1992: O mundo em três cores (Portuguese Edition)

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Henry based his newly formed county in Bracara Augusta modern Braga , capital city of the ancient Roman province, and also previous capital of several kingdoms over the first millennia. Afonso then turned his arms against the Moors in the south. Afonso's campaigns were successful and, on 25 July , he obtained an overwhelming victory in the Battle of Ourique , and straight after was unanimously proclaimed King of Portugal by his soldiers. Afonso then established the first of the Portuguese Cortes at Lamego , where he was crowned by the Archbishop of Braga, though the validity of the Cortes of Lamego has been disputed and called a myth created during the Portuguese Restoration War.

Afonso Henriques and his successors, aided by military monastic orders , pushed southward to drive out the Moors. At this time, Portugal covered about half of its present area. In , the Reconquista ended with the capture of the Algarve and complete expulsion of the last Moorish settlements on the southern coast, giving Portugal its present-day borders, with minor exceptions. This treaty established inter alia the border demarcation between the kingdom of Portugal and the kingdom of Leon, where the disputed town of Olivenza was included. In and Portugal, like the rest of Europe, was devastated by the Black Death.

Over time, this went far beyond geo-political and military cooperation protecting both nations' interests in Africa, the Americas and Asia against French, Spanish and Dutch rivals and maintained strong trade and cultural ties between the two old European allies. Particularly in the Oporto region, there is visible English influence to this day. With this battle, the House of Aviz became the ruling house of Portugal. Portugal spearheaded European exploration of the world and the Age of Discovery.

During this period, Portugal explored the Atlantic Ocean , discovering several Atlantic archipelagos like the Azores , Madeira , and Cape Verde , explored the African coast, colonized selected areas of Africa, discovered an eastern route to India via the Cape of Good Hope , 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 China and Japan.

In , 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 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. 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 , and divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the two countries along a meridian leagues west of the Cape Verde islands off the west coast of Africa. In , Vasco da Gama reached India and brought economic prosperity to Portugal and its population of 1. Philip's , Newfoundland and Labrador , long before the French and English in the 17th century, and being just one of many Portuguese Colonizations of the Americas. 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 were the first Europeans to arrive in Australia, there is also some evidence that the Portuguese may have discovered Australia in The Treaty of Zaragoza , signed on 22 April 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. Portugal voluntarily entered a dynastic union between and Portugal did not lose its formal independence, briefly forming a union of kingdoms. At this time Spain was a geographic territory. War led to a deterioration of the relations with Portugal's oldest ally, England , and the loss of Hormuz , a strategic trading post located between Iran and Oman. From to 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 , John IV spearheaded an uprising backed by disgruntled nobles and was proclaimed king. This was the beginning of the House of Braganza , which reigned in Portugal until Pedro's reign saw the consolidation of national independence, imperial expansion, and investment in domestic production. Acting as an absolute monarch, John nearly depleted his country's tax revenues on ambitious architectural works, most notably Mafra Palace , and on commissions and additions for his sizable art and literary collections.

John V died the following year and his son, Joseph I of Portugal, was crowned. As the King's confidence in de Melo increased, the King entrusted him with more control of the state. Impressed by British economic success that he had witnessed from his time as an Ambassador, he successfully implemented similar economic policies in Portugal. He abolished slavery in Portugal and in the Portuguese colonies in India; reorganized the army and the navy; restructured the University of Coimbra , and ended discrimination against different Christian sects in Portugal.

He demarcated the region for production of 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 , when Lisbon was struck by a violent earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 8. The city was razed to the ground by the earthquake and the subsequent tsunami and ensuing fires. 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 marching troops around the models. The buildings and big squares of the Pombaline City Centre still remain as one of Lisbon's tourist attractions. As his power grew, his enemies increased in number, and bitter disputes with the high nobility became frequent. In Joseph I was wounded in an attempted assassination. The Jesuits were expelled from the country and their assets confiscated by the crown. This was the final stroke that broke the power of the aristocracy. Joseph I made his loyal minister Count of Oeiras in In , Spain invaded Portuguese territory as part of the Seven Years' War , but by the status quo between Spain and Portugal before the war had been restored.

The Marquis of Pombal died on his estate at Pombal in 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. In the autumn of , Napoleon moved French troops through Spain to invade Portugal. From to , British-Portuguese forces would successfully fight against the French invasion of Portugal , while the royal family and the Portuguese nobility , including Maria I, relocated to the Portuguese territory of Brazil , at that time a colony of the Portuguese Empire , in South America.

Economy of Portugal

This episode is known as the Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil. With the occupation by Napoleon, Portugal began a slow but inexorable decline that lasted until the 20th century. This decline was hastened by the independence in of the country's largest colonial possession, Brazil. As a result of the change in its status and the arrival of the Portuguese royal family, Brazilian administrative, civic, economical , military, educational , and scientific apparatus were expanded and highly modernized. However, the King of Portugal remained in Brazil until the Liberal Revolution of , which started in Porto , demanded his return to Lisbon in Thus he returned to Portugal but left his son 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 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 , whereby Emperor Pedro I granted to his father the titular honour of Emperor of Brazil. John VI's death in 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. However, Pedro's brother, Infante Miguel , claimed the throne in protest. In order to defend his daughter's rights to the throne, Pedro launched the Liberal Wars to reinstall his daughter and establish a constitutional monarchy in Portugal.

The war ended in , with Miguel's defeat, the promulgation of a constitution, and the reinstatement of Queen Maria II. Under his reign, roads, telegraphs, and railways were constructed and improvements in public health advanced. His popularity increased when, during the cholera outbreak of —, he visited hospitals handing out gifts and comforting the sick. 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.

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 Conference of Berlin of , Portuguese Africa territories 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. 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 British Ultimatum. This forced the Portuguese military to retreat from the land between the Portuguese colonies of Mozambique and 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.

Manuel II of Portugal became the new king, but was eventually overthrown by the 5 October revolution , which abolished the regime and instated republicanism in Portugal. Political instability and economic weaknesses were fertile ground for chaos and unrest during the Portuguese First Republic.

Gradually, new economic development projects and relocation of mainland Portuguese citizens into the overseas provinces in Africa were initiated, with Angola and 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 transcontinental nation and not as a colonial empire. After India attained independence in , pro-Indian residents of Dadra and Nagar Haveli , with the support of the Indian government and the help of pro-independence organisations, separated the territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli from Portuguese rule in Another forcible retreat from overseas territories occurred in December when Portugal refused to relinquish the territories of Goa , Daman and Diu.

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 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 Also in the early s, independence movements in the Portuguese overseas provinces of Angola , Mozambique and Guinea in Africa, resulted in the Portuguese Colonial War — 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.

This period was characterized by social turmoil and power disputes between left- and right-wing political forces. 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 , prompted a mass exodus of Portuguese citizens from Portugal's African territories mostly from Portuguese Angola and Mozambique.

Over one million 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. By , all the Portuguese African territories were independent and Portugal held its first democratic elections in 50 years. 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 Portugal bounced between socialism and adherence to the neoliberal model. Land reform and nationalizations were enforced; the Portuguese Constitution approved in was rewritten in order to accommodate socialist and communist principles. Until the constitutional revisions of and , the constitution was a highly charged ideological document with numerous references to socialism, the rights of workers, and the desirability of a socialist economy.

Portugal's economic situation after its transition to democracy, obliged the government to pursue International Monetary Fund IMF -monitored stabilization programs in —78 and — In , the independence of East Timor Asia was formally recognized by Portugal, after an incomplete decolonization process that was started in because of the Carnation Revolution, but interrupted by an Indonesian armed invasion and occupation.

On 26 March , Portugal started to implement Schengen Area rules, eliminating border controls with other Schengen members while simultaneously strengthening border controls with non-member states. Expo '98 took place in Portugal and in it was one of the founding countries of the euro and the eurozone. The Republic of Ireland was the only EU state to hold a democratic referendum on the Lisbon Treaty; it was initially rejected by voters in The territory of Portugal includes an area in the Iberian Peninsula referred to as the continent by most Portuguese and two archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean: Mainland Portugal is split by its main river, the Tagus , that flows from Spain and disgorges in 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 in the Azores.

The archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores are scattered within the Atlantic Ocean: Geologically, these islands were formed by volcanic and seismic events. The last terrestrial volcanic eruption occurred in —58 Capelinhos and minor earthquakes occur sporadically, usually of low intensity.

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This is the 3rd largest exclusive economic zone of the European Union and the 11th largest in the world. There are however, variations from the highlands to the lowlands: Rivas Martinez, presents several different bioclimatic zones for Portugal. Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere.

The record high of In these places snow can fall any time from October to May. In the South of the country snowfalls are rare but still occur in the highest elevations. Both the archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira have a subtropical climate, although variations between islands exist, making weather predictions very difficult owing to rough topography. Some islands in Azores do have drier months in the summer.

Porto Santo island in Madeira has a semi-arid steppe climate BSh. The Serra da Estrela , the highest mountain range on continental Portugal. Beach in Vila Nova de Milfontes , on the Alentejo region. The cultivated hillsides of the Douro river valley of Northern Portugal. Monsaraz and the Alqueva Reservoir on the background, on the Alentejo. Cabo da Roca , the westernmost point of mainland Europe. Despite the fact that humans have occupied the territory of Portugal for thousands of years, something still remains of the original vegetation.

Due to the human population decrease and rural exodus, Pyrenean oak and other local native trees are colonizing many abandoned areas.

Boar , Iberian red deer, roe deer, and the Iberian wild goat, are reported to have expanded greatly during recent decades. Boars were found recently roaming at night inside large urban areas, like in Setubal. Protected areas of Portugal include one national park Portuguese: Parque Nacional , 12 natural parks Portuguese: Parque Natural , nine natural reserves Portuguese: Reserva Natural , five natural monuments Portuguese: Monumento Natural , and seven protected landscapes Portuguese: These natural environments are shaped by diverse flora, and include widespread species of pine especially the Pinus pinaster and Pinus pinea species , the English oak Quercus robur , the Pyrenean oak Quercus pyrenaica the chestnut Castanea sativa , the cork-oak Quercus suber , the holm oak Quercus ilex or the Portuguese oak Quercus faginea.

Due to their economic value, some species of the genus Eucalyptus were introduced and are now common, despite their environmental impact. Laurisilva is a unique type of subtropical rainforest, which nowadays, in Europe, is only restricted to the Iberian Peninsula: Portugal is an important stopover for migratory birds, in places such as Cape St.

Vincent or the Monchique mountains, where thousands of birds cross from Europe to Africa during the autumn or in the spring return migration. Most of the avian species congregate along the Iberian Peninsula since it is the closest stopover between Northern Europe and Africa. Six hundred bird species occur in Portugal either for nesting or during the course of migration , and annually there are new registries of nesting species. The archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are transient stopover for American, European, and African birds, while continental Portugal mostly encounters European and African bird species.

There are more than freshwater fish species, varying from the giant European catfish in the Tagus International Natural Park to some small and endemic species that live only in small lakes along the western portion of country, for example. Some of these rare and specific species are highly endangered because of habitat loss, pollution and drought. Up-welling along the west coast of Portugal makes the sea extremely rich in nutrients and diverse species of marine fish; the Portuguese marine waters are one of the richest in the world.

Marine fish species are more common, and include thousands of species, such as the sardine Sardina pilchardus , tuna and Atlantic mackerel. Bioluminescent species are also well represented including species in different colour spectrum and forms , like the glowing plankton that are possible to observe in some beaches. There are many endemic insect species, most only found in certain parts of Portugal, while other species are more widespread like the stag beetle Lucanus cervus and the cicada.

The Macaronesian islands Azores and Madeira have many endemic species like birds, reptiles, bats, insects, snails and slugs that evolved independently from other regions of Portugal. In Madeira, for example, it is possible to observe more than species of land gastropods. Portugal has been a semi-presidential representative democratic republic since the ratification of the Constitution of , 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, who is elected to a five-year term, has an executive role: The Assembly of the Republic is a single chamber parliament composed of deputies elected for a four-year term. The Courts are organized into several levels, among the judicial, administrative and fiscal branches. A thirteen-member Constitutional Court oversees the constitutionality of the laws. The Head of State of Portugal is the President of the Republic , elected to a five-year term by direct, universal suffrage.

He or she has also supervision and reserve powers. 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 is advised on issues of importance by the Council of State , which is composed of six senior civilian officers, any former Presidents elected under the Constitution, five-members chosen by the Assembly, and five selected by the president.

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 — 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. 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. The 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 deputies.

Elected by universal suffrage according to a system of closed party-list proportional representation , deputies serve four-year terms of office, unless the President dissolves the Assembly and calls for new elections. 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 , as amended , the Portuguese Civil Code , as amended and the Penal Code of Portugal , as amended. Other relevant laws are the Commercial Code , as amended and the Civil Procedure Code , as amended. The Public Ministry , headed by the Attorney General of the Republic, constitutes the independent body of public prosecutors.

Portuguese law applied in the former colonies and territories and continues to be the major influence for those countries. Portugal was the first country in the world to abolish life imprisonment in and was one of the first countries to abolish the death penalty. Maximum jail sentences are limited to 25 years.

Portugal is also known for having decriminalized the usage of all common drugs in , 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 Drug use among to year-olds also declined, however the use of marijuana rose only slightly among that age group. On 31 May , Portugal became the sixth country in Europe and the eighth country in the world to legally recognize same-sex marriage on the national level.

The law came into force on 5 June Administratively, Portugal is divided into municipalities Portuguese: Operationally, the municipality and civil parish, along with the national government, are the only legally identifiable 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 NUTS , inter-municipal communities and informally, the district system, used until European integration and being phased-out by the national government.

Portugal Continental and the autonomous regions of Portugal Azores and Madeira. The 18 districts of mainland Portugal are: In it co-founded the Community of Portuguese Language Countries CPLP , which seeks to foster closer economic and cultural ties between the world's Lusophone nations. It has a friendship alliance and dual citizenship treaty with its former colony, Brazil. Portugal and England subsequently, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland share the world's oldest active military accord through their Anglo-Portuguese Alliance Treaty of Windsor , which was signed in The armed forces have three branches: Navy , Army and Air Force.

They serve primarily as a self-defense force whose mission is to protect the territorial integrity of the country and provide humanitarian assistance and security at home and abroad. As of [update] , the three branches numbered 39, active personnel including 7, women. Portuguese military expenditure in was billion, representing 2. Military conscription was abolished in The minimum age for voluntary recruitment is 18 years. The Army 21, personnel comprises three brigades and other small units. The Navy 10, personnel, of which 1, are marines , the world's oldest surviving naval force, has five frigates, seven corvettes, two submarines, and 28 patrol and auxiliary vessels.

In addition to the three branches of the armed forces, there is the National Republican Guard , a security force subject to military law and organization gendarmerie comprising 25, personnel. This force is under the authority of both the Defense and the Interior Ministry. It has provided detachments for participation in international operations in Iraq and East Timor.

In the 20th century, Portugal engaged in two major conflicts: The Portuguese government is heavily indebted, and received a 78 billion euro bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund in May After the bailout was announced, the Portuguese government headed by Pedro Passos Coelho managed to implement measures with the intention of improving the state's financial situation, including tax hikes, a freeze of civil service-related lower-wages and cuts of higher-wages by The Portuguese government also agreed to eliminate its golden share in Portugal Telecom which gave it veto power over vital decisions.

This allowed considerable slippage in state-managed public works and inflated top management and head officer bonuses and wages. Persistent and lasting recruitment policies boosted the number of redundant public servants. Risky credit , public debt creation, and European structural and cohesion funds were mismanaged across almost four decades.

The case of BPN was particularly serious because of its size, market share, and the political implications — Portugal's then President, Cavaco Silva and some of his political allies, maintained personal and business relationships with the bank and its CEO, who was eventually charged and arrested for fraud and other crimes. Since the Carnation Revolution of , which culminated in the end of one of Portugal's most notable phases of economic expansion that started in the s , [] a significant change has occurred in the nation's annual economic growth.

Since the s, Portugal's public consumption -based economic development model has been slowly changing to a system that is focused on exports, private investment and the development of the high-tech sector. Consequently, business services have overtaken more traditional industries such as textiles, clothing, footwear and 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 s, resulting in the country having to be bailed out by the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund IMF. In May , 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. The Global Competitiveness Report for —, published by the World Economic Forum , placed Portugal on the 36th 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 , ahead of other economically and technologically advanced countries like France, Germany, the United Kingdom and South Korea, but 9 places behind its sole neighbor, Spain. Major state-owned companies include: The PSI 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 with a strong near-term outlook and an increase in investments and exports over previous years.

Economy of Portugal - Wikipedia

Because of a surplus in , 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.

Agriculture in Portugal is based on small to medium-sized family-owned dispersed units. The country produces a wide variety of crops and livestock products, including: Traditionally a sea-power, Portugal has had a strong tradition in the Portuguese fishing sector and is one of the countries with the highest fish consumption per capita.

Portuguese-processed fish products are exported through several companies, under a number of different brands and registered trademarks, such as 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 and metallurgy sectors. Although the country has vast iron and coal reserves — mainly in the north — after the 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 recognised Portuguese mines that are still in operation. 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 5 more deposits in its possession. 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. The so-called reverse circulation drilling program included 15 holes with around 2, metres of total drilling. The objective is to extend resources by integrating the data from drilling results with the expansion expected with the ongoing campaign. Wine has been one of the most noted Portuguese exports. The country is the seventh largest exporter of the product worldwide, by value. Industry is diversified, ranging from automotive Volkswagen Autoeuropa and Peugeot Citroen , aerospace Embraer and OGMA , electronics and textiles , to food , 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. 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 , Porto , Braga , Coimbra and Aveiro.

The banking and insurance sectors performed well until the lates financial crisis , 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 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,, foreign tourists each year. Tourist hotspots in Portugal are: Lisbon attracts the sixteenth-most tourists among European cities [] with seven million tourists occupying the city's hotels in Also, between 5—6 million religious pilgrims visit Fatima each year, where apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three shepherd children reportedly took place in The Portuguese government continues to promote and develop new tourist destinations, such as the Douro Valley , the island of 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 Rooster of Barcelos is bought by many tourists as a souvenir. 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 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. 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. 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.

The European Innovation Scoreboard , placed Portugal-based innovation in the 15th position, with an impressive increase in innovation expenditure and output. By the earlys, Portugal's fast economic growth with increasing consumption and purchase of new automobiles set the priority for improvements in transportation.

Again in the s, after joining the European Economic Community , the country built many new motorways. Opened in , the first motorway which linked Lisbon to the National Stadium was an innovative project that made Portugal among 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 and , it was only after the beginning of the s that large-scale motorway construction was implemented. In , 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 Europe.

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.

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.

The two largest metropolitan areas have subway systems: In Porto , a tram network , of which only a tourist line on the shores of the Douro remains, began construction on 12 September a first for the Iberian Peninsula. All major cities and towns have their own local urban transport network, as well as taxi services. 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.

New programmes combine wind and water: 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. The Statistics Portugal Portuguese: In and according to more up-to-date figures, the population decreased to 10,, A small number of the former Jews may have continued to observe rabbinic Judaism in secret over many generations, in the case of the secret Jews of Belmonte , a small town in the interior; where now people observe the Jewish faith openly.

After the distinction between Old and New Christians was abolished by decree. Another interesting demographic feature relates to the Scandinavian expansion towards the West and strong activity in Northern Portugal where it is believed some coastline communities kept Scandinavian ancestry in Aveiro , Porto and Braga regions. 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, 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. With a low confidence range there are Scandinavian and East European genetical markers. Native Portuguese are an Iberian ethnic group, whose ancestry is very similar to Spaniards and have strong ties with fellow 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 specially with Greeks and Phoenicians add particular cultural phenotypes in Southern Portugal and Southern Spain Tartessos culture making both Portugal and Spain a bridge between North Western Europe and the Mediterranean but maintaining the Atlantic character.

The total fertility rate TFR as of [update] was estimated at 1. The structure of Portuguese society is characterized by an increasing inequality which at present places the country in the lowest third of the Social Justice Index for the European Union.

Portugal's parliament in approved a budget plan for that includes tax breaks for returning emigrants in a bid to lure back those who left during the global financial crisis that hit the country. The expansionary 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. Returning emigrants will be allowed to declare only half their taxable income for five years if they return, provided they lived abroad for at least three years.

Around , residents left Portugal between and in the wake of the global financial crisis. Although some , have since returned, Lisbon wants to tempt the rest to come home - in a similar scheme to the Irish one [] - as well as Portugal struggles with the low birth rate and an ageing population. According to projections by the national statistics office, Portugal's population will fall to 7.

In , Portugal had 10,, inhabitants of whom about , were legal immigrants. Portugal's 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 Angola and Mozambique in , turning over the administration of Macau to the People's Republic of China at the end of 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 Brazilians have Portuguese ancestry , [] has now become a country of net immigration, [] and not just from the last Indian Portuguese until , African Portuguese until , and Far East Asian Portuguese until overseas territories. An estimated , Portuguese returned to Portugal as the country's African possessions gained independence in Since the s, along with a boom in construction , several new waves of Ukrainian , Brazilian , Lusophone Africans and other Africans have settled in the country.

Romanian , Moldovans , Kosovar and Chinese have also migrated to the country. Portugal's Romani population is estimated to be at about 40, In addition, a number of EU citizens , mostly from the United Kingdom, other northern European or Nordic countries, have become permanent residents in the country with the British community being mostly composed of retired pensioners who live in the Algarve and Madeira. According to the Census, 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 , its close identification with early Portuguese nationalism and the foundation of the Portuguese educational system, including its first university.

The growth of the Portuguese overseas empire made its missionaries important agents of colonization , with important roles in the education and evangelization of people from all the inhabited continents. The growth of liberal and nascent republican movements during the eras leading to the formation of the First Portuguese Republic —26 changed the role and importance of organized religion. Portugal is a secular state: Other than the Constitution, the two most important documents relating to religious freedom in Portugal are the Concordata later amended in between Portugal and the Holy See and the Religious Freedom Act.

Portuguese is the official language of Portugal. Portuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and Northern Portugal , originating from Galician-Portuguese , which was the common language of the Galician and Portuguese people until the formation of Portugal. There are still many similarities between the Galician culture and the Portuguese culture. Galicia is a consultative observer of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.

The Portuguese language is derived from the Latin spoken by the romanized pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around years ago — particularly the Celts , Tartessians , Lusitanians and Iberians. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the language spread worldwide as Portugal established a colonial and commercial empire between and These countries, plus Macau Special Administrative Region People's Republic of China where Portuguese is co-official with Cantonese , make up the Lusosphere , a term derived from the ancient Roman province of " Lusitania ", which currently matches the Portuguese territory south of the Douro river.

Mirandese is also recognized as a co-official regional language in some municipalities of North-Eastern Portugal. An estimate of between 6, and 7, Mirandese speakers has been documented for Portugal. The educational system is divided into preschool for those under age 6 , basic education 9 years, in three stages, compulsory , secondary education 3 years, compulsory since , and higher education subdivided in university and polytechnic education.

Universities are usually organized into faculties. Institutes and schools are also common designations for autonomous subdivisions of Portuguese higher education institutions. The total adult literacy rate is 99 percent. Portuguese primary school enrollments are percent. According to the Programme for International Student Assessment PISA , the average Portuguese year-old student, when rated in terms of reading literacy, mathematics and science knowledge, is placed significantly above the OECD 's average, at a similar level as those students from Norway, Poland, Denmark and Belgium, with points is the average.

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, totaled , in Portuguese universities have existed since The oldest Portuguese university was first established in Lisbon before moving to Coimbra. Presently, the largest university in Portugal is the University of Lisbon. The Bologna process has been adopted, since , by Portuguese universities and poly-technical institutes.

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. The last European survey of workers, published in and which formed the basis of this research study showed that Portugal is the 5th European country with lower quality of work. The first quarter of marked a new unemployment rate record for Portugal, as it reached Since , the year when Troika arrived to Portugal to apply the bailout program, around ,, people have left the country, many of them qualified young people.

In , unemployment was at Around 70, jobs were created while 59, people became unavailable to work either due to not finding employment for a long time or emigration. The number of part-time employees who are considered under-employed and as such, would like to work more hours per day, is at , people while , people are currently inactive not working, or studying. The minimum monthly wage in Portugal is January and the previous was euros. This minimum wage was established in January and marked an increase from the previous euros.

In , about 8 per cent [80] of the people with a degree were unemployed , and a much larger proportion was underemployed. This was directly correlated with a general lack of employability and a student's under-preparation for the workplace that was seen among many courses in a number of fields that were offered by certain higher education institutions or departments.

The implementation of the Bologna process and other educational reforms, such as the compulsory closing of a number of courses, departments, colleges and private universities after due to a lack of academic rigour and low teaching standards, was a completely new approach to tackle the problem. In some major private universities were investigated by state agencies and two were immediately closed.

Additionally, a number of degrees of the public system were also discontinued due to lack of quality, low demand from potential students or scarce interest from potential employers in these fields. As of March , the graduate unemployment between 15 and 24 years old rate is over Poverty and inequality are significant social problems that Portugal has attempted to address VIA various social policy measures.

The European economic crisis has increased the number of households that remain below the poverty line in Portugal with the greatest affected being the youth due to high unemployment rates. The minimum wage policy which came after negotiations with labor organizations and employers was only possible after substantial recovery of the economy and will increase the sustainability of the economy with aims at reducing poverty. Portugal uses tax and transfer payments to increase equality between high-income earners and the low-income earners in the country.

The government tax policy ensures that the high-income earners face higher taxes in comparison to low-income earners which have enabled the low-income earners to be able to stimulate demand for goods and services in the country economy. This decade old means tested approach ensures a minimum income which grants financial stability for the citizens of Portugal. The GMI program aims at providing the low-income earners who are above 18 years social and economic autonomy to encourage them to participate in the economic growth of the country.

This report shows GMI policy measures as effective in eradicating poverty and increasing income equality in Portugal [90]. The tertiary sector is presently the most important component of the Portuguese economy, representing It is followed by the industry sector, which represents Cork is a major production, with Portugal producing half of the world's cork. Significant mining resources are lithium , tungsten , tin , and uranium. After years of decline, the agriculture in Portugal had a surprising resurgence, involuntarily caused by the Portuguese debt crisis, when a number of highly qualified persons lost their jobs in the tertiary sector and decided to turn themselves to the development of agricultural businesses, despite having little or no experience in this sector.

Despite presently representing only a small percentage of the economy, a considerable part of continental Portugal is dedicated to agriculture. The South has developed an extensive monoculture of cereals and olive trees and the Douro Valley of vineyards. Portuguese wine and olive oil are especially praised by nationals for their quality, thus external competition even at much lower prices has had little effect on consumer demand.

Portugal is a traditional wine grower, and has exported its wines since the dawn of western civilization; Port Wine , Vinho Verde and Madeira Wine are the leading wine exports. Other exports include horticulture and floriculture products, beet sugar, sunflower oil, cork , and tobacco. The Portuguese fishing industry is fairly large and diversified. Fishing vessels classified according to the area in which they operate, can be divided into local fishing vessels, coastal fishing vessels and long-distance fishing vessels.

These vessels are usually equipped to use more than one fishing method, such as hooks, gill nets and traps, and constitute the so-called polyvalent segment of the fleet. Their physical output is low but reasonable levels of income are attained by virtue of the high commercial value of the species they capture: Purse seine fishing is also part of the local fleet and has, on the mainland, only one target species: These vessels operate in areas farther from the coast, and even outside the Portugal's Exclusive Economic Zone.

The coastal fishing fleet comprises polyvalent, purse seine and trawl fishing vessels. The trawlers operate only on the mainland shelf and target demersal species such as horse mackerel, blue whiting, octopus and crustaceans. The crustacean trawling fishery targets Norway lobster, red shrimp and deepwater rose shrimp. Presently, the major industries in Portugal include: Coimbra and Oeiras have growing technological-based industries, including pharmaceuticals and software. Sines has the largest oil refinery in the country and is a major petrochemical centre, as well as the busiest port in Portugal.

Maia has one of the largest industrial parks of the country, including noted [ according to whom? Marinha Grande is the most reputed glass making centre of Portugal. Modern non-traditional technology-based industries like aerospace , biotechnology and information technology, have been developed in several locations across the country.

Since after 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 , Porto , Braga, Coimbra and Aveiro. Since the late s, when wind power was virtually nonexistent in Portugal, the country has become the 6th producer of this kind of renewable energy. Along with the traditional Hydroelectric energy, the Portuguese companies, including the biggest one in the country — EDP — and with the support of the government have heavily invested in new kinds of renewable energy, from then on.

Fossil fuels are still the source of In May , Portugal became the second country in the world to be able to have all its energy consumption fully covered by renewable energy alone, for four consecutive days. In the s, the country abandoned the plan to install nuclear plants and opted not to invest in nuclear power , so there are no such plants in Portugal. The tertiary sector has grown, producing The most significant growth rates are found in the trade sector, due to the introduction of modern means of distribution, transport and telecommunications.

Financial tertiary companies have benefited from privatisation , also gaining in terms of efficiency. Tourism in Portugal has developed significantly, generating In , the number of foreign tourists jumped 12 percent to Including domestic tourists, the total is about 21 million. Worth to notice is also TAP Portugal , a company often used by transit passengers traveling between Europe, Africa and Latin America mainly Brazil , which is particularly regarded by its safety record.

In the Portuguese financial market , the major stock exchange is the Euronext Lisbon which is part of the NYSE Euronext , the first global stock exchange. It is supervised and regulated by the Portuguese Securities Market Commission. The PSI is Portugal's most selective and widely known stock index. Portuguese banks hold strategic stakes in other sectors of the economy, including the insurance sector.

Overall, Portugal's financial system is sound, well managed and competitive, with shorter-term risks and vulnerabilities quite well contained, and with the system buttressed by a strong financial policy framework. Despite being relatively small and concentrated, Portugal's banking system generally compares well with other European Union EU countries in terms of efficiency , profitability , and asset quality, with solvency also close to European levels.

Across all the financial sub-sectors, and with particular reference to the larger institutions, supervision of Portuguese financial institutions is active, professional and well organized. The insurance sector has performed well, partly reflecting a rapid deepening of the market in Portugal. While sensitive to various types of market and underwriting risks , both the life and non-life sectors, overall, are estimated to be able to withstand a number of severe shocks, even though the impact on individual insurers varies widely.

The Global Competitiveness Report for —, published by the World Economic Forum , placed Portugal on the 36th position on the economic index. A study concerning competitiveness of the 18 Portuguese district capitals, complying with World Economic Forum methodology, was made by Minho University economics researchers. There are many higher education institutions awarding academic degrees in economics and business management , spread across the whole country.

Programmes in management and administration are offered by almost every Portuguese universities and polytechnics. Programmes in economics are offered by all public and by some private universities. Besides the higher education institutions, both the Bank of Portugal and the Statistics Portugal develop lengthy and thoroughly systematic research and make reports on the Portuguese economy. When pensions are included the percentage goes down to In January , the poverty stats was updated to According to ISEG economist, Carlos Farinha Rodrigues Portugal went back 10 years in terms of social reality, having lost all the progress that was made until The risk of poverty after social transfers for men is The National Statistics Institute made a separate calculation, basing their data in in order to have a poverty line that doesn't decrease because of the income decreases associated with the crisis: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Population below poverty line. Economic history of Portugal. European sovereign debt crisis. Energy in Portugal and Renewable energy in Portugal. Retrieved 10 October Retrieved 14 December Retrieved 18 November Retrieved 17 April Retrieved 23 January Archived from the original PDF on 7 January Retrieved 22 January Retrieved 14 September Retrieved 15 June Retrieved 12 May Retrieved 25 October Retrieved 2 October Retrieved 28 July Retrieved 17 August The Portuguese who sit at the top of the world".

Library of Congress , countrystudies. Retrieved 7 October Retrieved 22 December Retrieved 19 May A Peripheral Country at a Crossroads". Retrieved 5 February Archived from the original PDF on 14 August Retrieved 18 May Archived from the original on 6 October Retrieved 2 February Retrieved 3 March Retrieved 4 March Entre a mil portugueses emigraram este ano". Mais de metade dos jovens portugueses admitem emigrar". A concept for wage-led growth and fair wages in Europe". International Journal of Labour Research: Journal of Labor economics: From incentives to crisis".

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