PORTUGAL


Coimbra, Portugal	Praia da Rocha, Algarve, Portugal	Ponta da Piedade, Lagos, Algarve, Portugal	Batalha Monastery, Portugal

Portugal (Republica Portuguesa) is a Parliamentary democracy, member of the European Union, situated at the south-west point of Europe and also includes the Madeira and Azores archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean. Portugal is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east.

The state capital is Lisbon, while the other main cities are Porto, Braga and Coimbra. The administrative division of the territory comprises 7 regions: Norte, Centro, Lisboa and Vale do Tejo, Alentejo, Algarve, Madeira, Azores.

Mainland Portugal is split by its main river, the Tagus. Other major rivers include the Douro, the Minho and the Guadiana. The northern landscape is mountainous in the interior areas, with plateaus indented by river valleys. The south, between the Tagus and the Algarve (the Alentejo), features mostly rolling plains and a climate somewhat warmer and drier than in the cooler and rainier north. The Algarve, separated from the Alentejo by mountains, enjoys a Mediterranean climate much like southern Spain. Portugal's highest point is Mount Pico on Pico Island (Azores), it is an ancient volcano measuring 2 351 metres. Mainland Portugal's highest point is Serra da Estrela, measuring 1 993 metres.

The Azores are situated in the Atlantic Ocean between Europe and North America. They have an area of 2 355 km2 and consist of nine islands - São Miguel and Santa Maria in the Eastern Group, Terceira, Graciosa, São Jorge, Pico and Faial in the Central Group and Flores and Corvo in the Western Group. The Madeira Archipelago has an area of 741 km2 and lies in the Atlantic Ocean about 500 km from the African coast and 1,000 km from the European continent. It consists of the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo and the uninhabited Desertas and Selvagens islands, which are nature reserves.

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Area: 92,152 sqkm

Population: 10,500,000

State Capital: Lisbon

Language: Portuguese. Portuguese is the third most spoken European language in the world and the native tongue of about 200 million people.

Religion: Roman Catholic.

Currency: Euro

Time: During winter time, i.e. from 1 a.m. on the last Sunday in October to 1 a.m. on the last Sunday in March, the official time in mainland Portugal and Madeira is the Universal Time Coordinated (UTC 0). The rest of the year (between 1 a.m. on the last Sunday in March and 1 a.m. on the last Sunday in October), summer time is in effect and the official time in mainland Portugal and Madeira is Universal Time Coordinated plus one hour (Summer Daylight saving time UTC+1),

In the Azores, the time is one hour earlier than in the rest of Portugal and therefore one hour earlier than the Universal Time Coordinated during winter time (UTC -1) and two hours earlier during summer time (Summer Daylight saving time UTC 0).

Portugal map

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