officially Portuguese Republic
Country, western coast of the Iberian Peninsula , southwestern Europe.
Area: 35,662 sq mi (92,365 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 10,384,000. Capital: Lisbon . Most of the people are Portuguese. Language: Portuguese (official). Religion: Roman Catholicism. Currency: euro. Administratively, the Atlantic islands of the Azores and Tagus River ; the highlands rise mostly north of the Tagus and stretch northeast into Spain. It has an industrialized economy in which both the public and private sectors participate. Major industries were nationalized after a military coup in 1974, but many were returned to the private sector beginning in the late 1980s. Light industries predominate, and products include textiles and clothing, paper and wood products, and chemicals. Portugal is a republic with a unicameral legislature; the chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. In the 1st millennium BC, Celtic peoples settled the Iberian Peninsula. They were conquered с 140 BC by the Romans, who ruled until the 5th century AD, when the area was invaded by Germanic tribes. A Muslim invasion in 711 left only the northern part of Portugal in Christian hands. In 1179 it became the kingdom of Portugal and expanded as it reconquered the Muslim-held sectors. The boundaries of modern continental Portugal were completed in 1270 under King Afonso III . From 1580 to 1640 Portugal was united with Spain. In the 15th and 16th centuries the monarchy encouraged exploration that took Portuguese navigators to Africa, India, Indonesia, China, the Middle East, and South America. Although it established several colonies, they achieved independence over the years (see Brazil ; Goa ; Cape Verde Islands; East Timor ; Angola ; Guinea-Bissau ; Mozambique ; Macau ). António de Oliveira Salazar ruled Portugal as a dictator from 1932 to 1968. The country's dictatorship was overthrown in the April 25, 1974, Revolution of the Carnations. A new constitution was adopted in 1976, and civilian rule resumed. Portugal was a charter member of NATO and is a member of the {{link=European Union">European Union (EU). In 1999 the government adopted the euro as the country's official monetary unit and returned Macau, its last overseas territory, to Chinese rule.