Portugal
The Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is a
democratic republic located on the west and southwest parts of the
Iberian Peninsula in south-western Europe and is the westernmost
country in continental Europe.
The name of Portugal itself reveals most of the country's early
history, stemming from the Roman name Portus Cale, a possibly
mixed Greek and Latin name meaning "Beautiful Port", or
even mixed Celtic and Latin or mixed Phoenician and Latin. During
the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal was a major economic, political, and
cultural power, its empire stretched from Brazil to the Indies.
| Capital: | Lisbon |
| Government type: | Parliamentary monarchy |
| Population: | 10,566,212 (July 2005 est.) |
| Languages: | Portuguese 100% (official - ) some regional Spanish. |
| Official Currency: | Euro (EUR) note: on 1 January 1999, the European
Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be
used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1
January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday
transactions within the member countries Current Euro Exchange Rates |
| Climate: | Portugal has a mild climate without extremes of temperature. Winters are never too cold and summers are always moderately hot. |
| National Holiday: | June 10 |
| Religion: | predominately Roman Catholic 97% . Protestant 2% |
| Area: | total: 504,782 sq km |
| Country Phone Code: | 351 |
Europe (EU)