Portugal

C

Plants and Animals

The plants and animals of Portugal are virtually identical to those of Spain. The most abundant trees are the pine, beech, cork oak, evergreen oak, eucalyptus, and olive. The vegetation patterns in Portugal reflect the climate. In northern Portugal are forests of beech and pine. In the vast undulating lowlands of south central Portugal, large tracts of cork oak and olive can be found. Farther south, especially toward the coastline, vegetation becomes sparser, and there are wide expanses of grassland. The trees give way to a Mediterranean-type shrub land called maquis, composed largely of scattered shrubs and evergreen brush.

Wild animals include the wolf, lynx, wildcat, fox, wild boar, wild goat, deer, and hare. In the south the genet and the European chameleon, typical of northern Africa, are also present. Portugal occupies an important bird migration route, and many species of birds can be found at various times of the year, including the cormorant, egret, black-winged stilt, greater flamingo, stork, European bee-eater, and griffon vulture. More than 200 kinds of fish, notably small fish such as pilchards (sardines) and anchovies, and tuna, abound off Portugal’s coasts.

III

People and Society

The Portuguese people reflect the influence of diverse ethnic groups. Since prehistoric times the Iberian Peninsula has been settled by many peoples, including Iberians, Celts, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Visigoths, and later, Muslim Arabs and Berbers. Centuries of assimilation, however, have imbued the Portuguese people with a remarkable degree of homogeneity. In recent decades, immigrants from Africa, Brazil, and Asia have given Portugal a more multicultural character.

A

Population

The population of Portugal, including the Azores and Madeira Islands, is 10,642,836 (2007 estimate). The overall population density is 116 persons per sq km (300 per sq mi).

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Portugal is a rapidly urbanizing country, although more than one-third of the population is still rural—a large percentage compared to other countries in western Europe. In 2005 some 56 percent of Portugal’s population lived in urban areas. The population is densest along the northern and central coastal areas and in the far south.

Portugal has a long history of emigration. By the early 20th century, Portuguese emigrants went mainly to the Americas, especially to Brazil, in search of better lives. During the 1960s, many Portuguese migrated to nearby industrialized European countries in search of work. Others emigrated to avoid conscription by the Portuguese military to fight against independence movements in Portugal’s African colonies. From 1960 to 1972 Portugal’s population fell by 3 percent. Later in the 1970s emigration declined sharply after the African colonies won their independence. Hundreds of thousands of emigrants returned to the Portuguese mainland, along with many thousands of African and mixed-race immigrants. Today, for the first time in decades, Portugal has more immigrants than emigrants. Most immigrants are from Portugal’s former colonies, including Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, and Guinea-Bissau, in addition to a growing population of retirees from the United Kingdom.

B

Principal Cities

Lisbon (population, 2001, 564,657), the capital and largest city, is the leading administrative and services center of Portugal. It is also the nation’s principal port, a crossroads of road and rail routes, an international air hub, and home to many industries. The city’s rich architecture, numerous museums, and famously pleasant weather attract visitors from around the world.

Other important cities include Porto (263,131), the second largest city, a seaport and industrial center; Coimbra (148,474), an educational and administrative center; Setúbal (113,937), a seaport and industrial center; Funchal (103,962), the capital of the Madeira Islands; and Faro (58,051), in the Algarve resort area.

C

Religion

Portugal is a Roman Catholic country by history and tradition. Today, about 91 percent of the population is Catholic. The constitution guarantees freedom of religion, however, and the Catholic Church receives no direct financial support from the state. Church attendance has declined in recent decades, especially in urban areas and in the south, but Catholicism remains central to Portuguese life, especially in rural interior areas. Portugal has many local saints who are celebrated in popular festivals, and annual pilgrimages are well attended. The village of Fátima, where the Virgin Mary is reported to have appeared to three children in 1917, remains a popular pilgrimage site, attracting both Portuguese and large numbers of Spaniards.

About 1 percent of the Portuguese population is Protestant. There are also small numbers of Jews (see Judaism) and Muslims (see Islam) in Portugal. Jewish and Muslim populations have remained small since the late 15th century, when the Inquisition in Portugal forced them to convert or leave the country.

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