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Official Name |
República Portuguesa (Republic of Portugal) |
Member of the European Union and NATO |
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Capital City |
Lisboa (Lisbon) |
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Main Cities |
Porto, Coimbra, Faro |
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Area |
35,580 sq. miles (92,152 sq. km) |
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Geography |
Situated on the westernmost tip of Europe, bordered to the north and east by Spain, and to the south and west by the Atlantic |
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Climate |
Mild (Mediterranean) |
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Currency |
The Euro, since January 1999 |
Previously the Portuguese escudo |
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Population |
10.4 million (2014) |
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Ethnic Makeup |
92.6% Portuguese |
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National Language |
Portuguese |
Barranquenho is a dialect spoken only in the southern area of Barrancos, and Mirandês is a dialect used only on the northeastern border with Spain. |
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Religion |
81% Roman Catholic |
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Government |
Democratic republic with the president as head of state and the prime minister as leader of government |
Presidential elections are held every five years. Parliamentary elections are held every four years. |
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The national public television networks are RTP1 and RTP2, and the main private networks are SIC and TVI, as well as a number of private sports and news channels. Cable and satellite television is readily available through 3 main providers (Vodafone, MEO, and NOS), offering a wide array of national and foreign channels. The public radio stations are Antena 1, 2,and 3. There are also numerous private stations. |
The main daily newspapers are Diário de Notícias (Lisbon), Jornal de Notícias (Porto), and Público. The main weekend papers are Expresso and Semanário. |
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Media: English Language |
The Portugal News and the Resident |
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Electricity |
220 volts, 50 Hz |
Two-prong plugs are used. Transformers are required for US appliances. |
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Video/TV |
PAL BG system |
US video systems are not compatible. |
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Internet Domain |
.pt |
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Telephone |
Portugal’s country code is 351. |
To dial out of Portugal, dial 00 followed by the country code. |
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Time |
Greenwich Mean Time, five hours ahead of US Eastern Standard Time |