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PORTUGAL
Map of PORTUGAL
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Location:
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Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain |
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Geographic coordinates:
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39 30 N, 8 00 W |
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Area:
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total: 92,391 sq km
land: 91,951 sq km
water: 440 sq km
note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than Indiana |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 1,214 km
border countries: Spain 1,214 km |
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Coastline:
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1,793 km |
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
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Climate:
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maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south |
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Terrain:
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mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in south |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Ponta do Pico (Pico or Pico Alto) on Ilha do Pico in the Azores 2,351 m |
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Natural resources:
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fish, forests (cork), iron ore, copper, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble, clay, gypsum, salt, arable land, hydropower |
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Land use:
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arable land: 17.29%
permanent crops: 7.84%
other: 74.87% (2005) |
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Irrigated land:
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6,500 sq km (2003) |
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Natural hazards:
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Azores subject to severe earthquakes |
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Environment - current issues:
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soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Environmental Modification |
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Population:
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10,676,910 (July 2008 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 16.4% (male 912,995/female 835,715)
15-64 years: 66.2% (male 3,514,905/female 3,555,097)
65 years and over: 17.4% (male 764,443/female 1,093,755) (2008 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun: Portuguese (singular and plural)
adjective: Portuguese |
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Ethnic groups:
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homogeneous Mediterranean stock; citizens of black African descent who immigrated to mainland during decolonization number less than 100,000; since 1990 East Europeans have entered Portugal |
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Religions:
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Roman Catholic 84.5%, other Christian 2.2%, other 0.3%, unknown 9%, none 3.9% (2001 census) |
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Languages:
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Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally used) |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.3%
male: 95.5%
female: 91.3% (2003 est.) |
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
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total: 15 years
male: 15 years
female: 16 years (2006) |
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Education expenditures - percent of GDP:
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5.5% (2005) |
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Portuguese Republic
conventional short form: Portugal
local long form: Republica Portuguesa
local short form: Portugal |
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Government type:
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republic; parliamentary democracy |
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Capital:
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name: Lisbon
geographic coordinates: 38 43 N, 9 08 W
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
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Administrative divisions:
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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 (Lisbon), Madeira*, Portalegre, Porto, Santarem, Setubal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Viseu |
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Independence:
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1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 5 October 1910 (republic proclaimed) |
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National holiday:
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Portugal Day (Day of Portugal), 10 June (1580); note - also called Camoes Day, the day that revered national poet Luis de Camoes (1524-80) died
Source: http:/cia.gov
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