Portugal

Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain

39 30 N, 8 00 W

Europe

slightly smaller than Virginia

1,793 km

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

the west-flowing Tagus River divides the country: the north is mountainous toward the interior, while the south is characterized by rolling plains

fish, forests (cork), iron ore, copper, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble, clay, gypsum, salt, arable land, hydropower

5,662 sq km (2019)

concentrations are primarily along or near the Atlantic coast; both Lisbon and the second largest city, Porto, are coastal cities

Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar; they are two of the four North Atlantic archipelagos that make up Macaronesia; the others are the Canary Islands (Spain) and Cabo Verde

Portuguese 95%; citizens from Portugal’s former colonies in Africa, Asia (Han Chinese), and South America (Brazilian) and other foreign born 5%

Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official, but locally used)

Catholic 68.1%, not applicable 12.9%, no religion 12.0%, no response 2.2%, Protestant 1.8%, other 1.0%; less than 1%: other Christians, Orthodox, Muslim (2021 est.)

-0.11% (2025 est.)

8.03 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

10.92 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

1.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

concentrations are primarily along or near the Atlantic coast; both Lisbon and the second largest city, Porto, are coastal cities

3.001 million LISBON (capital), 1.325 million Porto (2023)

29.9 years (2020 est.)

15 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

1.46 children born/woman (2025 est.)

0.71 (2025 est.)

5.85 physicians/1,000 population (2022)

3.5 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)

20.8% (2016)

0.9% (2016 est.)

50.6% (2021 est.)

semi-presidential republic

civil law system; Constitutional Court reviews legislative acts

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BIS, CD, CE, CERN, CPLP, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAIA (observer), MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club (associate), PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 1 December 1640 (independence reestablished after 60 years of Spanish rule); 5 October 1910 (republic proclaimed)

Portugal Day (Dia de Portugal), 10 June (1580)

armillary sphere (a spherical astrolabe for modeling objects in the sky)

red, green

high-income EU and eurozone economy; strong services sector led by tourism and banking; tight labor market; growth driven by private consumption, trade surplus, and public investment from EU funds; declining public debt

$308.683 billion (2024 est.)

milk, tomatoes, olives, grapes, maize, pork, potatoes, chicken, apples, oranges (2023)

textiles, clothing, footwear, wood and cork, paper and pulp, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, automobiles and auto parts, base metals, minerals, porcelain and ceramics, glassware, technology, telecommunications; dairy products, wine, other foodstuffs; ship construction and refurbishment; tourism, plastics, financial services, optics

1.2% (2024 est.)

5.464 million (2024 est.)

16.4% (2021 est.)

22.8% (of GDP) (2023 est.)

Spain 21%, France 11%, Germany 10%, USA 8%, UK 5% (2023)

cars, garments, vehicle parts/accessories, unpackaged medicine, refined petroleum (2023)

Spain 33%, Germany 11%, France 7%, Netherlands 5%, China 5% (2023)

cars, crude petroleum, vehicle parts/accessories, refined petroleum, garments (2023)

Radio e Televisao de Portugal, the publicly owned TV broadcaster, operates 4 domestic channels and external service channels to Africa;  roughly 40 domestic TV stations; widespread access to international broadcasters, with more than half of households connected to multi-channel cable or satellite TV systems; publicly owned radio operates 3 national networks and provides regional and external services; several privately owned national radio stations and about 300 regional and local commercial radio stations

.pt

CR, CS

128 (2025)

65 (2025)

approximately 25,000 active-duty military personnel (2025)

the military's inventory includes mostly European- and US-origin weapons systems along with smaller amounts of domestically produced equipment; Portugal's defense industry is noted for its shipbuilding (2025)

18-30 years of age for voluntary or contract military service for men and women (upper age limit varies by military branch, position, role); no compulsory military service (abolished 2004) but conscription possible if insufficient volunteers available; contract service lasts for an initial period of 2-6 years, and can be extended to a maximum of 20 years of service; initial voluntary military service lasts 12 months; reserve obligation to age 35 (2025)

the Portuguese Armed Forces have more than 1,100 military personnel deployed around the world engaged in missions supporting the EU, NATO, the UN, and partner nations; key deployments include 225 troops in the Central African Republic under the UN and about 350 troops supporting NATO's forward presence in Lithuania and Romania; it also participates in NATO air policing and maritime patrolling operations (2025)