Portugal




                                 Geography


Location:
     Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean west of Spain
Map references:
     Africa, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World
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
Land boundaries:
     total 1,214 km, Spain 1,214 km
Coastline:
     1,793 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf:
     200-m depth or to depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone:
     200 nm
territorial sea:
     12 nm
International disputes:
     sovereignty over Timor Timur (East Timor Province) disputed with
     Indonesia
Climate:
     maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south
Terrain:
     mountainous north of the Tagus, rolling plains in south
Natural resources:
     fish, forests (cork), tungsten, iron ore, uranium ore, marble
Land use:
arable land:
     32%
permanent crops:
     6%
meadows and pastures:
     6%
forest and woodland:
     40%
other:
     16%
Irrigated land:
     6,340 sq km (1989 est.)
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
Note:
     Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western
     sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar


                                  People


Population:
     10,524,210 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     0.36% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     11.66 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     9.7 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     1.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     9.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     75.2 years
male:
     71.77 years
female:
     78.86 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     1.46 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Portuguese (singular and plural)
adjective:
     Portuguese
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
Religions:
     Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant denominations 1%, other 2%
Languages:
     Portuguese
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
     85%
male:
     89%
female:
     82%




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


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Portuguese Republic
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Republica Portuguesa
local short form:
Digraph:
     PO
Type:
     republic
Capital:
     Lisbon
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
Dependent areas:
     Macau (scheduled to become a Special Administrative Region of China on
     20 December 1999)
Independence:
     1140 (independent republic proclaimed 5 October 1910)
National holiday:
     Day of Portugal, 10 June (1580)
Constitution:
     25 April 1976, revised 30 October 1982 and 1 June 1989
Legal system:
     civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the
     constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,
     with reservations
Suffrage:
     18 years of age; universal
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)
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
Legislative branch:
     unicameral
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
Judicial branch:
     Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Supremo Tribunal de Justica)
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)
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
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
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)
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
     (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Sharon P. WILKINSON
embassy:
     Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600 Lisbon
mailing address:
     PSC 83, Lisbon; APO AE 09726
telephone:
     [351] (1) 726-6600 or 6659, 8670, 8880
FAX:
     [351] (1) 726-9109
consulate(s):
     Ponta Delgada (Azores)




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


                                  Economy


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.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $91.5 billion (1993)
National product real growth rate:
     -0.4% (1993)
National product per capita:
     $8,700 (1993)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     7% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     7% (1993 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
     $27.3 billion
expenditures:
     $33.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $4.5 billion (1991
     est.)
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)
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%




External debt:
     $20 billion (1993 est.)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 9.1% (1990); accounts for 40% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
     6,624,000 kW
production:
     26.4 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     2,520 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     textiles and footwear; wood pulp, paper, and cork; metalworking; oil
     refining; chemicals; fish canning; wine; tourism
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
Illicit drugs:
     increasingly important gateway country for Latin American cocaine
     entering the European market; transshipment point for hashish from
     North Africa to Europe
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
Currency:
     1 Portuguese escudo (Esc) = 100 centavos
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)
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


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
Highways:
total:
     73,661 km
paved and gravel:
     61,599 km (including 453 km of expressways)
unpaved:
     earth 12,062 km
Inland waterways:
     820 km navigable; relatively unimportant to national economy, used by
     shallow-draft craft limited to 300-metric-ton cargo capacity
Pipelines:
     crude oil 22 km; petroleum products 58 km




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


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, National Republican Guard,
     Fiscal Guard, Public Security Police
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.)
Defense expenditures:
     exchange rate conversion - $2.1 billion, 2.9% of GDP (1993)