Portugal

República Portuguesa
Flag	Coat of Arms
Capital	Lisbon
Government	Parliamentary Democracy
Language	Portuguese (official)
President	Aníbal Cavaco Silva
Prime minister	José Sócrates
Area	35,580 sq mi
Population	10,848,692(2007)
GDP per capita	$23,464 (2006)
Currency	euro

Portugal is a european nation in the Iberian Peninsula, with land borders with Spain. Its capital is Lisbon.

In the 16th century, it explored and colonised large areas, including Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, parts of India, Timor, Cape Verde, and others. It lost much of it's power when Lisbon was destroyed in an earthquake in 1755, and it was occupied in the Napoleonic Wars. In 1910 a revolution deposed the monarchy; but repressive nationalistic government would rule for most of the next six decades. In 1974, a left-wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms. Portugal is a founding member of NATO and entered the EC (now the European Union) in 1986.

                  Population 

Portugal's population is 10,566,212. It is the 76th most populated country.

                     Capitol

Portugal's capitol is a large town named Lisbon.

                      Government

Portugal’s government is a parliamentary

democracy. It’s president is Aníbal Cavaco Silva 

and its prime minister is Jose Socrates.

                     Languages

The official language of Portugal is Portuguese. A little bit of Spanish

and French is also spoken.
                        Origin

The Kingdom of Portugal emerged 12th century connected with the process concerning the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula. However the Republic of Portugal did not emerge until 1910.

                   Literacy Rate

The adult male literacy rate is 95%. meaning, that 95% of the total male population

has had some type of formal schooling.

The rate for females is only 90%. The

literacy rate determines the percentage of 

schooling the countries occupants have.

                           Food
Portuguese food is a combination of seafood and 

Mexican food. There are a lot of meats and cheeses

as well. Popular desserts are usually almond and fig 

sweets. Two popular Portuguese meals are Cream

of Shrimp Soup and Rice with pork.
                         Books
Two notable Portuguese books are: Global 

Impact of the Portuguese Language and Hebrews of Portuguese Nation: Conversos And Community in Early Modern Amsterdam.

                         Flag

The Portuguese flag is red and green with

a yellow woven circle and an emblem to 

the left of the center.

                     Map

As you can see on the map

to the right Portugal is 

bordered by Spain and the North Atlantic ocean.

                Culture

A good example of Portugal culture occurs during the Christmas season. Families create elaborate nativity scenes with lakes and hills. The family gathers around the Christmas tree and the Crèche to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Instead of Santa Claus it is a tradition to write to Baby Jesus and ask for gifts.

                                Geography

The area of Portugal is 92,391sq. km. It is slightly smaller than the state of Indiana. It’s largest city,

Lisbon has 1.9 million people in it. It has a mountainous
Northern terrain and rolling plains in the South. The
average yearly temperature is 61° F. 
                                People

Portugal’s density is 275 people per sq. mile. The annual growth rate is – 1.3%.The religion is Catholic, with a percentage of 97% belonging to its church. The main race is Mediterranean with small black and European communities. The life expectancy is 76 years and the Work Force percentages are as shown below.

                               Industry

Natural resources: Fish, tungsten, iron, copper, tin, and uranium ores. Agriculture: forestry, fisheries, cork, wine. Industry: textiles, clothing, footwear, wood and cork, paper, chemicals, manufacturing, food and beverages.

Services: Commerce, government, housing, banking and finance.