Edition 1994 — Portugal — World Factbook

Administrative divisions

18 districts (distritos, singular - distrito) and 2 autonomous regions* (regioes autonomas, singular - regiao autonoma); Aveiro, Acores (Azores)*, Beja, Braga, Braganca, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Evora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisboa, Madeira*, Portalegre, Porto, Santarem, Setubal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Viseu

Agriculture

accounts for 6.1% of GDP and 20% of labor force; small, inefficient farms; imports more than half of food needs; major crops - grain, potatoes, olives, grapes; livestock sector - sheep, cattle, goats, poultry, meat, dairy products

Airports

total: 65 usable: 63 with permanent-surface runways: 37 with runways over 3,659 m: 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 10 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 11

Area

total area: 92,080 sq km land area: 91,640 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands

Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da Republica)

elections last held 6 October 1991 (next to be held NA October 1995); results - PSD 50.4%, PS 29.3%, CDU 8.8%, Center Democrats 4.4%, National Solidarity Party 1.7%, PRD 0.6%, other 4.8%; seats - (230 total) PSD 136, PS 71, CDU 17, Center Democrats 5, National Solidarity Party 1

Birth rate

11.66 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Branches

Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, National Republican Guard, Fiscal Guard, Public Security Police

Budget

revenues: $27.3 billion expenditures: $33.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $4.5 billion (1991 est.)

Capital

Lisbon

Climate

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

Coastline

1,793 km

Constitution

25 April 1976, revised 30 October 1982 and 1 June 1989

Council of State

acts as a consultative body to the president cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president on recommendation of the prime minister

Currency

1 Portuguese escudo (Esc) = 100 centavos

Death rate

9.7 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $2.1 billion, 2.9% of GDP (1993)

Dependent areas

Macau (scheduled to become a Special Administrative Region of China on 20 December 1999)

Digraph

PO

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Francisco Jose Laco Treichler KNOPFLI chancery: 2125 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 328-8610

Economic aid

recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.8 billion Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.2 billion

Electricity

capacity: 6,624,000 kW production: 26.4 billion kWh consumption per capita: 2,520 kWh (1992)

Environment

current issues: soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas natural hazards: Azores subject to severe earthquakes international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban

Ethnic divisions

homogeneous Mediterranean stock in mainland, Azores, Madeira Islands; citizens of black African descent who immigrated to mainland during decolonization number less than 100,000

Exchange rates

Portuguese escudos (Esc) per US$1 - 176.16 (January 1994), 160.80 (1993), 135.00 (1992), 144.48 (1991), 142.55 (1990), 157.46 (1989)

Executive branch

chief of state: President Dr. Mario Alberto Nobre Lopes SOARES (since 9 March 1986); election last held 13 February 1991 (next to be held NA February 1996); results - Dr. Mario Lopes SOARES 70%, Basilio HORTA 14%, Carlos CARVALHAS 13%, Carlos MARQUES 3% head of government: Prime Minister Anibal CAVACO SILVA (since 6 November 1985)

Exports

$17.5 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: cotton textiles, cork and paper products, canned fish, wine, timber and timber products, resin, machinery, appliances partners: EC 75.4%, other developed countries 12.4%, US 3.8% (1992)

External debt

$20 billion (1993 est.)

FAX

(202) 462-3726 consulate(s) general: Boston, New York, Newark (New Jersey), and San Francisco consulate(s): Los Angeles, New Bedford (Massachusetts), and Providence (Rhode Island)

[351] (1) 726-9109 consulate(s): Ponta Delgada (Azores)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Flag

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

Highways

total: 73,661 km paved and gravel: 61,599 km (including 453 km of expressways) unpaved: earth 12,062 km

Illicit drugs

increasingly important gateway country for Latin American cocaine entering the European market; transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Europe

Imports

$28 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.) commodities: machinery and transport equipment, agricultural products, chemicals, petroleum, textiles partners: EC 72%, other developed countries 10.9% less developed countries 12.9%, US 3.4%

Independence

1140 (independent republic proclaimed 5 October 1910)

Industrial production

growth rate 9.1% (1990); accounts for 40% of GDP

Industries

textiles and footwear; wood pulp, paper, and cork; metalworking; oil refining; chemicals; fish canning; wine; tourism

Infant mortality rate

9.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

7% (1993 est.)

Inland waterways

820 km navigable; relatively unimportant to national economy, used by shallow-draft craft limited to 300-metric-ton cargo capacity

International disputes

sovereignty over Timor Timur (East Timor Province) disputed with Indonesia

Irrigated land

6,340 sq km (1989 est.)

Judicial branch

Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Supremo Tribunal de Justica)

Labor force

4,605,700 by occupation: services 45%, industry 35%, agriculture 20% (1988)

Land boundaries

total 1,214 km, Spain 1,214 km

Land use

arable land: 32% permanent crops: 6% meadows and pastures: 6% forest and woodland: 40% other: 16%

Languages

Portuguese

Legal system

civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Legislative branch

unicameral

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 75.2 years male: 71.77 years female: 78.86 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 85% male: 89% female: 82%

Location

Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean west of Spain

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 2,723,987; fit for military service 2,207,637; reach military age (20) annually 89,380 (1994 est.)

Map references

Africa, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

continental shelf: 200-m depth or to depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Member of

AfDB, Australian Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, FAO, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), LORCS, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMOZ, UNPROFOR, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Merchant marine

61 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 962,293 GRT/1,779,855 DWT, bulk 3, cargo 25, chemical tanker 4, container 3, liquified gas 2, oil tanker 18, refrigerated cargo 3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1, short-sea passenger 2 note: Portugal has created a captive register on Madeira (MAR) for Portuguese-owned ships that will have the taxation and crewing benefits of a flag of convenience; although only one ship currently is known to fly the Portuguese flag on the MAR register, it is likely that a majority of Portuguese flag ships will transfer to this subregister in a few years

Names

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

National holiday

Day of Portugal, 10 June (1580)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $91.5 billion (1993)

National product per capita

$8,700 (1993)

National product real growth rate

-0.4% (1993)

Nationality

noun: Portuguese (singular and plural) adjective: Portuguese

Natural resources

fish, forests (cork), tungsten, iron ore, uranium ore, marble

Net migration rate

1.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Note

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

Overview

Portugal's economy registered only 1.1% growth in 1992 and contracted by 0.4% in 1993, in contrast to the 4.5% average of the fast-paced 1986-90 period. Recession in the European Union, which accounts for 75% of Portugal's international trade, is the key factor in the downturn. The government's long-run economic goal is the modernization of Portuguese markets, industry, infrastructure, and workforce in order to catch up with productivity and income levels of the more advanced EU countries. Per capita income now equals only 55% of the EU average. The government's medium-term economic objective is to be in the first tier of EU countries eligible to join the economic and monetary union (EMU) as early as 1997. Economic policy in 1993 focused on reducing inflationary pressures by lowering the fiscal deficit, maintaining a stable escudo, moderating wage increases, and encouraging increased competition. Resumption of growth in the short run depends on the revival of growth in Europe as a whole, not a likely prospect in the immediate future.

Pipelines

crude oil 22 km; petroleum products 58 km

Political parties and leaders

Social Democratic Party (PSD), Anibal CAVACO Silva; Portuguese Socialist Party (PS), Antonio GUTERRES; Party of Democratic Renewal (PRD), Pedro CANAVARRO; Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), Carlos CARVALHAS; Social Democratic Center (CDS), Manuel MONTEIRO; National Solidarity Party (PSN), Manuel SERGIO; Center Democratic Party (CDS); United Democratic Coalition (CDU; Communists)

Population

10,524,210 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

0.36% (1994 est.)

Ports

Leixoes, Lisbon, Porto, Ponta Delgada (Azores), Velas (Azores), Setubal, Sines

Railroads

3,625 km total; state-owned Portuguese Railroad Co. (CP) operates 2,858 km 1.665-meter gauge (434 km electrified and 426 km double track), 755 km 1.000-meter gauge; 12 km (1.435-meter gauge) electrified, double track, privately owned

Religions

Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant denominations 1%, other 2%

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Telecommunications

generally adequate integrated network of coaxial cables, open wire and microwave radio relay; 2,690,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 57 AM, 66 (22 repeaters) FM, 66 (23 repeaters) TV; 6 submarine cables; 3 INTELSAT earth stations (2 Atlantic Ocean, 1 Indian Ocean), EUTELSAT, domestic satellite systems (mainland and Azores); tropospheric link to Azores

Terrain

mountainous north of the Tagus, rolling plains in south

Total fertility rate

1.46 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Type

republic

Unemployment rate