Portugal

Portugal,Template:Efn officially the Portuguese Republic,Template:Efn is a country in Southwestern Europe. It is a unitary republic comprising mainland Portugal, located on the southwestern portion of the Iberian Peninsula and bordered by Spain to the north and east, and the archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean. The country has a population of over 11.4 million, and Lisbon, its capital, is the largest city. Portugal's internal waters and territorial sea together account for two-fifths of its territory, and its exclusive economic zone is one of Europe's largest, while its terrain contains a diverse range of landscapes and regional climates.

The western Iberian Peninsula has been inhabited since prehistory, with the earliest signs of settlement dating to between 5500BC and 5300BC. Portugal was established as a county of the Kingdom of León in 868, and formally as a kingdom in Template:YEAR as a result of the against the Muslims, who had occupied the Iberian Peninsula since 711. During the Age of Discovery, the kingdom made several advancements in nautical science and maritime exploration to discover new territories and sea routes, which led to the establishment of the Portuguese Empire. The kingdom became a republic in Template:YEAR and was a dictatorship from 1926 until the dictatorship's overthrow in Template:YEAR enabled the full establishment of democracy in Template:YEAR.

Portugal is a semi-presidential constitutional unitary republic and multi-party representative democracy with four separate sovereignty bodies: president, government, parliament, and judiciary. It has a unicameral national legislature known as the Assembly of the Republic. Portugal is divided into two autonomous regions and seven regions on the mainland while it remains highly centralised.

A developed country, Portugal has an advanced economy that chiefly relies upon services, industry, and tourism. Shaped by the various civilisations that have inhabited its territory, Portugal developed a culture with a worldwide influence that allowed Portuguese to become the world's fifth-most spoken native language with more than 250 million native speakers. With a stable foreign policy shaped by its colonial and diplomatic history and location, Portugal is a member of multiple international organisations and forums.

Etymology

The word Portugal derives from Latin , meaning 'port of ', itself the origin of Porto, while Cale was a town on the Douro. There is no consensus on the etymology of Cale. It could be an ethnonym derived from the Celtic Gallaeci peoples, who occupied the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Around 136BC, the Romans, during the Second Punic War, conquered Cale from the Carthaginians and renamed it .Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp During the Middle Ages, the region around Portus Cale became known by the Visigoths as Portucale and by the Suebi as Parochiale.Template:Sfnp The name Portucale evolved into Portugale; by the 11th and 12th centuries Portugal was referred to the region between the Douro and Minho rivers.Template:Sfnp

History

Prehistory

The region has been inhabited by humans since approximately 400,000 years ago.Template:Efn Neanderthals roamed the southwestern Iberian peninsula until 37,000 years ago, and a Neanderthal tooth has been found at the Nova da Columbeira Cave in Estremadura.Template:Sfnp arrived in what is now Portugal around 35,000 years ago and spread rapidly.Template:Sfnp The onset of the Neolithic in the area dates to between 5500BC and 5300BC.Template:Sfnp In southern Portugal, Iron Age inscribed stele have been found, representing an early evidence of writing on the Iberian Peninsula.Template:Sfnp Pre-Celtic tribes inhabited Portugal and the Lusitanians occupied central, inland regions.Template:Sfnp Celts inhabited most of the remaining territory of mainland Portugal, leaving lasting traces in the language and culture such as contributing to the formation of Portuguese values and identity, such as .Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Antiquity and early Middle Ages

Ruins of the Roman Temple of Évora with tall Corinthian columns standing on a raised platform made of rocks in a sunlit town square, set against a bright blue sky, with a medieval tower and white buildings in the background.

The Roman Temple of Évora, built in the 1st century

The Mediterranean coast was well known to the Carthaginians, whose close relations with Phoenician-Punic settlements likely gave them considerable political and economic influence there from the 6th or 5th century BC. After Carthage's defeat by Rome in the First Punic War, it sought new western territories, culminating in the Barcid conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in 237BC.Template:Sfnp

Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 218BC.Template:Sfnp The Carthaginians were expelled from the peninsula in 206BC after the Battle of Ilipa.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Within 200 years, almost the entire Iberian Peninsula had been annexed by the Roman Republic, facing resistance from local tribes, such as the Lusitanians led by Viriathus.Template:Sfnp

In 409, with the decline of the Western Roman Empire, the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by Germanic tribes.Template:Sfnp Western Iberia was integrated into the Suebian Kingdom, with its capital in Braga.Template:Sfnp The Visigoths defeated the Suebi and ruled the peninsula until the early 8th century.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

In 711, the Iberian Peninsula was invaded from the south by the Umayyad Caliphate, which expanded rapidly and by 716 most of the peninsula was part of al-Andalus.Template:Sfnp The Umayyads ruled al-Andalus until it fragmented into small states, with the caliphate being abolished in 1031,Template:Sfnp and most of what is now Portugal falling under the Taifa of Badajoz. These were conquered by the Almoravids, who were in turn conquered by the Almohads.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Northern incursions also occurred during this period, with Viking raids recorded from 844 into the 11th century.Template:Sfnp

Reconquista and independence

Statue of Vímara Peres

Vímara Peres

The was a series of military campaigns by northern Iberian Christian polities against the Muslim-ruled al-Andalus.Template:Sfnp It began with the defeat of Umayyad forces at the Battle of Covadonga by legendary Pelagius, a Visigothic nobleman.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp In 868, the region between the Minho and the Douro rivers was secured from the Moors and constituted as the County of Portugal under Vímara Peres.Template:Sfnp The first county of Portugal lasted until it was abolished following the Battle of Pedroso, in 1071.Template:Sfnp In 1096, Alfonso VI of León refounded the county and bestowed it on Henry of Burgundy, who married Alfonso's illegitimate daughter, Teresa of León.Template:Sfnp

Medieval miniature of King Afonso I

King Afonso I

A dispute erupted after the death of Count Henry in 1112, culminating in the Battle of São Mamede in 1128 whereby Afonso Henriques defeated the forces of his mother Countess Teresa and her lover Fernando Pérez de Traba, establishing himself as sole leader of the county.Template:Sfnp In 1139 he won the Battle of Ourique and took the title of King.Template:Sfnp Afonso's claim is documented as having been recognized by Alfonso VII of León at the Conference of Zamora in 1143, and by Pope Alexander III in 1179 through the papal bull .Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

With the support of north-European crusaders and Christian military orders, Afonso Henriques and his successors continued pushing south until the capture of Algarve, which was concluded in 1249.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp With minor readjustments, Portugal's borders have largely remained the same since the signing of the Treaty of Alcañices in 1297.Template:Sfnp Between 1348 and 1349 Portugal was devastated by the Black Death, as was the rest of Europe.Template:Sfnp In 1373, during the reign of King Ferdinand I and in the midst of the Fernandine Wars, Portugal made an alliance with England, which would be later strengthened by the signing of the Treaty of Windsor, making it the oldest standing alliance in the world.Template:Sfnp

Age of Discovery

Painting showing 10 Portuguese vessels near a fortified walled town with a tower rising above the harbor where several vessels lie at anchor, wooded hills stretch into the background, and a distant island appears offshore, with colors shifting from brown-green in the foreground to blue in the distance.

The Portuguese Carracks Off a Rocky Coast painting displays Portuguese vessels of the Age of Discovery during the 16th century.

In 1383, John I of Castile and Beatrice of Portugal, the only surviving legitimate child of Ferdinand I of Portugal, claimed the throne of Portugal.Template:Sfnp John of Aviz led a revolt against him and defeated the Castilians in the Battle of Aljubarrota,Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp with the House of Aviz becoming the ruling house that led Portugal to prominence in European politics and culture.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Portugal acquired its first colonies by conquering Ceuta in 1415.Template:Sfnp The country led the Age of Discovery under the sponsorship of Prince Henry the Navigator,Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp and made several advancements in nautical science.Template:SfnpTemplate:Efn

Portugal was the first and the last colonial power in the era of modern European colonialism,Template:Efn and by the mid-16th century it controlled a network of possessions stretching from Lisbon to Japan and Timor through Brazil.Template:Sfnp Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, Portuguese explorers sailed the coast of Africa, establishing trading posts for commodities especially gold and slaves, explored the Indian Ocean and eastern Asia, established trade routes in most of southern Asia taxing most trade criss-crossing the Indian Ocean.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp The 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas divided newly encountered non-European territories between Portugal and Spain along a meridian west of Cape Verde, while the 1529 Treaty of Zaragoza extended this partition to the Pacific Ocean.Template:Sfnp In 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India by sea, and two years later Pedro Álvares Cabral landed in Brazil and claimed it for Portugal.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Between 1519 and 1522, Ferdinand Magellan organised a Spanish expedition to the East Indies that completed the first circumnavigation of the globe.Template:Sfnp During the 15th century, Portugal established the transatlantic slave-trade circuits and, by the mid-19th century, had become one of the longest-active and a significant participant in the Atlantic slave trade.Template:Sfnp

Iberian Union and Restoration

Engraving of the coronation of John IV of Portugal

The coronation of King John IV in Lisbon

The 1578 death of King Sebastian in battle and the subsequent 1580 death of his great-uncle, King Henry, left the Portuguese throne without a direct heir, precipitating a dynastic crisis.Template:Sfnp Philip II of Spain claimed the throne on the grounds that his mother, Isabella of Portugal, was a Portuguese princess, and in 1580 he was crowned king of Portugal,Template:Sfnp forming a personal union of the two kingdoms,Template:Efn depriving Portugal of an independent foreign policy and leading to its involvement in the Eighty Years' War.Template:Sfnp The Dutch-Portuguese War accelerated the decline of Portugal's Indian Ocean trade monopoly between 1595 and 1663.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

On 15 December 1640, John, Duke of Braganza, was proclaimed king following an uprising led by disgruntled nobles on Template:Ill, ending the Iberian Union under the House of Habsburg, and beginning the rule of the House of Braganza.Template:Sfnp Following its defeat in the Portuguese Restoration War, Spain recognised Afonso VI as king of Portugal.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp During the reign of John V, the large influx of Brazilian gold into the royal treasury, chiefly through the royal fifth, produced a resource curse that weakened industry and cereal production, created a gold rush from Portugal to Brazil, and led to prolonged economic stagnation, permanent reduction of income growth, and the interruption of the institutional and economic progress achieved in the 17th century.Template:Sfnp

After the depletion of gold revenues, Portugal was left with a weak industrial base and backward institutional and educational structures, a condition exacerbated by Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, who emerged as the country's ruler in the aftermath of the 1755 earthquake and tsunami, a natural disaster that shook the kingdom and recognized as one of the worst to ever occur. Pombal's failed industrialisation efforts, education policies that weakened human-capital formation, and expulsion of the Jesuits, reducing student numbers and contributing to Portugal's decline in literacy. Pombal's instrumentalisation of the Inquisition for political purposes, helping to entrench an extractive system that outlasted his rule. The nature of the existing political institutions contributed to Portugal's sustained divergence from Western Europe despite comparable family values and high state capacity, with partial recovery beginning around the mid-20th century.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Constitutional monarchy

A large historical painting shows a crowded parliamentary chamber in the middle of a heated debate during the Constituent Cortes of 1820. Dozens of formally dressed men gesture, argue, and rise from their seats beneath towering crystal chandeliers and a richly decorated ceiling, while officials sit at a central desk below a grand canopy and throne.

The Constituent Cortes of 1820 approved the first constitution of Portugal.

In 1807, Portugal refused Napoleon's demand to join the Continental System of embargo against the United Kingdom; an invasion led by French General Junot followed, and Lisbon was captured in 1807.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp During the Napoleonic invasions, the Portuguese royal family transferred the court to Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, making it the capital between 1808 and 1821.Template:Sfnp British intervention in the Peninsular War helped support Portuguese independence, and all French troops were expelled by 1812.Template:Sfnp

In 1820, an uprising in Porto sought to establish a constitution for Portugal and led to the return of King John VI and his court to mainland Portugal in 1821.Template:Sfnp Although the 1822 Constitution was adopted, the process was marked by compromise and efforts at consensus, which allowed absolutist forces to regain strength, culminating in Miguelist counter-revolts against liberalism, prompting Prince Miguel's exile.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp After John VI's death in 1826, his eldest son, Pedro I of Brazil, briefly reigned as Pedro IV of Portugal, granted the 1826 Charter, and abdicated in favour of his minor daughter, Maria da Glória, on the condition that she marry Miguel, who was appointed regent.Template:Sfnp Although Miguel's return was under the condition of swearing allegiance to the Charter, he soon dismantled liberal institutions and was proclaimed king in 1828, leading to the Liberal Wars, after which Pedro forced Miguel's abdication in favour of Maria and his exile causing absolutist ideology to wane.Template:Sfnp Under the constitutional monarchy, the country faced economic crises, political instability, and several coups d'état.Template:Sfnp At the same time it expanded its colonies in Africa, but this culminated in the 1890 British Ultimatum, which thwarted Portugal's imperialist ambitions and represented a devastating blow to the monarchy.Template:Sfnp

First Republic and

Black-and-white photograph of José Relvas proclaiming the Republic together with several formally dressed men leaning over the balcony railing of Lisbon City Hall and looking down onto a square surrounded with buildings.

José Relvas proclaiming the republic on 5 October 1910, at Lisbon City Hall

In 1908, King Carlos I and his son and heir, Luís Filipe, Prince Royal, were assassinated by republican sympathizers.Template:Sfnp In 1910, the monarchy was replaced with a republic.Template:Sfnp During World War I, Portugal fought for the Allies.Template:Sfnp However, the war increased political instability and deepened the economic crisis creating further chaos and unrest during the First Republic.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp These conditions led to the overthrow of the Republic in 1926 and the establishment of the , which eventually evolved into the right-wing dictatorship of the , under António de Oliveira Salazar, in 1933.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

During the , Portugal remained neutral in World War II, after which the postwar decline of colonial legitimacy and the growth of African independence movements increasingly challenged Portuguese rule overseas.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp The regime introduced reforms intended to strengthen ties between the metropole and the colonies, yet the empire was no unified customs and economic area.Template:Sfnp Indigenous peoples already second-class citizens, saw limited improvements in living conditions further fuelled nationalist movements, ultimately leading to the Portuguese Colonial War from 1961 to 1974.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Return to democracy

Black-and-white nighttime photograph of several armoured military vehicles lined up in Rossio Square, with soldiers standing beside them near the Column of Pedro IV and bright neon signs glowing in the background.

Armoured vehicles in Lisbon's Rossio Square, in 1975

On 25 April 1974, the Carnation Revolution overthrew the regime, initiating the transition to democracy and also the dissolution of the Portuguese empire, from the independence of the African colonies to the Handover of Macau in 1999.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp During the Ongoing Revolutionary Process (PREC), Portugal was governed by a succession of unstable provisional governments amid significant social and political tension, until the failed coup of 25 November 1975 cleared the way for the approval of a new constitution and the holding of new elections.Template:Sfnp

After the transition to democracy, in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, under the influence by new economic insights, Portugal set about dismantling socialist policies from that period and moving towards neoliberalism.Template:Sfnp In 1986, Portugal joined the European Economic Community (EEC), which led to a considerable growth of its economy.Template:Sfnp The 2010–2014 Portuguese financial crisis resulted in an international bailout and intense austerity policies, causing lasting social impacts.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Geography

Refer to caption

A topographic map of Portugal

Portugal's territory comprises mainland Portugal and the Azores and Madeira archipelagos.Template:Sfnp The mainland, commonly referred to as Continental Portugal, is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe, while Madeira and the Azores lie in the Atlantic Ocean.Template:Sfnp The country's land area is , although Portuguese law defines the country's size as which includes about of ocean waters.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Efn Portugal's exclusive economic zone extends , making it one of the largest in the European Union.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp The country is over two-thirds wilderness, almost one-fourth agricultural, and the remainder human settlements.Template:Sfnp Its highest point is the summit of Mount Pico, located on Pico Island in the Azores, which rises to an elevation of above sea level.Template:SfnpTemplate:Efn Portugal can be divided into four morphostructural units: the Hesperian Massif, which occupies most of mainland Portugal; the sedimentary borderlands of the massif, forming the Lusitanian and Algarve basins; the Lower Tagus and Alvalade sedimentary basins; and the volcanic submarine ranges that form the Azores and Madeira.Template:Sfnp Its geological and geomorphological features are largely the product of the Variscan, responsible for the formation of the Hesperian Massif, and later the Tethys–Atlantic cycle, responsible for the remaining units.Template:Sfnp Regional tectonic processes affected mainland Portugal's morphostructural units differently, producing relief variations that subdivide the territory into ten regional geomorphological units shaped by the different regional impacts of the Cenozoic tectonics, regional asymmetries of climate in the Paleogene, Neogene, and Quaternary, and the varied response of different lithologies to tectonic activity and climatic variability.Template:Sfnp

Continental Portugal is predominantly low-altitude, with over 70% of the territory lying below and less than 12% rising above of elevation. Its geography is structured by the Tagus River, which enters from Spain and flows into the Tagus Estuary, as 95% of areas exceeding are situated to the north of the river while the regions south of the Tagus, encompassing Alentejo and the Algarve, have 62% of the lands below . The territory north of the Tagus is marked by mountains and plateaus incised by river valleys, whereas the south is distinguished by rolling plains.Template:Sfnp

The Madeira archipelago comprises the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo, together with the Desertas and Savage Islands, all of which are of volcanic origin. Approximately one-third of Madeira Island lies above in elevation, and its landscape is characterised by a dense network of deep valleys with slopes rising several hundred metres, as well as streams that originate in the island's centre and diverge towards the coast, sustained by abundant rainfall. The steep gradient and very high rainfall is a cause of flash floods with high sediment transport.Template:Sfnp

The Azores is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands which, from west to east, are Flores, Corvo, Faial, Pico, São Jorge, Graciosa, Terceira, São Miguel, and Santa Maria. The islands retain much of their volcanic landforms, most visibly in volcanic cones and in the lakes that shape the scenery of the islands especially São Miguel, Flores, Terceira, Pico, and Corvo. Although rainfall is abundant, most streams in the Azores are temporary. The small size of the catchments, the slopes' steepness, and deforestation accentuates the torrential regime of the rivers during periods of intense precipitation causing erosion problems and floods.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Climate

Koppen-Geiger Map v2 PRT 1991–2020 (labeled).svg

Koppen-Geiger Map v2 PRT 1991–2020 (labeled).svg

Koppen-Geiger Map v2 PRT 1991–2020 (labeled).svg

Koppen-Geiger Map v2 PRT 1991–2020 (labeled).svg

The Köppen climate types of Portugal's terrain

The climate of mainland Portugal and Madeira, together with their surrounding waters, is Mediterranean, whereas the Azores and its adjacent waters mainly have a temperate oceanic climate.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Portugal's terrain has a diverse variety of regional climates for its size.Template:Sfnp The high altitude zones of the Azorean islands have a temperate maritime climate while the western Azores have a humid subtropical climate. In parts of Beja and on Porto Santo Island the climate is semi-arid.Template:Sfnp In the Savage Islands the climate is that of a hot desert.Template:Sfnp The average temperature in Portugal varies from in the mainland, around in the Azores, and in Madeira.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

The Iberian Peninsula is located at the southern margin of the temperate zone and at the northern margin of the subtropical high-pressure zone. Additionally, Portugal's climate is influenced by the seasonal latitudinal shift of the jet stream, which directly impacts the trajectory of the polar front. Typically in the winter, the jet stream moves southwards and Portugal comes under the influence of the polar front, producing colder temperatures. When the polar front moves northward, Portugal comes under the influence of the Azores High bringing atmospheric stability during the summer.Template:Sfnp

Template:Ill remain a serious challenge in Portugal, with nearly 30% of those recorded in 2024 having an undetermined origin and arson accounting for almost five-sixths of the total burned area.Template:Sfnp Between 2014 and 2024, Portugal recorded an annual average of 12,496 fires and burned, making it the European Union country with both the highest average number of wildfires and the greatest average burned area over that period.Template:Sfnp Climate change is projected to raise average temperatures in Portugal by as much as by 2100 relative to the 1990s–2010s average,Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp with impacts in water,Template:Sfnp ecosystem,Template:Sfnp agriculture,Template:Sfnp health,Template:Sfnp and security.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Biodiversity

A wide view of a forested mountain valley in the Peneda-Gerês National Park under grey clouds, with rocky slopes on both sides, a stream running through the centre, and a small stone bridge partly hidden among the trees

The Peneda-Gerês National Park in Northern Portugal is the only national park in Portugal.Template:Sfnp

Portugal is located on the Mediterranean basin, a biodiversity hotspot.Template:Sfnp It is home to six terrestrial ecoregions - Azores temperate mixed forests, Cantabrian mixed forests, Madeira evergreen forests, Iberian sclerophyllous and semi-deciduous forests, Northwest Iberian montane forests, and Southwest Iberian Mediterranean sclerophyllous and mixed forests.Template:Sfnp Almost a quarter of its land area is included in the Natura 2000 network.Template:Sfnp Native species such as holm oak, cork oak, stone pine, and maritime pine make up 72% of the total forested area of continental Portugal.Template:Sfnp The Portuguese west coast is part of the four major Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems of the ocean.Template:Sfnp Portugal and Spain together have a high proportion of endemism among freshwater fish, with 73% of the freshwater fish species being endemic.Template:Sfnp Among Portugal's protected areas are the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park, one of Europe's last remaining stretches of wild coastline, and Montesinho Natural Park, which preserves one of the few thriving Mediterranean mountain landscapes.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Geographical and climatic conditions facilitate the introduction of exotic species that later turn out to be invasive to the native habitats. Over one-fourth of extant plant species in continental Portugal are exotic.Template:Sfnp Portugal has one of the highest numbers of threatened animal and plant species in Europe. The country as a whole is an important stopover for migratory bird species.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp The mammalian species of Portugal such as red deer, Iberian ibex, wild boar, red fox, Iberian wolf, and Iberian lynx were once widespread throughout the country, but intense hunting, habitat degradation, and growing pressure from agriculture and livestock largely reduced their populations in the 19th and 20th centuries.Template:Sfnp Others species, such as the Portuguese ibex, became extinct, but some mammalian species, such as the red deer, have been re-expanding their native range.Template:Sfnp

Government and politics

Portugal has been a semi-presidential representative democratic republic since the ratification of the Constitution of 1976.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp The Constitution makes for a separation of powers among four sovereignty bodies: the president, the government, the Assembly of the Republic, and the courts.Template:Sfnp There is universal suffrage for adults over 18 years of age, with a secret ballot for all elected offices.Template:Sfnp

The head of state of Portugal is the president who is elected to a five-year term by direct, universal adult suffrage.Template:Sfnp The president exercises representative functions, carries supervisory and reserve powers, and shapes political opinions and agendas;Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp in addition, the office includes supreme command of the armed forces and is advised by the Council of State.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp The current president of Portugal is António José Seguro; he took office after winning the runoff vote of the 2026 Portuguese presidential election.

Portugal's legislative body is the Assembly of the Republic, a unicameral parliament.Template:Sfnp It consists of a single chamber with a minimum of 180 seats and a maximum of 230, elected by popular vote every four years or when dissolved.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp The members of parliament represent the whole country and not the constituencies for which they are elected.Template:Sfnp As the head of government, the prime minister directs government policy, leads the Council of Ministers which includes ministers and junior ministers that execute government policy, and is appointed by the president in light of electoral results after consulting with the parties with seats in the Assembly of the Republic.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Portugal's current prime minister is Luís Montenegro, who took office after the AD – PSD/CDS Coalition won enough seats to form a minority government following the 2024 Portuguese legislative election. Portugal operates a multi-party system of competitive legislatures at the national, regional, and local levels.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp The Assembly of the Republic is dominated by three political parties, the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Chega (CH), and the Socialist Party (PS), while the PSD and PS continue to be the dominant parties in the regional parliaments and at the local level.Template:Efn There have been recent trends towards autocratisation.Template:Sfnp

Portugal has a civil law system based on Roman law and on Canon Law and influenced by German civil law.Template:Sfnp The Constitution is the supreme law of Portugal.Template:Sfnp In the Portuguese legal system, private civil law and criminal law are codified in the and the respectively.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Portugal's court system is organised into judicial, administrative, and fiscal branches with three levels of jurisdiction and separate courts of last appeal, while the Constitutional Court is responsible for constitutional review and oversight of elections, referendums and political parties.Template:Sfnp

Administrative divisions

Portugal is a highly centralised unitary state comprising two autonomous regions, as well as seven regions on the mainland. Subnational government in Portugal is currently organised through municipalities (concelhos), civil parishes (freguesias), and 24 intermunicipal communities (comunidades intermunicipais). In the following table, the intermunicipal communities are grouped by region:Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Administrative map of Portugal Intermunicipal communities and autonomous regions of Portugal with colored regions	North 1. Alto MinhoTemplate:Pb 2. CávadoTemplate:Pb 3. Porto Metropolitan AreaTemplate:Pb 4. AveTemplate:Pb 5. Tâmega e SousaTemplate:Pb 6. Alto Tâmega e BarrosoTemplate:Pb 7. DouroTemplate:Pb 8. Terras de Trás-os-Montes	Centre 9. AveiroTemplate:Pb 10. Viseu Dão LafõesTemplate:Pb 11. Beiras e Serra da EstrelaTemplate:Pb 12. CoimbraTemplate:Pb 13. LeiriaTemplate:Pb 14. Beira Baixa	Oeste e Vale do Tejo 15. OesteTemplate:Pb 16. Médio TejoTemplate:Pb 17. Lezíria do Tejo	Greater Lisbon 18. Greater LisbonTemplate:Pb
	Setúbal Peninsula 19. Setúbal PeninsulaTemplate:Pb	Alentejo 20. Alto AlentejoTemplate:Pb 21. Alentejo CentralTemplate:Pb 22. Alentejo LitoralTemplate:Pb 23. Baixo Alentejo	Algarve 24. Template:IllTemplate:Pb	Autonomous regions 25. MadeiraTemplate:Pb 26. AzoresTemplate:Pb

Foreign relations

Map of international relations of Portugal

Diplomatic missions of PortugalTemplate:Resizediv

A member state of the United Nations since 1955,Template:Sfnp Portugal is a member of almost all major international organisations,Template:Sfnp and is among the countries that founded NATO in 1949,Template:Sfnp the OECD in 1961, EFTA in 1960,Template:Sfnp and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) in 1996, an international organisation of countries with Portuguese as an official language.Template:Sfnp

Portugal has a stable foreign policy that is the result of its history, geography, and specific foreign policy choices. It is structured around six principal regional and policy priorities: Europe, NATO and relations with the United Kingdom and with the United States, the Portuguese-speaking world, the importance of and support for Portuguese communities abroad, the internationalization of the national economy, and the strengthening of multilateralism. Portugal regards the success of European integration as paramount and is prepared, where a consensus exists among European Union member states, to endorse policies that go against with the country's national interests;Template:Sfnp it also supports general disarmament, the dismantling of political-military blocs, and the creation of a collective security system aimed at establishing an international order grounded in peace and justice among peoples.Template:Sfnp

Portugal has two territorial disputes, both of which are with Spain: the Spanish town of Olivenza which has been claimed by Portugal since the 19th century, and the Portuguese Savage Islands which have been claimed by Spain since 1911. Despite causing moments of tension between the two countries, the relationship between the two countries remains excellent.Template:Sfnp

Military

Photograph of NRP Bartolomeu Dias (F333) of the Portuguese Navy docked by the quays of Hernesaari, Helsinki, Finland, with the Portuguese flag flying at the stern and calm blue water stretching out to the open sea beyond.

Portuguese Navy frigate NRP Bartolomeu Dias

The Portuguese Armed Forces consist of three branches commanded by the (Armed Forces General Staff) – (Navy), (Army), and (Air Force).Template:Sfnp In addition to the three branches of the armed forces, there is the (National Republican Guard), a gendarmerie, comprising Template:Nts personnel in 2025, under the authority of both the Defence and the Home Affairs ministries.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp The Portuguese military serves as a self-defence force, takes part in humanitarian and peace missions undertaken by the international organisations to which Portugal belongs, and cooperates in civil defence missions.Template:Sfnp In recent years, the Portuguese military have carried out several NATO and European Union missions worldwide.Template:Efn The Portuguese military budget in 2025 was estimated at more than $6 billion, representing 2% of GDP.Template:Sfnp

As of 2025, the three branches numbered Template:Nts military personnel.Template:Sfnp Until 1999, military service was compulsory for men at age 18 becoming officially suspended during peace time and replaced by one mandatory day of sensibilization about the Armed Forces called (National Defence Day).Template:Sfnp Since 1992 women may serve in all branches of the armed forces. The Portuguese military became fully professional in 2004.Template:Sfnp The United States maintains a military presence, with 770 troops in the Lajes Air Base at Terceira Island, in the Azores.

Law enforcement

Photograph of the headquarters of the Judicial Police (PJ). A large modern white-and-grey office building with irregular window patterns stands on a corner under an overcast sky, with parked motorcycles, a few pedestrians, and a crosswalk in the foreground.

The headquarters of the (Judiciary Police), in Lisbon

In Portugal, public prosecution is conducted by the Public Prosecution Service which is headed by the Template:Ill.Template:Sfnp The main police organisations of Portugal are the (National Republican Guard), the (Public Security Police), a civilian police force that works in urban areas; and the (Judiciary Police), a senior criminal police body, under the authority of the Minister of Justice and endowed with administrative autonomy.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Portugal has Template:Ill run by the Template:Ill (DGRSP).Template:Sfnp The facilities are classified by security level, and by degree of management complexity, and often house inmates with different legal statuses, risk levels, and criminal trajectories within the same facilities.Template:Sfnp Despite following a reintegration-oriented penal model, Portugal retains high prison occupancy and an average sentence length of 31.3 months.Template:Sfnp

Human rights

Portugal has a tradition of a humanistic criminal justice.Template:Sfnp The Portuguese Constitution defines the country as being one that is based on human dignity.Template:Sfnp It abolished capital punishment and life imprisonment in the 19th century,Template:Sfnp and forbids extradition in the case of either sentence possibly being imposed.Template:Sfnp The Portuguese Penal Code provides for a wide range of non-custodial sentences, with the aim of keeping a prison sentence a punishment of last resort.Template:Sfnp Portuguese penitentiary laws have traditionally been progressive, and based on rehabilitation as the main goal of the implementation of such a sentence.Template:Sfnp

Since the 1990s, Portugal has strengthened LGBT rights and become one of Europe's most equal countries, although historical isolation continues to shape social acceptance of homosexuality.Template:Sfnp In 2001, Portugal decriminalized the personal possession and consumption of all drugs.Template:Sfnp Portugal faces issues such as unwarranted use of force by law enforcement,Template:Sfnp racism and discrimination against minorities,Template:Sfnp Template:Ill, restrictions on freedom of association and collective bargaining,Template:Sfnp violations of wage, hour, and overtime laws,Template:Sfnp and treatment inside prisons.Template:Sfnp

Economy

Photography of Parque das Nações, in Lisbon. Modern waterfront buildings, including two tall glass-and-concrete towers with sail-shaped white roofs, can be seen across the Tagus River under a blue sky with few thin white clouds. Trees, a riverside promenade, pedestrians, and nearby commercial buildings line the waterfront.

Parque das Nações, in Lisbon; an economic centre in Portugal

Portugal is a high-income country with an advanced economy that follows the Mediterranean model.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp The country's economic policy is framed by strategic guidelines called Template:Ill, which are subsequently implemented through the State Budget.Template:Sfnp Portugal has the EU's 14th-largest economy by nominal GDP and the 12th-largest economy by PPP-adjusted GDP.Template:Sfnp Its PPP-adjusted GDP per capita stood at to 81% of the EU average in 2025. As of 2024, the country's service sector contributed the most for its economic output followed the industrial sector and its primary sector. In 2025, Portugal unemployment rate was 5.8%.Template:Sfnp As of 2024, its poverty rate after social transfers was 15.4% of the population while in 2023, the at-risk-of-poverty rate before social transfers stood at 40.3%.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp The national debt of Portugal was estimated at 89.7% relative to GDP as of 2025.Template:Sfnp

Portugal is part of the European single market which represents more than 450 million consumers. Portugal replaced the escudo with the euro in 2002. Its monetary policy is set by the European Central Bank. The country has been a part of the Eurozone since its inception. Portugal's central bank is the Banco de Portugal and it is part of the European System of Central Banks. In 2024, Portugal had a combined share of exports and imports that amounted to 90% of its total GDP. As of February 2026, Portugal's main export markets were Spain at 26% and Germany at 13.9%. Its main exports are machinery and mechanical appliances, vehicles and other transportation equipment, base metals, and plastics. Portugal's main import markets in 2026 were Spain at 32.9% and Germany at 11.9%. Portugal's main imports are machinery and mechanical appliances, chemical products, agricultural products, and mineral fuels.Template:Sfnp

Since the 1990s, Portugal's economic model has been based on public consumption and economic development focused on exports, private investment and the development of its high-tech sector. Consequently, business services have overtaken more traditional industries such as wine and cork in export earnings.Template:Sfnp Operated by the Euronext Lisbon, Portugal's stock market, the PSI, includes 16 major companies based on the country, including Sonae, Mota-Engil, Corticeira Amorim, The Navigator Company, and EDP.

In 2025, Portugal ranked 16th among European Union member states in innovation by the European Innovation Scoreboard, while placing 31st worldwide in the Global Innovation Index.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp In 2024, neuroscience accounted for 12.5% of Portugal's scientific output, the second-highest national share, and the country ranked 23rd worldwide in total neuroscience output. Among the research institutions based in the country are the Gulbenkian Institute of Molecular Medicine, the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, and the Champalimaud Foundation which was the world's 11th top non-profit institution in neuroscience research between 2019 and 2023.

Agriculture and fishery

A long pile of harvested cork bark stacked in a grassy field.

The harvesting of cork bark. The majority of the world's cork is produced in Portugal.Template:Sfnp

The Portuguese agriculture sector accounted for 2.9% of the country's total GDP as of 2024. Portugal's agricultural land encompassed an area of approximately as of 2023, of which 17.4% was dedicated to organic farming, representing the fifth-highest share worldwide.Template:Sfnp Despite the extent of the country's agricultural land, the diversity of Portugal's edaphoclimatic and agroecological conditions enables the cultivation of various agricultural products such as wheat, maize, and rice, with each one having an important role in the primary sector, and resulting in an agricultural self-sufficiency rate of 85% as of 2018.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Portugal ranks sixth in the world in seafood consumption per capita, with each Portuguese person consuming on average of fish in 2023.Template:Sfnp The high fish consumption in Portugal is due to tradition and cultural roots, politics, dynamics of the fish market system, and geography.Template:Sfnp Strong demand for seafood makes the fisheries a valuable national asset.Template:Sfnp While Portugal captured of fish in 2019, down from the in 2010, fish and seafood represent the single highest import of biocapacity from abroad, amounting to global hectares in total.Template:Sfnp

Industry and services

Rows of newly manufactured cars parked at a port in front of a Grimaldi Lines vehicle carrier.

Volkswagen Autoeuropa cars in the Port of Setúbal

Portugal's manufacturing industry accounted for 21.2% of the country's total GDP as of 2024, down from an annual average of 26% over the period between 1953 and 1973.Template:Sfnp The lower contribution of manufacturing to Portugal's economy has led to lower real GDP growth rates between 1974 and 2019 than during the period between 1950 and 1973.Template:Sfnp As of 2025, Portugal's automobile industry produced the biggest share of the country's exports.Template:Sfnp The automobile industry accounts for 20.2% of the country manufacturing exports and 82.8% of the total value of its exports employing 43.247 workers in 2020.Template:Sfnp

Portugal's service sector accounted for 76.5% of the country's total economic output as of 2024. Tourism, retail, and telecommunication are all major industries. Tourism represented 11.4% of the Portugal's total GDP as of 2024.Template:Sfnp Portugal attracted 29 million international tourists in 2024,Template:Sfnp ranking 15th in the world in that year for inbound tourism.

Infrastructure

Alqueva dam with a road across its crest holds back a reservoir in a rural landscape.

The Alqueva Dam is one of the largest strategic water reserves in Europe.Template:Sfnp

Portugal's road network includes a system of 48 motorways, which, as of 2023, ranked as the seventh largest among 42 European countries.Template:Sfnp The busiest Portuguese airports are Lisbon Airport, Porto Airport, Faro Airport, Madeira Airport, and Ponta Delgada Airport.Template:Sfnp As of 2024, passenger and freight rail transport in Portugal operated on of active railway lines, with passenger services operated mainly by Comboios de Portugal (CP).Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp The Port of Sines serves as Portugal's foremost container port and leads the country in cargo tonnage.Template:Sfnp

As of 2023, two-thirds of Portugal's energy supply was imported, representing the 11th-highest level of energy dependency in the European Union.Template:Sfnp The country is pursuing energy transition and has invested in the development of renewable energy sources such as the Aguçadoura Wave Farm.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Portugal has expanded the role of renewable sources in its energy sector, with renewables accounting for 35.2% of energy consumption, up from 21.9% in 2007, and 78.1% of total installed capacity, compared with 59.3% in 2014.Template:Sfnp In 2021, the country completed the phase-out of coal-fired generation.Template:Sfnp

Demographics

View during the blue hour of the Luiz I Bridge and the city of Porto.

Porto is the second largest city in Portugal, with its metropolitan area the country's second-largest.

Portugal had a population of Template:Nts, of whom Template:Nts were Portuguese nationals and the remainder were foreign residents at Template:Nts, as of 2025.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Portugal is steadily aging and has one of the world's highest proportion of elderly citizens, comprising nearly one-fourth of its entire population, together with a female share of the population at 51.1%.Template:Sfnp

Portugal has a fertility rate of 1.4, which is below the replacement rate of 2.1 and is one of the world's lowest.Template:Sfnp The country has had a fertility rate below the replacement rate of 2.1 since the 1980s that has led to the country having a median age of 45.8, one of the highest in the world.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp As of 2025, 23.3% of the population was aged 65 or older.Template:Sfnp Despite the effects of net migration, due to low fertility rates Portugal's population is projected to drop to 8.3 million by 2100.Template:Sfnp

Historically a country of emigration,Template:Sfnp Portugal has been a net recipient of immigrants since 1993 except between 2011 and 2016 during the Portuguese financial crisis.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Since 2016, Portugal has experienced a marked increase in immigration, with the proportion of non-nationals in the total population rising from 3.5% to 14.0% by 2025, living mainly in the Algarve and the Lisbon metropolitan area, and with 24.5% of all births registered in 2024 being to foreign-born women.Template:Sfnp In Portugal, White Portuguese constitute the largest racial and ethnic group, representing 84.2% of the population, followed by multiracial Portuguese at 3.4%, Black Portuguese at 2.2%, Asian Portuguese at 0.7%, and the Romani at 0.6%.Template:Sfnp

In 2023, 88% of the Portuguese population lived in urban areas. The capital city, Lisbon, had a population of Template:Nts as of 2025. It is part of Lisbon metropolitan area, the biggest metropolitan area of Portugal with 3.4 million people.

Religion

Portugal has been a secular state Template:Ill, and it guarantees religious freedom.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Efn Although Portugal has no official religion, the Catholic Church has a history there that predates the country's formation and can be traced back to the 3rd century.Template:Sfnp According to the 2021 Census, 80.2% of the Portuguese population aged 15 and older were Catholic, while 14.1% are nonreligious.

The country has small Protestant, Latter-day Saints, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Template:Ill, Baháʼí, Buddhist, and Jewish communities. Influences from African Traditional Religion and Chinese Traditional Religion are also felt among many people, particularly in fields related to Traditional Chinese Medicine.Template:Efn Even though Portugal has deep ties with Christianity, as of 2019 the majority of its people were shown to be tolerant towards followers of other faiths, with the Muslim community perceiving itself as thoroughly integrated into Portugal and believing that the country provided conditions conducive to smooth integration.Template:Sfnp

Languages

Photograph of a white street sign mounted on a tan wall reads in Mirandese "Rue de L Cruzeiro" with "Rua do Cruzeiro" written in Portuguese below in script, and a small leaf logo at the top.

A sign in Mirandese in Miranda do Douro

Portuguese is the official and predominantly spoken language in Portugal.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp It is one of 24 official and working languages of the European Union. Portuguese is the fifth-most widely spoken first language in the world, with around 250 million native speakers.Template:Sfnp

Portuguese Sign Language is officially protected by the country's constitution.Template:Sfnp The recognised regional languages and dialects include Mirandese, spoken in Terra de Miranda, and Barranquenho, in Barrancos.Template:Sfnp Portuguese people are typically bilingual, with 67.5% speaking two languages, and tend to be proficient non-native English speakers, with Portugal placed sixth globally for English proficiency in the 2025 EF English Proficiency Index.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Education

Square of the University of Coimbra

The University of Coimbra in Coimbra is the first university in Portugal.

Portugal's education system is organised into preschool education; school education, encompassing Template:Ill, Template:Ill and higher education; and Template:Ill, which includes continuing education.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Optional preschool is provided for all children between three and five years old,Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp after which school attendance is compulsory for 12 years.Template:Sfnp Basic education lasts nine years and is divided into three cycles, while secondary education is organised into academic and vocational pathways.Template:Sfnp Higher education is provided by universities and polytechnic institutions in accordance with the Bologna Process, with the University of Lisbon being the country's largest university by enrolment.Template:Sfnp A general requirement for higher education are the .Template:Sfnp Most secondary-school students continue their studies at public higher education institutions or the Military Academy, which also awards university degrees.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Although other European countries began investing in education in the 19th century, Portugal's long-established national identity, stable borders and homogeneous population contributed to a lack of political commitment to educational development until the First Republic in the early 20th century;Template:Sfnp many of its reforms were subsequently reversed under the , whose deliberate neglect of education contributed to Portugal recording Europe's highest illiteracy rate in 1964;Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp following democratisation in 1974, education became more widely accessible and underwent modernisation.Template:Sfnp The country lags behind most OECD countries on educational indicators, largely owing to the older working-age generation.Template:Sfnp Fewer than two-thirds of Portugal's population have completed secondary or higher education.Template:Sfnp Portugal's adult population aged 16 to 65 records the fifth-lowest level of knowledge and skills in the OECD, whereas school students perform at average levels.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp In 2021, the national illiteracy rate among people aged 10 or over stood at 3.1%, ranging from 1.4% to 12.3% across the country's municipalities.Template:Sfnp Portugal spent 4.5% of its total GDP on education in 2022.

Health

The Coimbra University Hospital, part of the Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, in Coimbra.

The Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra in Coimbra is the largest medical complex in Portugal.

Portugal has a predominantly universal tax-funded health care system, called (SNS), that operates alongside public-sector health insurance schemes called health subsystems funded mainly through employee and employer contributions, as well as private voluntary health insurance.Template:Sfnp Primary and hospital care are provided by both public and private entities, with the private sector and complementing services offered by the SNS.Template:Sfnp In 2023, Portugal's health care was 38% privately funded and 62% government-funded, the 3rd lowest public share on health spending in the European Union.Template:Sfnp Portugal has a high level of health inequity in the OECD, driven by limited public spending, uneven distribution of services, low household income, long waiting times, and policy shortcomings.Template:Sfnp

Portugal ranked 23rd in the world in 2024 in life expectancy with 85.4 years for women and 79.8 years for men, and it had an infant mortality rate of 2.7 deaths per Template:Nts live births.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp In 2022, the leading cause of death were cardiovascular diseases, at 25.4%.Template:Sfnp Portugal presents several adverse public-health indicators, including the 3rd lowest share of people reporting good health in the European Union, in 2024, at 54%, the highest alcohol consumption with consumed per person, in 2020, and the highest share of adult population living a sedentary lifestyle, in 2022, at 73%, a pattern reinforced by limited active-transport infrastructure and unsafe conditions for pedestrians and cyclists.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp The percentage of the Portuguese population suffering from moderate or severe food insecurity between 2022 and 2024 was on average 11.9%, which makes Portugal the third-highest country in Southern Europe for this indicator where the average stands at 5.9%.Template:Sfnp

Culture

Women wearing red traditional Portuguese costumes with embroidered aprons and gold jewelry at the Romaria de Nossa Senhora da Agonia.

In Viana do Castelo, women traditionally wear Template:Ill in festivities.

Portugal has developed a specific culture due to, initially before its existence, the influence from various civilisations that have crossed Europe, especially the Mediterranean. Later, during the period of Portugal's engagement in the Age of Discovery, cultural elements from outside of Europe were introduced and became a central element of Portuguese national identity.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Portugal is well known for its heritage and architecture,Template:Sfnp sacred sites,Template:Sfnp festivities,Template:Sfnp poetry,Template:Sfnp its music (especially the fado),Template:Sfnp and cuisine (including its wine).Template:Sfnp As of 2026, UNESCO inscribed 17 properties in Portugal on the World Heritage List. Portugal's national day is on 10 June, celebrated as the (Portugal, Camões, and Portuguese Communities Day).Template:Sfnp

Art and architecture

Six paintings attributed to Nuno Gonçalves presenting a 58 people of the Court and various groups of Portuguese society at that time, gathered together around the double figuration of St. Vincent with expressive look of concentration on their faces, engaged in an act of veneration.

The Saint Vincent Panels (c. 1450's) by Nuno Gonçalves are one of the most significant works of Portuguese painting from the 15th century.Template:Sfnp

The history of visual art in Portugal dates back into the Paleolithic. An early evidence showing an attempt at depicting motion was found at the Prehistoric Rock Art Sites in the Côa Valley and Siega Verde.Template:Sfnp Over time, foreign and native influences, together with advancements in manufacturing, developed distinctive art styles, such as the Manueline and Pombaline,Template:Sfnp and also a number of crafts that are typical of Portugal, namely the , , and Portuguese pavement.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Historically, religion, specifically Christianity, had an influential role in Portuguese art, as it was a recurrent theme widely employed in many art forms, such as in painting.Template:Sfnp Throughout the country's history, artwork in Portugal was typically done by local artists who, depending on location, followed different variations in style, giving Portugal a diverse array of artistic styles throughout the country, an example of this being the Template:Ill, in Madeira.Template:Sfnp

Literature

Drawing of Luís Vaz de Camões

Luís Vaz de Camões was the writer of Os Lusíadas.

Portugal has a literary tradition that predates the Portuguese language going back into the early 13th century.Template:Sfnp Portuguese literature developed through song as well as the written page known as .Template:Sfnp The drew practitioners from all social ranging from King Denis I to Martin Codax who was a minstrel.Template:Sfnp The earliest known work of Portugal's literature is the Ora faz ost'o senhor de Navarra, a written in Galician–Portuguese by João Soares de Paiva at around the year 1200.Template:Sfnp

Portuguese literature developed under the influence of both European geopolitical developments and broader European literary traditions. The Hundred Years' War helped foster the development of Portuguese chronicles by Fernão Lopes, which constitute a valuable record of some of Europe's early encounters with peoples beyond the continent.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp European medieval chivalric literature, together with didactic religious literature transmitted through adaptations and partial translations, contributed to the development of Portuguese poetry in the translated works of Norman French Arturian narratives.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Portuguese literature flourished during the Age of Discovery with writers such as Luís Vaz de Camões and António Ferreira.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Modern Portuguese literature took shape through the work of Almeida Garrett, one of the founders of Portuguese Romanticism.Template:Sfnp Portugal has one Nobel Prize–winning author—José Saramago (1998).

Music

Black-and-white photograph of Amália Rodrigues singing into a standing microphone, wearing a long dark gown and shawl, with one hand raised in expression and a guitarist partly visible in the background.

Amália Rodrigues was known as the "Queen of Fado"Template:Sfnp

The recorded history of music in Portugal dates back to the 6th century. The earliest documentation of a church singer in Portugal is from the year 525 and refers to an individual named André. Portuguese music initially consisted mostly of liturgical music and troubadourism.Template:Sfnp Over time, new folk traditions together with the influence of foreign cultures and the creation of new instruments, especially Template:Ill, led to a diverse variety of regional folk music such as the fado, the Coimbra fado, and Madeira's folk music.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Popular music in Portugal after the Carnation Revolution has been heavily influenced by American trends, which has led into the evolution of Hip-hop tuga and popularization of Rock.Template:Sfnp Historically, Portugal has been a country of emigration which has heavily influenced the Pimba in the 20th century and led to the introduction of Portuguese music into other cultures such as the ukelele in Hawaii in the 19th century.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Holidays and festivities

People dressed up as Caretos leap around a bonfire during the Entrudo.

Two Caretos at the Template:Ill, in Vinhais

Officially, Portugal has 13 national, government-recognised holidays.Template:Sfnp Public holidays in Portugal are regulated by the Template:Ill.Template:Sfnp Besides the national holidays, there are regional holidays celebrated only in Madeira and the Azores and two facultative holidays which are the Template:Ill and one municipal holiday allowed per concelho.Template:Sfnp Unlike some official holidays, Portugal's folk festivities remain widely attended and are rooted in local traditions, such as the Carnival of Ovar, Lisbon's Marchas Populares, and Porto's Festa de São João.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Many of folk festivities are associated with the , Christian celebrations with older pagan origins linked to Midsummer.Template:Sfnp These festivities are celebrated across the country, especially in rural areas, and typically include music performances, stages, temporary arenas, and traditional food stalls.Template:Sfnp

Cuisine

Photograph of a bakery display case filled with pastéis de nata, with a sign in front labelled "Pastel de Nata" and describing them as a low-sugar secret recipe in Portuguese and English.

Portuguese cuisine is influenced by both the Mediterranean and Atlantic diets.Template:Sfnp Seafood, brassicas, potatoes, bread, dairy, and olive oil are traditional staples.Template:Sfnp has such a broad presence in Portugal that it is considered a national dish, along with the .Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Traditional Portuguese sweets are known as conventual sweets. Large quantities of sugar and eggs are used.Template:Sfnp

Popular Portuguese beverages include its wines, a craft that is well establish since the 7th century, and of which are such examples as Port and Madeira.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Beer has been brewed in Portugal since the Chalcolithic.Template:Sfnp Tea has been produced on São Miguel Island since the 19th century.Template:Sfnp

Sport

Cristiano Ronaldo is widely considered one of the greatest football players in history.

Cristiano Ronaldo is widely considered one of the greatest football players in history.

Portugal has contributed to the popularity and globalisation of sport through internationally recognised athletes such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Ricardinho, Naide Gomes, and Carlos Lopes, as well as through the popularity of its three largest football clubs.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Football is the most popular sport in Portugal.Template:Sfnp The Portugal men's national football team won the UEFA European Championship in 2016 and the UEFA Nations League in 2019 and 2025.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Portugal is among the world's leading futsal countries, with its men's national team having won the FIFA Futsal World Cup in 2021, the UEFA Futsal Championship in 2018 and 2022,Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp and the Futsal Finalissima in 2022. In Template:Ill, the country has set several records and has earned more medals in this sport than in any other at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp In traditional sport, Portugal is noted for its classical dressage as well as native sports such as jogo do pau and Template:Ill.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Portugal has several established sporting centres across the country, including the Algarve and Lisbon, which are international golf destinations and have hosted motorsport events such as Formula One and Grand Prix motorcycle racing,Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp as well as Nazaré and Peniche, which are known for surfing and annually host the Template:Ill and the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal, respectively.Template:Sfnp

See also

• Outline of Portugal

References

Sources

• Template:Cite act
• Template:Cite act
• Template:Cite act
• <cite class="citation wikicite" id=>Template:Cite constitution

External links

• Template:OSM relation
• National English language newspaper
• National Wine Website
• News about Portugal from the Portuguese American Journal
• Portugal at UCB Libraries GovPubs
• Portugal profile from the BBC News
• Portuguese Pamphlets Collection from the Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress
• File:Gnome-globe.svg Wikimedia Atlas of Portugal

Government

• Official Parliament website
• Official Portuguese Government website Template:In lang

Trade

• World Bank Summary Trade Statistics Portugal

Travel

• Official Portuguese Government Travel/media website
• Official Travel and Tourism office website