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| Conventional Long Form: | Portuguese Republic |
| Conventional Short Form: | Portugal |
| Location: | Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain |
| Capital City: | Lisbon |
| Government Type: | Parliamentary Democracy |
| Population: | 10,066,253 (July 2001 est.) |
| Area [sq.km]: | 92,391 (slightly smaller than Indiana) |
| Currency: | Portuguese escudo (PTE); euro (EUR) |
| Languages: | Portuguese |
| National Holiday: | Portugal Day, 10 June (1580) |
| Background: | Following its heyday as a world power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence in 1822 of Brazil as a colony. A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy; for most of the next six decades repressive governments ran the country. In 1974, a left-wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms. The following year Portugal granted independence to all of its African colonies. Portugal entered the EC in 1985. |
