Portugal : Country overview

Geography

• Full country name: Portuguese Republic.
• Population: estimated at 10.7 million, similar to Belgium. It is a young population with two-thirds aged between 15 and 64.
• Border countries: Spain to the north and the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south.
• Climate: cool and rainy in the north, and warmer and drier in the south.
• Terrain: North Portugal is mountainous, and the Serra da Estrela is popular for skiing. South of Lisbon are the plains of the Alentejo region, divided from the Algarve in the south by a range of mountains. The Algarve is a popular resort area with wide sandy beaches and attractive bays. Madeira and the Azores also belong to Portugal.
• Natural hazards: forest fires occur frequently during the summer and the Azores are subject to severe earthquakes. Environmental concerns include soil erosion, air pollution and water pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions.

Living in Portugal

• Cost of living: prices of goods have risen in recent times, but salaries rise to keep pace with inflation. Prices of commodities, accommodation and leisure are slightly lower than in the UK. As in many other European countries, commuters tend to live in apartments in city suburbs, but rented accommodation is scarce. Rents vary according to location, quality and the number of rooms, e.g. 1-2 rooms, €500 to €1000 per month, 4 rooms, €1250-€1500 per month, and the minimum period for a rental contract is six months. Most newspapers publish advertisements for property to rent (‘alugam-se’), including English papers, such as The Portugal News. Always look for adverts that say ‘Mediador Autorizado’ (government licensed). Some employers offer assistance in finding accommodation.
• Utilities: the main electricity company is Energias de Portugal (EDP). The gas market in Portugal is currently a regulated monopoly and there is only one provider, Galp Energia. Your rental agency or real estate agent can provide local contacts. Aguas de Portual provides the names and contact information of local water boards in Portugal. For more information about utitlities, see Anglo Info.
• Internet domain: .pt. Only residents can subscribe to an internet service in Portugal. When you complete a subscription form (Formulário de Adesão) and sign a contract, you will be given a username and password.
• Health: Portugal provides free essential medicines and general medical consultations through its health system. For non-essential medicines, contributions of 40%-100% are standard. It is likely that you will have to pay for dental treatment. Everyone legally employed in Portugal has health insurance deducted from their salary. The self-employed need to arrange their own payments. Private health insurance is often recommended for visitors to Portugal. There is a British hospital in Lisbon, but it is very small and cannot deal with serious emergencies. Portugal is part of a reciprocal agreement between EU member states, which enables EU citizens to receive free urgent medical treatment. For this, a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is required. For more details of the procedures and processes relating to the health service in Portugal visit Anglo Info.
• Laws and customs: if you are caught in possession of drugs for personal use, you may be subject to a fine or other sanction (including the seizure of personal belongings). Selling or trafficking drugs is a criminal offence and subject to severe penalties. Foreign nationals are required by law to be able to show some form of identification if requested by the police or judicial authorities. Portugal is, on the whole, accepting of same sex relationships and there is an established gay scene in both Lisbon and Porto. Other smaller cities and regions have much more discrete gay communities.

Economy and finance

• Currency: Euro (€)
• Type of economy: Portugal has a market economy. This means that the production and distribution of goods and services take place through the mechanism of free markets guided by a free price system.
• Health of economy: Portugal's financial sector has been relatively insulated from the global financial crisis and the government has not spent much on shoring up banks. Nonetheless, the government faces tough choices in its attempts to stimulate the economy, while trying to keep the budget deficit within the euro-zone 3%-of-GDP ceiling. In 2009, the deficit reached 6.7% of GDP (The World Factbook, August 2010).
• Unemployment rate: the percentage of unemployed rate has risen from 7.6% in 2008 to 9.5% in 2009.
• Main exports: automobiles and transport components, agricultural products, machinery and tools, textiles, clothing, footwear, paper pulp and cork, wine, plastic moulds, tomato paste. EU countries, especially Spain, Germany, France, Angola and the UK, are Portugal’s principal trading partners.

Culture

• People: more than nine-tenths of the population are ethnic Portuguese, with small numbers of Brazilians, Han Chinese, and people from Portugal’s former colonial possessions in Africa and Asia. There is a strong expatriate community, who are predominantly British, but there are also good numbers of French and Americans and a recent influx of Poles. The marriage rate is one of the highest in Europe and the divorce rate is one of the lowest.
• Major religion: the majority (97%) of the population are Roman Catholics and several public holidays are religious festivals.
  History: for an outline of Portuguese history, see BBC Timeline: Portugal.
• Local etiquette: when meeting friends, Portuguese men embrace and pat each other on the back and women kiss both cheeks. When introduced to someone, shake hands. Men should rise but women need not. In conversation, it is common to talk about family matters, but don’t ask very personal questions. Avoid talking about politics unless you are knowledgeable about the situation in Portugal. The correct form of address is Senhor or Senhora plus surname. Anyone with a university degree is referred to as Senhor/a doutour/a, with or without the surname. Body language in Portugal tends to be muted, so be careful not to overuse hand gestures.

Politics

• Type of government: Portugal is a parliamentary democracy with elections to parliament every five years.
• Main political parties: the party of government is the Socialist Party (PS). The main opposition party is the Social Democratic Party. For more information, go to Portuguese Government.

Travel advice

Find the latest travel advice and a general checklist for travellers at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).