Following its heyday as a global maritime power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence of Brazil, its wealthiest colony, in 1822. A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, and for most of the next six decades, repressive governments ran the country. In 1974, a left-wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms. The following year, Portugal granted independence to all of its African colonies. Portugal is a founding member of NATO and entered the EC (now the EU) in 1986.
land: 91,470 sq km
water: 620 sq km
note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands
border countries (1): Spain 1,224 km
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
mean elevation: 372 m
arable land: 11.9% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 7.8% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 20% (2018 est.)
forest: 37.8% (2018 est.)
other: 22.5% (2018 est.)
10,223,150 (2023 est.)
noun: Portuguese (singular and plural)
adjective: Portuguese
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)
Roman Catholic 79.7%, Protestant 2.2%, other Christian 2.5%, other non-Christian, 1.1%, none 14.5% (2021 est.)
note: data represent population 15 years of age and older
0-14 years: 12.85% (male 672,673/female 641,409)
15-64 years: 65.18% (male 3,274,201/female 3,389,374)
65 years and over: 21.96% (2023 est.) (male 895,576/female 1,349,917)
total dependency ratio: 56
youth dependency ratio: 20.8
elderly dependency ratio: 35.2
potential support ratio: 2.8 (2021 est.)
total: 46 years (2023 est.)
male: 44 years
female: 47.9 years
-0.17% (2023 est.)
8 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
10.9 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
1.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
concentrations are primarily along or near the Atlantic coast; both Lisbon and the second largest city, Porto, are coastal cities
urban population: 67.9% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.44% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
3.001 million LISBON (capital), 1.325 million Porto (2023)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female
total population: 0.9 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
29.9 years (2020 est.)
12 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 2.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 2.8 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 2.1 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 81.7 years (2023 est.)
male: 78.6 years
female: 85 years
1.44 children born/woman (2023 est.)
0.7 (2023 est.)
73.9% (2014)
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 99.7% of population
total: 99.9% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 0.3% of population
total: 0.1% of population (2020 est.)
10.6% of GDP (2020)
5.48 physicians/1,000 population (2019)
3.5 beds/1,000 population (2018)
improved: urban: 99.9% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 99.9% of population
unimproved: urban: 0.1% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0.1% of population (2020 est.)
20.8% (2016)
total: 10.37 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 2.62 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 6.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 1.34 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0.37 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 25.4% (2020 est.)
male: 30.5% (2020 est.)
female: 20.2% (2020 est.)
0.4% (2015/16)
52.6% (2023 est.)
5% of GDP (2020 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.9%
male: 97.8%
female: 95.9% (2021)
total: 17 years
male: 17 years
female: 17 years (2020)
soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in urban centers and coastal areas
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban
maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south
agricultural land: 39.7% (2018 est.)
arable land: 11.9% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 7.8% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 20% (2018 est.)
forest: 37.8% (2018 est.)
other: 22.5% (2018 est.)
urban population: 67.9% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.44% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
0.13% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 7.34 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 48.74 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 10.93 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 4.71 million tons (2014 est.)
municipal solid waste recycled annually: 764,433 tons (2014 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 16.2% (2014 est.)
municipal: 880 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 1.83 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 3.42 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
77.4 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
fast-growing, high-income European economy; EU and NATO member; heavy Chinese infrastructure ownership; key tourism, banking, and telecommunications sectors; declining populations; major energy exporter
$347.694 billion (2021 est.)
$329.623 billion (2020 est.)
$359.46 billion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
5.48% (2021 est.)
-8.3% (2020 est.)
2.68% (2019 est.)
$33,700 (2021 est.)
$32,000 (2020 est.)
$34,900 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$237.698 billion (2019 est.)
1.27% (2021 est.)
-0.01% (2020 est.)
0.34% (2019 est.)
Fitch rating: BBB (2007)
Moody’s rating: Baa3 (2018)
Standard & Poors rating: BBB (2019)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 2.2% (2017 est.)
industry: 22.1% (2017 est.)
services: 75.7% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 65.1% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 17.6% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 16.2% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 0.1% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 43.1% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -42.1% (2017 est.)
milk, tomatoes, olives, grapes, maize, potatoes, pork, apples, oranges, poultry
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
5.63% (2021 est.)
5.174 million (2021 est.)
6.65% (2021 est.)
6.79% (2020 est.)
6.46% (2019 est.)
total: 23.1% (2021 est.)
male: 20.6%
female: 26.2%
17.2% (2018 est.)
32.8 (2019 est.)
on food: 16.6% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
on alcohol and tobacco: 3.2% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 25.9% (2015 est.)
revenues: $102.052 billion (2019 est.)
expenditures: $101.854 billion (2019 est.)
-3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
125.7% of GDP (2017 est.)
129.9% of GDP (2016 est.)
note: data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions
22.04% (of GDP) (2020 est.)
calendar year
-$2.987 billion (2021 est.)
-$2.292 billion (2020 est.)
$1.013 billion (2019 est.)
$105.648 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$85.128 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$104.846 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
Spain 26%, France 12%, Germany 12%, United States 6%, United Kingdom 5% (2021)
cars and vehicle parts, refined petroleum, leather footwear, tires, paper (2021)
$112.413 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$89.515 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$103.009 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
Spain 31%, Germany 12%, France 6%, Italy 5%, Netherlands 5% (2021)
crude petroleum, cars and vehicle parts, refined petroleum, packaged medicines, natural gas (2021)
$32.535 billion (31 December 2021 est.)
$29.46 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$25.003 billion (31 December 2019 est.)
$462.431 billion (2019 est.)
$483.206 billion (2018 est.)
euros (EUR) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
0.845 (2021 est.)
0.876 (2020 est.)
0.893 (2019 est.)
0.847 (2018 est.)
0.885 (2017 est.)
electrification - total population: 100% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 22.364 million kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 48.409 billion kWh (2020 est.)
exports: 6.097 billion kWh (2020 est.)
imports: 7.553 billion kWh (2020 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 5.269 billion kWh (2020 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 39% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 3.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 23.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 26.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0.4% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 7.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 957,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 1,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 238,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 36 million metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 8,000 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 249,100 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 255,400 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)
323,000 bbl/day (2017 est.)
143,500 bbl/day (2017 est.)
78,700 bbl/day (2017 est.)
production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
consumption: 5.94 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
imports: 6.09 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
50.37 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 4.882 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 33.429 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 12.059 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
101.734 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 10 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 168
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 17,367,956 (2018)
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 454.21 million (2018) mt-km
CR, CS
64 (2021)
43
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
21
note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
1,344 km gas, 11 km oil, 188 km refined products (2013)
total: 2,526 km (2020) 1,696 km electrified
total: 82,900 km (2008)
paved: 71,294 km (2008) (includes 2,613 km of expressways)
unpaved: 11,606 km (2008)
210 km (2011) (on Douro River from Porto)
total: 820 (2022)
by type: bulk carrier 103, container ship 290, general cargo 175, oil tanker 28, other 224
major seaport(s): Leixoes, Lisbon, Setubal, Sines
container port(s) (TEUs): Sines (1,420,000) (2019)
LNG terminal(s) (import): Sines
manyapis