wasn't handed over to the
People's Republic of China until as late as 1999.
Portugal was a founding member of
NATO,
OECD and
EFTA. In 1986, Portugal joined the
European Union (then the
European Economic Community). It is also a co-founder of the
Community of Portuguese Language Countries.
Administrative divisions
municipalities (Portuguese singular/plural:
concelho/concelhos), which are subdivided into more than 4,000
parishes (
freguesia/freguesias). Municipalities are grouped for administrative purposes into superior units. For continental Portugal the municipalities are gathered in 18 Districts, while the Islands have a Regional Government directly above them. Thus, the largest unit of classification is the one established since 1976 into either
mainland Portugal (
Portugal Continental) or the
autonomous regions of Portugal (
Azores and
Madeira).
The
European Union's system of
Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics is also used. According to this system, Portugal is divided into 7 regions (
Alentejo,
Algarve,
Açores,
Centro,
Lisboa,
Madeira, and
Norte), which are subdivided into 30 subregion.
Geography and climate
The climate can be classified as
Mediterranean type
csa in the south and
csb in the north, according to the
Köppen climate classification. Portugal is one of the warmest European countries, the annual temperature averages in
mainland Portugal are 13 °C (55 °F) in the north and 18 °C (64 °F) in the south. The
Madeira and
Azores Atlantic archipelagos have a narrower temperature range. Generally, spring and summer are sunny, whereas autumn and winter are rainy and windy.
Extreme temperatures occur in Northeastern parts of the country in winter (where they may fall to -15 °C) and Southeastern parts in summer (where they can soar up to 45 °C). Sea coastal areas are milder, temperatures varying between -2 °C in the coldest winter mornings and 40 °C in the hottest summer afternoons. Absolute extremes registered so far have been -23 °C in
Serra da Estrela and 48 °C in the
Alentejo region.
Mainland Portugal is split by its main river, the
Tagus. The northern landscape is mountainous in the interior areas, with plateaus indented by river valleys. The south, between the
Tagus and the
Algarve (the
Alentejo), features mostly rolling plains and a climate somewhat warmer and drier than in the cooler and rainier north. The
Algarve, separated from the
Alentejo by mountains, enjoys a
Mediterranean climate much like southern Spain.
Snow falls occasionally (on some cold winter days) in the northern interior of the country, from October to May. However, it's a very rare event in the south. The coast registers snow usually once in five or six years.
The islands of the Azores are located in the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge whilst the Madeira islands were formed by the activity of an
in-plate hotspot, much like the
Hawaiian archipelago. Some islands have had volcanic activity as recently as 1957. Portugal's highest point is
Mount Pico on
Pico Island. It is an ancient volcano measuring 2,351 m (7,713 ft).
Mainland Portugal's highest point is
Serra da Estrela, measuring 1993 m (6,558 ft).
Portugal's Exclusive Economic Zone, a seazone over which the Portuguese have special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources, has 1,727,408 km². This is the 3rd largest
Exclusive Economic Zone of the
European Union and the 11th in the world.
Conservation areas of Portugal include one national park (Parque Nacional), 12 natural parks (Parque Natural), 9 natural reserves (Reserva Natural), 5 natural monuments (Monumento Natural), and 7 protected landscapes (Paisagem Protegida), ranging from the
Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês to the
Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela to the
Paul de Arzila.
Government and politics
Portugal is a democratic republic ruled by the
constitution of 1976 with
Lisbon, the nation's largest city, as its capital.
The four main governing components are the
president of the republic, the
assembly of the republic, the
government, and the courts. The constitution grants the division or separation of powers among legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Portugal like most European countries has no
state religion, making it a
secular state.
The president, who is elected to a five-year term, has a supervising, non-executive role. The current President is
Aníbal Cavaco Silva. The Assembly of the Republic is a
unicameral parliament composed of 230 deputies elected for four-year terms.
The government is headed by the
prime minister (currently
José Sócrates), who chooses the Council of Ministers, comprising all the ministers and the respective state secretaries.
The national and regional governments, and the
Portuguese parliament, are dominated by two political parties, the
Socialist Party and the
Social Democratic Party. Minority parties
Unitarian Democratic Coalition (
Portuguese Communist Party plus
Ecologist Party "The Greens"),
Bloco de Esquerda (Left Bloc) and
CDS-PP (People's Party) are also represented in the
parliament and local governments.
The
courts are organized into categories, including judicial, administrative, and fiscal. The
supreme courts are the courts of last appeal. A thirteen-member
constitutional court oversees the constitutionality of legislation.
Foreign relations
NATO (1949),
OECD and
EFTA; it left the latter in 1986 to join the
European Union. In 1996 it co-founded the
Community of Portuguese Language Countries. It has a friendship alliance and
dual citizenship treaty with Brazil. Portugal is part of the world's oldest active alliance through its
treaty with the United Kingdom.
The only international dispute concerns the municipality of
Olivença. Under Portuguese sovereignty since 1297, the municipality of Olivença was ceded to Spain under the Treaty of Badajoz in 1801, after the
War of the Oranges. Portugal claimed it back in 1815 under the
Treaty of Vienna. Nevertheless, bilateral diplomatic relations between the two neighbouring countries are cordial, as well as within the
European Union.
Military
The armed forces have three branches:
Army,
Navy, and
Air Force. The military of Portugal serves primarily as a self-defense force whose mission is to protect the territorial integrity of the country and providing humanitarian assistance and security at home and abroad. Since the early 2000s,
compulsory military service is no longer practised. The changes also turned the forces' focus towards professional military engagements. The age for voluntary recruitment is set at 18. In the 20th century, Portugal engaged in two major military interventions: the
First Great War and the
Portuguese Colonial War (1961-1974). Portugal has participated in peacekeeping missions in
East Timor,
Bosnia,
Kosovo,
Afghanistan,
Iraq (
Nasiriyah), and
Lebanon. The Portuguese Military's Rapid Reaction Brigade, a combined force of the nations elite Paratroopers, Special Operations Troops Center, and Commandos, is a special elite fighting force.
Economy
Portugal's economy is based on industries such as textiles, clothing, footwear, cork and wood products, beverages (wine), porcelain and earthenware, and glass and glassware. In addition, the country has increased its role in Europe's automotive sector and has a world-class mold-making industry. Services, particularly tourism, are playing an increasingly important role. Portugal's
European Union (EU) funding will be cut by 10%, to 22.5 billion euros, during the 2007-2013 period. EU expansion into eastern Europe has erased Portugal's historic competitive advantage and relative low labor costs. The governments are working to change Portugal's
economic development model from one based on
public consumption and
public investment to one focused on
exports,
private investment, and development of the
high-tech sector.
Portugal joined the
European Union in 1986 and started a process of modernization within the framework of a stable environment. It has achieved a healthy level of growth. Successive governments have implemented reforms and privatized many state-controlled firms and liberalized key areas of the economy. Portugal was one of the founding countries of the
euro in 1999, and therefore is integrated into the
Eurozone.
Major industries include
oil refineries,
automotive,
cement production,
pulp and paper industry,
textile,
footwear,
furniture, and
cork (of which Portugal is the world's leading producer). Manufacturing accounts for 33% of exports. Portugal is the world's fifth-largest producer of
tungsten, and the world's eighth-largest producer of
wine. Agriculture and Fishing (see
Portugal EEZ) no longer represents the bulk of the economy, but
Portuguese wines, namely
Port Wine (named after the country's second largest city,
Porto) and
Madeira Wine (named after
Madeira Island), are exported worldwide.
Tourism is also important, especially in mainland Portugal's southernmost region of the
Algarve and in the Atlantic
Madeira archipelago.
The Global Competitiveness Report for 2005, published by the
World Economic Forum, places Portugal on the 22nd position, ahead of countries such as
Spain,
Ireland,
France,
Belgium and
Hong Kong . This represents an increase of two places from the 2004 ranking. Portugal was ranked 20th on the Technology index and 15th on the Public Institutions index.
Research about
standard of living by the
Economist Intelligence Unit's
quality of life survey places Portugal as the country with the 19th-best quality of life in the world, ahead of other economically and technologically advanced countries like
France,
Germany, the
United Kingdom and
South Korea. This is despite the fact that Portugal has the lowest per capita GDP in Western Europe and among the lowest in the
European Union.
Caixa Geral de Depósitos,
EDP,
Galp,
Millennium bcp,
Portugal Telecom and
Sonae are among the largest corporations of Portugal by both number of employees and
net income.
The major
stock exchange is the
Euronext Lisbon which is part of the
NYSE Euronext, the first global stock exchange. The
PSI-20 is Portugal's most selective and widely known
stock index.
Energy, transportation, communications, water supply and sanitation
In 2006 the world's largest
solar power plant began operating in the nation's sunny south while the world's first commercial
wave power farm opened in October 2006 in the
Norte region. As of 2006, 55% of electricity production was from coal and fuel power plants. The other 40% was produced by
hydroelectrics and 5% by
wind energy. The government is channeling $38,000,000,000 into developing
renewable energy sources over the next five years.
Portugal wants
renewable energy sources like solar, wind and wave power to account for nearly half of the electricity consumed in the country by 2010. "This new goal will place Portugal in the frontline of renewable energy and make it, along with
Austria and
Sweden, one of the three nations that most invest in this sector", Prime Minister
José Sócrates said.
Transportation was seen as a priority in the 1990s, pushed by the growing use of automobiles and industrialization. The country has a 68,732 km (42,708 mi) network of roads, of which almost 3,000 km (1,864 mi) are part of a 44
motorways system.
The two principal metropolitan areas have subway systems:
Lisbon Metro and Metro Sul do Tejo in Lisbon
Metropolitan Area and
Porto Metro in Porto, each with more than 35 km (22 mi) of lines. Construction of a high-speed
TGV line connecting Porto with Lisbon and Lisbon with Madrid will begin in 2008; it'll replace the
Pendolinos.
Lisbon's geographical position makes it a stopover point for many foreign airlines at airports all over the country. The government decided to build a new airport outside Lisbon, in
Alcochete, to replace Lisbon's
Portela airport. Currently, the most important airports are in
Lisbon,
Faro,
Porto,
Funchal (
Madeira), and
Ponta Delgada (
Azores).
Portugal has one of the highest
mobile phone penetration rates in the
world (the number of operative mobile phones already exceeds the population). This network also provides wireless mobile Internet connections as well, and covers the entire territory. As of October 2006, 36.8% of households had high-speed Internet services and 78% of companies had Internet access. Most Portuguese watch television through cable (June 2004: 73.6% of households). Paid Internet connections are available at many cafés, as well as many post offices. One can also surf on the Internet at hotels, conference centres and shopping centres, where special areas are reserved for this purpose. Free internet access is also available to Portuguese residents at "Espaços de Internet" across the country.
Portugal has also modernized its
water supply and sanitation system, in particular by increasing the rate of wastewater treated with support from EU subsidies to 80%. The country has also established a modern institutional and legal framework for the water and sanitation sector, including an autonomous regulatory agency, a national asset holding company called
Águas de Portugal and a number of multi-municipal utilities. This replaced an institutionally fragemented sector structure, under which the country's 308 municipalities - many of them very small - had exclusive responsibility for water and sanitation.
Demographics
Portuguese are ethnically a combination of pre-Celts and
Celts along with some other minor contributions by
Romans,
Germanic (
Visigoths,
Suebi,
Buri), some
Jews and
Moors (mostly
Berbers and some
Arabs).
In the 2001 census, the population was 10,356,117, of which 52% was female, 48% was male. Portugal, long a country of emigration, has now become a country of net immigration, and not just from the former
Asian and
African
colonies; by the end of 2003, legal
immigrants represented about 5% of the population, and the largest communities were from
Brazil,
Ukraine,
Romania,
Cape Verde,
Angola,
Russia,
Guinea-Bissau and
Moldova with other immigrants from parts of
Latin America,
China and
Eastern Europe. The great majority of Portuguese are
Roman Catholic, though a large percentage consider themselves non-practicing, especially in urban lands.
The most populous cities are
Lisbon,
Porto,
Vila Nova de Gaia,
Amadora,
Braga,
Coimbra,
Almada,
Funchal and
Setúbal. There are seven Greater Metropolitan Areas (
GAMs):
Algarve,
Aveiro,
Coimbra,
Lisbon,
Minho,
Porto and
Viseu.
Education, science and technology
The educational system is divided into preschool (for those under age 6), basic education (9 years, in three stages,
compulsory),
secondary education (3 years), and
higher education (
university and
polytechnic).
Portuguese universities have existed since 1290. The
oldest Portuguese university was first established in
Lisbon before moving to
Coimbra. Universities are usually organized into
faculties. Institutes and schools are also common designations for autonomous subdivisions of
Portuguese higher education institutions, and are always used in the polytechnical system. The
Bologna process has been adopted since 2006 by Portuguese universities and polytechnical institutes.
Scientific and technological
research activities in Portugal are mainly conducted within a network of
R&D units belonging to
public universities and state-managed autonomous research institutions like the
INETI - Instituto Nacional de Engenharia, Tecnologia e Inovação. The funding of this research system is mainly conducted under the authority of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education. The largest R&D units of the public universities by number of publications which achieved significant international recognition, include
biosciences research institutions like the
Instituto de Medicina Molecular, the
Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, the
IPATIMUP and the
Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, among others. Internationally notable state-supported research centres in other fields include the
International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, a joint research effort between Portugal and Spain. Among the largest non-state-run research institutions in Portugal are the
Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência and the
Champalimaud Foundation which yearly awards 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.
Portugal made agreements with several European scientific organizations aiming at full membership. These include the
European Space Agency (ESA), the
European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN),
ITER, and the
European Southern Observatory (ESO). Portugal has entered into
cooperation agreements with MIT (USA) and other North American institutions in order to further develop and increase the effectiveness of Portuguese higher education and research.
Law
The
Portuguese legal system is part of the civil law legal system, also called the continental family legal system. Until the end of the 19th century,
French law was the main influence. Since then the major influence has been
German law. The main laws include the
Constitution (1976, as amended), the
Civil Code (1966, as amended) and the
Penal Code (1982, as amended). Other relevant laws are the
Commercial Code (1888, as amended) and the
Civil Procedure Code (1961, as amended). Portuguese law applied in the former
colonies and territories and continues to be the major influence for those countries.
Religion
Portuguese society is overwhelmingly
Roman Catholic. 84% of the population are nominally Roman Catholic, but only about 19% attend mass and take the sacraments regularly. A larger number wish to be baptized, married in the church, and receive last rites.
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
13th and 14th centuries, the church enjoyed both riches and power stemming from its role in the
reconquest and its close identification with early Portuguese nationalism and the foundation of the Portuguese educational system, including the
first university. The growth of the
Portuguese overseas empire made its
missionaries important agents of
colonization with important roles of
evangelization and
teaching in all inhabited continents.
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
Age of Discovery.
Portuguese literature, one of the earliest Western literatures, developed through text and song. Until 1350, the
Portuguese-Galician troubadours spread their literary influence to most of the Iberian Peninsula.
Gil Vicente (ca. 1465 - ca. 1536), was one of the founders of both Portuguese and Spanish dramatic traditions. Adventurer and poet
Luís de Camões (ca. 1524-1580) wrote the epic poem
The Lusiads, with
Virgil's
Aeneid as his main influence. Modern Portuguese poetry is rooted in neoclassic and contemporary styles, as exemplified by
Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935). Modern Portuguese literature is represented by authors such as
Almeida Garrett,
Camilo Castelo Branco,
Eça de Queirós,
Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, and
António Lobo Antunes. Particularly popular and distinguished is
José Saramago, winner of the 1998
Nobel Prize for literature.
Portuguese music encompasses a wide variety of genres. The most renowned is
fado, a melancholy urban music, usually associated with the
Portuguese guitar and
saudade, or longing.
Coimbra fado, a unique type of fado, is also noteworthy. Internationally notable performers include
Amália Rodrigues,
Carlos Paredes,
José Afonso,
Mariza,
Carlos do Carmo,
Mísia, and
Madredeus. One of the most notable Portuguese musical groups outside the country, and specially in
Germany, is the goth-metal band
Moonspell. In addition to fado and folk, the Portuguese listen to pop and other types of modern music, particularly from
North America and the
United Kingdom, as well as a wide range of Portuguese and Brazilian artists and bands. Bands with international recognition include
Blasted Mechanism and
The Gift, both of which were nominated for an
MTV 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, and
Rock in Rio Lisboa and
Super Bock Super Rock in
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 northern Portugal every two years, and the student festivals of
Queima das Fitas are major events in a number of cities across Portugal.
In the Classical music domain, Portugal is represented by names as the pianist
Maria João Pires, the violinist
Carlos Damas, the operatic baritone
Jorge Chaminé, and in the past by the great cellist
Guilhermina Suggia.
It has also a rich history as far as painting is concerned. The first well-known painters date back to the XV century – like
Nuno Gonçalves - were part of the Gothic painting period.
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 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 by the
Delaunays. Among his best known works is
Canção Popular a Russa e o Fígaro. Another great modernist painter/writer was
Almada Negreiros, friend to the poet
Fernando Pessoa, who painted his (Pessoa’s) portrait. He was deeply influenced by both
Cubist and
Futurist trends. Prominent international figures in visual arts nowadays include painters
Vieira da Silva,
Júlio Pomar, and
Paula Rego.
Traditional architecture is distinctive. Modern Portugal has given the world renowned architects like
Eduardo Souto de Moura,
Álvaro Siza Vieira and
Gonçalo Byrne. Internally,
Tomás Taveira is also noteworthy.
Since the 1990s, Portugal has increased the number of public cultural facilities, in addition to the
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation established in 1956 in Lisbon. These include the
Belém Cultural Center 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 which were built or renovated in many municipalities across the country.
Cuisine
Portuguese cuisine is diverse. The Portuguese love dry
cod (
bacalhau in Portuguese), for which there are hundreds of
recipes. There are more than enough
bacalhau dishes for each day of the year. Two other popular fish recipes are grilled
sardines and
caldeirada. Typical Portuguese meat recipes, that may take
beef,
pork,
lamb, or
chicken, include
feijoada,
cozido à portuguesa,
frango de churrasco, and
carne de porco à alentejana.
Typical
fast food dishes include the
francesinha from Porto, and
bifanas (grilled pork),
prego (grilled beef) or
leitão (
piglet)
sandwiches which are well known around the country. The Portuguese art of
pastry has its origins in ancient recipes of which
pastéis de Belém (or
pastéis de nata) originally from Lisbon, and
ovos-moles from Aveiro are good examples.
Portuguese wines have deserved international recognition since the times of the Roman Empire, which associated Portugal with their God
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 Wine is well known around the world and the most widely exported Portuguese wine.
Sports and games
Football is the most known, loved and practiced sport. The legendary
Eusébio is still a major symbol of Portuguese football history and
Luís Figo and
Cristiano Ronaldo are among the numerous examples of other world-class footballers born in Portugal and noted worldwide.
The
Portuguese national teams, have titles in the
FIFA World Youth Championship and in the
UEFA youth championships. The main national team -
Selecção Nacional - finished second in
Euro 2004, reached the third place in the
1966 FIFA World Cup, and reached the fourth place in the
2006 FIFA World Cup, their best results in major competitions to date.
F.C. Porto,
S.L. Benfica and
Sporting C.P. are the largest
sports clubs by popularity and in terms of trophies won, often known as "
os três grandes" (
"the big three"). They have a number of titles won in the European
UEFA club competitions, were present in many 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.
Portugal has a successful
rink hockey team, with 15
world titles and 20
european titles, making it the country with the most wins in both competitions. The most successful Portuguese rink hockey clubs in the history of European championships are
F.C. Porto,
S.L. Benfica,
Sporting CP, and
Óquei de Barcelos.
The
national rugby union team made a dramatic qualification into the
2007 Rugby World Cup and become the first all amateur team to qualify for the World Cup since the dawn of the professional era. The Portuguese national team of
rugby sevens has performed well, becoming one of the strongest teams in Europe, and proved their status as European champions in several occasions.
Rui Silva, in men's athletics, has won several gold, silver and bronze medals in the European, World and Olympic Games competitions.
Francis Obikwelu in the 100 m and the 200 m, had silver in the
2004 Summer Olympics.
Naide Gomes in
pentathlon and
long jump, is another Portuguese elite athlete, which led to a gold medal in the
2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships' long jump competition. In the
triathlon,
Vanessa Fernandes, has won a large number of medals and major competitions across the world and in 2007 became the world champion both in
Triathlon and
Duathlon. In
judo,
Telma Monteiro is European champion in the women's under-52 kg category.
Nelson Évora is world champion in
triple jump.
Cycling, with
Volta a Portugal being the most important race, is also a popular sports event and include professional cycling teams such as
S.L. Benfica,
Boavista,
Clube de Ciclismo de Tavira, and
União Ciclista da Maia. Noted Portuguese cyclists include, among others, names as
Joaquim Agostinho,
Marco Chagas,
José Azevedo and
Sérgio Paulinho(an olympic medalist in Athens).
The country has also achieved notable performances in sports like
fencing,
surfing,
windsurf,
kitesurf,
kayaking,
sailing and
shooting, among others.
The
paralympic athletes have also conquered many medals in sports like
swimming,
boccia and
wrestling.
Portugal has its own original
martial art,
jogo do pau, in which the fighters use staffs to confront one or several opponents.
International rankings
Political and economic rankings
Health rankings
Fertility rate- 188th most fertile, at 1.48 per woman
- Birth rate - 167th most births, at 10.50 per 1000 people
Death rate - 52nd highest death rate, at 10.60 per 1000 people
Life Expectancy - 49th highest, at 77.87 years
- Suicide Rate - 42nd highest suicide rate, at 18.9 for males and 4.9 for females
HIV/AIDS rate - 73rd most cases, at 0.40%
Other rankings
Global Peace Index - 9th highest, out of 121 countries
CO2 emissions - 68th highest emissions, at 5.63 tonnes per capita
Electricity Consumption - 44th highest consumption of electricity, at 44,010,000,000 kWh
Broadband uptake - 21st highest uptake in OECD, at 11.5%
Beer consumption - 22nd highest, at 59.6 litres per capita
Facts and figures
Official date format: YYYY/MM/DD (ex. 2006/09/08)
Common date format: DD/MM/YYYY (ex. 06/09/2006), dates are written out as DD de MM de YYYY (ex. 18 de Agosto de 2005)
Decimal separator is a comma: 123,45
Thousands are officially separated by a space — 10 000 — although the point is widely used — 10.000
The euro sign is commonly placed either before or after the amount, with the separator either a comma or a point: 10,95 € - € 10,95 - € 10.95 - 10.95 €
Further Information
Get more info on 'Portugual'.
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