Portugal

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República Portuguesa Portuguese Republic
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: "A Portuguesa"
Location of  Portugal  (dark green) – on the European continent  (light green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (light green)  —  [Legend]
Capital (and largest city)		Lisbon5 38°46′N, 9°11′W
Official languages		Portuguese1
Recognised regional languages		Mirandese
Demonym		Portuguese
Government		Parliamentary republic6
-	President	Aníbal Cavaco Silva
-	Prime Minister	José Sócrates
-	Assembly President	Jaime Gama
Formation		Conventional date for Independence is 1139
-	Founding	868
-	Re-founding	1095
-	De facto sovereignty	June 24, 1128
-	Kingdom	25 July 1139
-	Recognized	5 October 1143
-	Papal Recognition	1179
EU accession		1 January 1986
Area
-	Total	92,345 km² (110th) 35,645 sq mi
-	Water (%)	0.5
Population
-	2006 estimate	▲ 10,584,344 (75th)
-	2001 census	10,148,259
-	Density	114/km² (87th) 295/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2007 (IMF) estimate
-	Total	$230.6 billion (43rd)
-	Per capita	$23,464 (2006) (34th)
GDP (nominal)		2007 (IMF) estimate
-	Total	$223.3 billion (36th)
-	Per capita	$21,019 (32nd)
HDI (2005)		▼ 0.897 (high) (29th)
Currency		Euro (€)² (EUR)
Time zone		WET³
-	Summer (DST)	WEST (UTC0)
Internet TLD		.pt4
Calling code		+351
1	Mirandese, spoken in some villages of the municipality of Miranda do Douro, was officially recognized in 1999 (Lei n.° 7/99 de 29 de Janeiro), since then awarding an official right-of-use Mirandese to the linguistic minority it is concerned.[1] The Portuguese Sign Language is also recognized.
2	Before 1999: Portuguese escudo.
3	Azores: UTC-1; UTC in summer.
4	The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states.
5	Coimbra was the capital of the country from 1139 to about 1260.
6	The present form of the Government was established by the Carnation Revolution of April 25, 1974, that ended the authoritarian regime of the Estado Novo.

Portugal [ˈpɔrtʃəgəl] (help·info), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa^[2]), is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are also part of Portugal.

The land within the borders of today's Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times. Some of the earliest civilizations include Lusitanians and Celtic societies. Incorporation into the Roman Republic dominions took place in the 2nd century BC. The region was ruled and colonized by Germanic peoples, such as the Suebi and the Visigoths, from the 5th to the 8th century. From this era, some vestiges of the Alans were also found. The Muslim Moors arrived in the early 8th century and conquered the Christian Germanic kingdoms, eventually occupying most of the Iberian Peninsula. In the early 1100s, during the Christian Reconquista, Portugal appeared as a kingdom independent of its neighbour, the Kingdom of León and Galicia. In a little over a century, in 1249, Portugal would establish almost its entire modern-day borders by conquering territory from the Moors.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, with a global empire that included possessions in Africa, Asia and South America, Portugal was one of the world's major economic, political, and cultural powers. In the 17th century, the Portuguese Restoration War between Portugal and Spain ended the sixty year period of the Iberian Union (1580-1640). In the 19th century, armed conflict with French and Spanish invading forces and the loss of its largest territorial possession abroad, Brazil, disrupted political stability and potential economic growth. After the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution coup d'état in 1974, the ruling regime was deposed in Lisbon and the country handed over its last overseas provinces in Africa. Portugal's last overseas territory, Macau, was handed over to China in 1999.

Portugal is a developed country,^[3] has a high Human Development Index and is among the world's 20 highest rated countries in terms of quality of life,^[4] although having the lowest GDP per capita of Western European countries. It is a member of the European Union (since 1986) and the United Nations (since 1955); as well as a founding member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa (Community of Portuguese Language Countries, CPLP), European Union's Eurozone, and is also a Schengen state. Acording to the Global Peace Index, Portugal is the 7th most peaceful country in the world, only behind Iceland, Denmark, Norway, New Zealand, Japan and Ireland.

History

Main article: History of Portugal

The early history of Portugal, whose name derives from the Roman name Portus Cale, is shared with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula. The region was settled by Pre-Celts and Celts, giving origin to peoples like the Gallaeci, Lusitanians, Celtici and Cynetes, visited by Phoenicians and Carthaginians, incorporated in the Roman Republic dominions (as Lusitania in 138 BC), settled again by Suevi, Buri, and Visigoths, and conquered by Moors. Other minor influences include some 5th century vestiges of Alan settlement, which were found in Alenquer, Coimbra and even Lisbon.^[5] In 868, during the Reconquista (by which Christians reconquered the Iberian peninsula from the Muslim and Moorish domination), the First County of Portugal was formed. A victory over the Muslims at Ourique in 1139 is traditionally taken as the occasion when Portugal is transformed from a county (County of Portugal as a fief of the Kingdom of León and Castile) into an independent kingdom.

On June 24, 1128, the Battle of São Mamede occurred near Guimarães. At the Battle of São Mamede, Afonso Henriques, Count of Portugal, defeated his mother, Countess Teresa, and her lover, Fernão Peres de Trava, in battle - thereby establishing himself as sole leader. Afonso Henriques officially declared Portugal's independence when he proclaimed himself king of Portugal on July 25, 1139, after the Battle of Ourique, he was recognized as such in 1143 by Afonso VII, king of León and Castile, and in 1179 by Pope Alexander III.