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The climate in Portugal is varied with considerable rainfall and marked seasonal temperatures in north; dryer conditions in the south with mild temperatures along the coast but sometimes in the low 40°Cs in the interior. The population of Portugal was estimated at 10.5 million in 1992 with a growth rate of 0.4 percent in 1992. In Portugal primary education (age six to twelve) and junior high school (age thirteen to fifteen) is free and compulsory, but because many children began working at early age, primary education was all education many children received. Senior high school (age sixteen to seventeen) had academic and vocational components. Twelfth grade (age eighteen) prepared youths for university and technical college. Estimated literacy rate for those over age fifteen in 1990 was 85 percent. In Portugal there is an uneven provision of health care. Health care available ranges from high quality to that prevalent in the Third World. Many Portuguese, especially those living in rural areas, are not able to enjoy liberal health benefits provided for in legislation. Infant mortality rate as greatly improved in the last few decades to an estimated rate of 6.05 per 1,000 in 1992. Life expectancy is seventy-one years for males and seventy-eight for females in 1992. The ethnic groups in Portugal are mainly a Mediterranean stock on mainland, Azores, and Madeira Islands. There are less than 100,000 citizens of black African descent, who immigrated in the 1970s to Portugal from its former colonies in Africa. There are a small number of Gypsies. And also a small Jewish community. The religion in Portugal is 94 percent nominally Roman Catholic. The Protestant denominations are 3 percent. The other religion such has Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam represents about 3 percent of the population. The Portuguese government is a parliamentary democracy. Portugal is divided into 20 Administrative Divisions. There are 18 districts and 2 autonomous regions. The 18 districts are: Aveiro, Beja, Braga, Braganca, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Evora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisboa, Portalegre, Porto, Santarem, Setubal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, and Viseu. And the autonomous regions are Azores and Madeira. These 20 Administrative Divisions are divided into 305 municipalities, are further divided into about 4,000 parishes. In Portugal there are also extensive Transportation and Telecommunications systems. The railroad network amounted to about 3,600 kilometers in 1990, of which about 450 kilometers were electrified. Except for several small railroads owned by mining industry and Lisbon's subway system, all of Portugal’s railroad networks are operated by the state’s company, Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses (CP). The total road network amounted to about 73,660 kilometers, of which 61,000 was surfaced (bituminous, gravel, and crushed stone). And 140 kilometers limited-access divided highway. There are also 820 kilometers of navigable inland waterways. That is relatively unimportant to the economy. These waterways are used by shallow-draft craft limited to the 300-metric-ton capacity. The major ports in Portugal are the ones in Lisbon, Leixões, and Sines that are fully equipped with adequate warehousing facilities. Also important are Viana do Castelo, Aveiro, Figueira, Setúbal, Portimão, Ponta Delgada (Azores), and Velas (Azores). Portugal has a lot of airports for its size. To be exact they have 66 total, 63 of which are usable. Forty of them have permanent surface runways. Lisbon's Portela Airport, is a major European air terminal and transit point. International flights are also scheduled to Porto, Faro, Santa Maria (Azores), São Miguel (Azores), and Funchal (Madeira). The telecommunication field generally has adequate facilities. Domestically it’s an integrated network of coaxial cables, open wire, microwave radio relay, and domestic satellite earth stations. There are also many radio stations. There are 47 AM stations and 172 FM stations plus 2 SW stations. There are 36 television broadcast stations. There are also 20 Internet Service Providers(ISPs). The Gross Domestic Product is the purchasing power equivalent. It’s estimated at US$151.4 billion in 1999 (US$15,300 per capita). Agriculture made up 4 percent of GDP and employed about 10 percent of labor force in 1999. There are small farms in north, and larger farms in the south. Portugal imports more than half of its food needs. The major crops grown in Portugal are grain, potatoes, olives, and grapes. The important livestock is cattle, sheep, goats, poultry, beef, and dairy products mostly in the north. The industry in Portugal is 36 percent of the GDP in 1999. The industry in Portugal is based on a couple of products. Those products are textiles, footwear, wood pulp, paper, cork, metalworking, oil refining, chemicals, fish canning, and wine. Ownership of these industries varies. Light industry is usually privately owned. Heavy industry though is often state owned. And high technology manufacturing is often foreign owned. Services in Portugal account for 60 percent of GDP in 1999. The services in Portugal account for 60 percent of work force. Tourism is an important component of the service sector. Portugal had over 20 million visitors in 1999. Another important part of the Portuguese economy is imports and exports. In 1999 Portugal imported mostly manufactured goods such as machinery, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum, textiles, and agricultural products. Merchandise imports accounted for about 75 percent of all imports, food and beverages for about 10 percent and raw materials (mostly petroleum) for about 15 percent. In 1998 Portugal exported goods and services in the value of $34.9 billion. Manufactured goods accounted for 80 percent of the merchandise exported in 1998. The type of goods that Portugal exported were clothing, footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork, paper products, and hides. Portugal’s major trade partners were basically EU nations. These EU nations bought 82 percent of Portugal's total exports in 1998, and supplied 77 percent of Portugal’s imports. Germany and Spain are Portugal’s most important trading partners within the EU. Only 5 percent of Portugal's imports in 1998 came from the United States. And the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) accounted for less than 7 percent. The Balance of Payments is slightly positive despite negative trade balances. That’s because of large earnings from tourism and remittances from Portuguese living abroad. In addition to direct foreign investment and EU transfers. That’s why the results were generally favorable in the balances of payments (US$4.6 billion in 1998, US$3.5 billion in 1999). The exchange rate in January 1999, was172.78 escudos per US$1. But now Portugal is going to have it’s local currency replaced with the EU’s common currency. That’s the Euro, and in January of 2000 the Euros’s exchange rate was 0.9867 Euros per US$1. But the Euro will not take over in Portugal until January of 2002. National Security in Portugal is not a major issue since Portugal doesn’t have many enemies. The Portuguese military is made up of three different branches, they are the Army, Navy (includes Marines), and the Air Force. The Armed Forces total personnel on active duty in 1992 was of 58,000, of which 33,000 were conscripts. The army personnel was of 32,700 (24,800 conscripts). In the navy it was 15,300 (5,000 conscripts). In the air force there were 10,300 (3,000 conscripts). And in the reserves the personnel for all services was of 190,000. The major units for the Army are six territorial commands with one composite brigade, three infantry brigades, and one special forces brigade. The navy had three commands one in the mainland, one in the Azores, and the other in Madeira. It also had 2,500 marines organized into three battalions two infantry and one police. The air force has the operational command of eighteen squadrons, including three attack squadrons. The military equipment Portugal owned in 1992 was as following. The army had about 130 tanks, 250 armored personnel carriers, and variety of other combat vehicles. It also as 300 pieces of towed artillery. Forty-eight TOW (tube-launded, optically tracked, wire-guided) missiles, forty-five Milan wire guided missiles, and seventeen SAM (surface-to-air) missiles and also 240 recoilless launchers. The navy has three submarines, eleven frigates (including three MIKO 200s), and twenty-nine patrol and coastal boats. The air force has ten Alpha Jets, about seventy A-7 and A-7P Corsairs, and six Lockheed P-3B Orion maritime reconnaissance aircraft. Major transport aircraft include six C130H Hercules and fifty-two CASA C-212 planes of various types. The military budget in 1991 was US$2.458 billion. Portugal is a member in several foreign military treaties. Portugal is a founding member of NATO. It also let’s the United States use Lajes Air Base on Terceira Island in Azores. Portugal’s internal security forces consist of the National Republican Guard (Guarda Nacional Republicana--GNR), they are a heavily armed paramilitary constabulary. That in 1990 consisted of about 19,000 personnel organized into battalions in major cities and companies in district capitals. They are equipped with Commando armored cars and Alouette II helicopters, it’s available to quell demonstrations and labor unrest. The public security police (Polícia de Segurança Pública--PSP), is also a paramilitary force responsible for security in urban areas. In 1990 it consisted of 17,000 personnel. A subsection of this police is the, Intervention Police. They could be deployed anywhere in the country. The fiscal guard (Guarda Fiscal), are the border control forces with a staff of 8,500 in 1990. It also investigates tax evasion and financial fraud. Portugal produces most of its electricity. Portugal in 1998 produced 38.581 billion kWh of electricity. In that same year the Portuguese people consumed 36.18 billion kWh of electricity. Portugal also exported 3.7 billion kWh of electricity in 1998. In that same year Portugal imported 4 billion kWh of electricity. Portugal produced its electricity through various sources. In 1998 63.14% of Portugal’s electric production came from fossil fuel, 33.46% came from hydro, and the rest was from other sources. The tourist season begins in spring and lasts through the autumn. In midsummer it is never unbearably hot except in parts of the Algarve and on the mainland plains, and it is especially pleasant along the coast, where a cool breeze springs up in the evening. Winter is mild and frequently rainy, except in Madeira, where winter has long been popular for off-season travelers throughout the country because they have the advantage of reduced hotel rates. In the Algarve, springtime begins in February with a marvelous range of wildflowers. Late September and early October herald Indian summer, which ensures warm sunshine through November. What to visit while you’re in Portugal. Well there are many things to see especially along the coast around Lisbon, and on the well-developed Algarve in the south, there are highly sophisticated resorts, while Lisbon itself has enough diversions to please most city devotees. The Portuguese have existed for more than 900 years. That’s why they have a well developed culture with many influences. The greatest of all Portuguese influences, is the sea. The Portuguese are very conscious of themselves as a seafaring race. Mariners like Vasco da Gama led the way in the exploration of Africa and the Americas, and until less than twenty years ago Portugal remained a colonial power. The colonies brought African and South American strands to the country's culture: in the distinctive music of fado, sentimental songs heard in Lisbon and Coimbra, for example, or in the Moorish-influenced and Manueline architecture that abounds in coastal towns like Belém and Viana do Castelo. So in conclusion Portugal is a small a country with a lot of tradition. But it’s also well known that the Portuguese people don’t stay in Portugal. In fact there is a Portuguese saying that says, “Where ever there’s in the world there’s a Portuguese person”. This can be proven because after Lisbon, the largest Portuguese community is in Paris, France. Bibliography: 1. Encyclopedia Brittanica Online http://search.brittanica.com 2. The Library of Congress Online http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/pttoc.html 3.Gheos Internet Travel Guide http://gheos.com/atlas/ Word Count: 1972
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