Country name:
conventional long form: Portuguese Republic
conventional short form: Portugal
local long form: Republica Portuguesa
local short form: Portugal
etymology: name derives from the Roman designation "Portus Cale" meaning "Port of Cale"; Cale was an ancient Celtic town and port in present-day northern Portugal
Government type:
republic; parliamentary democracy
Capital:
name: Lisbon
geographic coordinates: 38 43 N, 9 08 W
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions:
18 districts (distritos, singular - distrito) and 2 autonomous regions* (regioes autonomas, singular - regiao autonoma); Aveiro, Acores (Azores)*, Beja, Braga, Braganca, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Evora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisboa (Lisbon), Madeira*, Portalegre, Porto, Santarem, Setubal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Viseu
Independence:
1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 5 October 1910 (republic proclaimed)
National holiday:
Portugal Day (Dia de Portugal), 10 June (1580); note - also called Camoes Day, the day that revered national poet Luis de Camoes (1524-80) died
Constitution:
several previous; latest adopted 2 April 1976, effective 25 April 1976; amended several times, last in 2005 (2015)
Legal system:
civil law system; Constitutional Court review of legislative acts
International law organization participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Portugal
dual citizenship recognized: yes
residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years; 6 years if from a Portuguese speaking country
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Anibal CAVACO SILVA (since 9 March 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Antonio Luis Santos da COSTA (since 24 November 2015)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 24 January 2016 (next to be held in January 2021); following legislative elections which must be held by October 2015, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the president
election results: Marcelo Rebelo de SOUSA elected president; percent of vote - Marcelo Rebelo de SOUSA (PSD) 52%, Antonio Sampaio da NOVA (independent) 22.9%, Marisa MATISA (BE) 10.1%, Maria de BELEM (independent) 4.2%, other 1.5%; note - de SOUSA will be inaugurated on 9 March 2016
note: there is also a Council of State that acts as a consultative body to the president
Legislative branch:
description: unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (230 seats; 226 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote and 4 members - 2 each in 2 constituencies representing Portuguese living abroad - directly elected by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)
elections: last held on 4 October 2015 (next to be held by October 2019)
election results: percent of vote by party - Portugal Ahead Coalition (PAF) 36.9%, PS 32.3%, B.E. 10.2%, CDU 8.2%, PPD/PSD (Azores and Madeira) 1.5%, PAN 1.4%, other 9.5%; seats by party - PAF 102, PS 86, B.E. 19, CDU 17, PPD/PSD (Azores and Madeira) 5, PAN 1
Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (consists of 12 justices); Constitutional Court or Tribunal Constitucional (consists of 13 judges)
judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court justices nominated by the president and appointed by the Assembly of the Republic; judges appointed for life; Constitutional Court judges - 10 elected by the Assembly and 3 elected by the other Constitutional Court judges; judges elected for 6-year non-renewable terms
subordinate courts: Supreme Administrative Court (Supremo Tribunal Administrativo); Audit Court (Tribunal de Contas); appellate, district, and municipal courts
Political parties and leaders:
Democratic and Social Center/Popular Party or CDS/PP [Paulo PORTAS]
Ecologist Party (The Greens) or PEV [Heloisa APOLONIA]
Portuguese Communist Party or PCP [Jeronimo DE SOUSA]
Portugal Ahead Coalition or PAF (includes PSD and CDS/PP)
Social Democratic Party or PPD/PSD [Pedro PASSOS COELHO]
Socialist Party or PS [Antonio COSTA]
The Left Bloc or BE [Catarina Soares MARTINS]
Unitarian Democratic Coalition or CDU [Jeronimo DE SOUSA] (includes Portuguese Communist Party or PCP and Ecologist Party ("The Greens") or PEV)
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Armed Forces Officers' Association or AOFA [Colonel Pereira CRACEL]
the Desperate Generation (youth movement protesting against low wages, precarious labor conditions, and unemployment)
General Workers Union or General Confederation of Portuguese Workers or UGT [Carlos SILVA]
Portuguese National Workers' Conference or CGTP [Armenio CARLOS]
TugaLeaks (a website that has become a mouthpiece for publicizing diverse protest action)
other: the media; labor unions
International organization participation:
ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BIS, CD, CE, CERN, CPLP, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINUSMA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club (associate), PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Domingos T?eixeira de Abreu Fezas VITAL (since 28 January 2016)
chancery: 2012 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 328-8610
FAX: [1] (202) 462-3726
consulate(s) general: Boston, New York, San Francisco
consulate(s): New Bedford (MA), Newark (NJ), Providence (RI)
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert A. SHERMAN (since 30 May 2014)
embassy: Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600-081 Lisbon
mailing address: Apartado 43033, 1601-301 Lisboa; PSC 83, APO AE 09726
telephone: [351] (21) 727-3300
FAX: [351] (21) 726-9109
consulate(s): Ponta Delgada (Azores)
Flag description:
two vertical bands of green (hoist side, two-fifths) and red (three-fifths) with the national coat of arms (armillary sphere and Portuguese shield) centered on the dividing line; explanations for the color meanings are ambiguous, but a popular interpretation has green symbolizing hope and red the blood of those defending the nation
National symbol(s):
armillary sphere (a spherical astrolabe modeling objects in the sky and representing the Republic); national colors: red, green
National anthem:
name: "A Portugesa" (The Song of the Portuguese)
lyrics/music: Henrique LOPES DE MENDOCA/Alfredo KEIL
note: adopted 1910; "A Portuguesa" was originally written to protest the Portuguese monarchy's acquiescence to the 1890 British ultimatum forcing Portugal to give up areas of Africa; the lyrics refer to the "insult" that resulted from the event
NOTE: The information regarding Portugal on this page is re-published from the 2016 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Portugal Government 2016 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Portugal Government 2016 should be addressed to the CIA.
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This page was last modified 27-Apr-16