Portugal summary

Portugal, officially Portuguese Republic, Country, on the west coast of the Iberian Peninsula, southwestern Europe. Area: 35,608 sq mi (92,225 sq km). Population: (2024 est.) 10,578,000. Capital: Lisbon. Most of the people are Portuguese. Language: Portuguese (official). Religion: Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholic). Currency: euro. Administratively, the Atlantic islands of the Azores and Madeira are part of Portugal. Portugal is divided roughly in half by the Tagus River; the highlands rise mostly north of the Tagus and stretch northeast into Spain. Portugal has an industrialized economy in which both public and private sectors participate. Major industries were nationalized after a military coup in 1974, but many were returned to the private sector beginning in the late 1980s. Although motor vehicle manufacture is significant, light industries predominate; important products include textiles and clothing, paper and wood products, and chemicals. Portugal is a republic with a unicameral legislature; the head of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. In the 1st millennium bce, Celtic peoples settled the Iberian Peninsula. They were conquered c. 140 bce by the Romans, who ruled until the 5th century ce, when the area was invaded by Germanic tribes. A Muslim invasion in 711 left only the northern part of Portugal in Christian hands. In 1179 it became the kingdom of Portugal and expanded as it reconquered the Muslim-held sectors. The boundaries of modern continental Portugal were completed under King Afonso III (reigned 1248–79). From 1580 to 1640 Portugal was united with Spain. In the 15th and 16th centuries the monarchy encouraged exploration that took Portuguese navigators to Africa, India, Indonesia, China, the Middle East, and South America. Although Portugal established several colonies, they achieved independence over the years (see Brazil; Goa; Cape Verde; East Timor; Angola; Guinea-Bissau; Mozambique; Macau). António de Oliveira Salazar ruled Portugal as a dictator from 1932 to 1968. The country’s dictatorship was overthrown in the April 25, 1974, Revolution of the Carnations. A new constitution was adopted in 1976, and civilian rule resumed. Portugal was a charter member of NATO and is a member of the European Union (EU). In 1999 the government adopted the euro as the country’s official monetary unit and returned Macau, its last overseas territory, to Chinese rule.