The word Portugal ([puɾtuˈɣal]ⓘ) derives from the combined Roman-Celtic place name Portus Cale[14][15] (present-day's conurbation of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia). Porto stems from the Latin for port, portus; Cale's meaning and origin is unclear. The mainstream explanation is an ethnonym derived from the Callaeci, also known as the Gallaeci peoples, who occupied the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula.[16] One theory proposes Cale is a derivation of the Celtic word for 'port'.[17] Another is that Cala was a Celtic goddess. Some French scholars believe it may have come from Portus Gallus, the port of the Gauls.[18]
Around 200 BC, the Romans took Iberia from the Carthaginians during the Second Punic War. In the process they conquered Cale, renaming it Portus Cale ('Port of Cale') and incorporating it into the province of Gallaecia. During the Middle Ages, the region around Portus Cale became known by the Suebi and Visigoths as Portucale. The name Portucale changed into Portugale during the 7th and 8th centuries, and by the 9th century, it was used to refer to the region between the rivers Douro and Minho. By the 11th and 12th centuries, Portugale, Portugallia, Portvgallo or Portvgalliae were already referred to as Portugal.[19][20]
The region has been inhabited by humans since circa 400,000 years ago, demonstrated by the finding of a 400,000-year-old Aroeira 3H. Heidelbergensis skull discovered in the Cave of Aroeira in 2014.[21] Later Neanderthals roamed the northern Iberian peninsula and a tooth has been found at Nova da Columbeira cave in Estremadura.[22]Homo sapiens sapiens arrived in Portugal around 35,000 years ago and spread rapidly,[23] with the earliest signs of settlement dating to 5500 BC.[24] Pre-Celtic tribes inhabited Portugal. The Cynetes developed a written language, leaving stelae, which are mainly found in the south.[25]
The Roman Temple of Évora, one of the best preserved landmarks of Roman presence in Portugal
Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 BC. The Carthaginians, Rome's opponent in the Punic Wars, were expelled from their coastal colonies. During Julius Caesar's rule, almost the entire peninsula was annexed to Rome.
After defeating the Visigoths in a few months, the Umayyad Caliphate started expanding rapidly in the peninsula. Beginning in 726, the land that is now Portugal became part of the Umayyad Caliphate until its collapse in 750. That year the west of the empire gained its independence under Abd-ar-Rahman I with the establishment of the Emirate of Córdoba, becoming the Caliphate of Córdoba in 929, lasting until its dissolution in 1031, into 23 small kingdoms.[27]
The emirs of those kingdoms established diplomatic relations with the northern Christian kingdoms. Most of present-day Portugal fell into the hands of the Taifa of Badajoz, and in 1022 the Taifa of Seville. Those petty kingdoms were conquered by the Almoravids in 1086, then by the Almohads in 1147.[28]
Invasions from the North also occurred in this period, with Viking incursions raiding the coast between the 9th and 11th centuries, including Lisbon.[29][30] This resulted in the establishment of small Norse settlements in the coastline between Douro and Minho.[31]
The Reconquista was a period when Christians reconquered the Iberian Peninsula from Moorish domination. An Asturian Visigothic noble named Pelagius of Asturias was elected leader in 718[32] by many of the ousted Visigoth nobles. After defeating the Moors in the Battle of Covadonga in 722, Pelagius was proclaimed king, thus founding the Christian Kingdom of Asturias and starting the war of Christian reconquest.[33]
At the end of the 9th century, the region of Portugal between the rivers Minho and Douro was reconquered from the Moors by nobleman and knight Vímara Peres on the orders of King Alfonso III of Asturias.[34] Finding many towns deserted, he decided to repopulate and rebuild them.[35]
After annexing the County of Portugal into one of the counties that made up the Kingdom of Asturias, King Alfonso III of Asturias knighted Vímara Peres, in 868, as the First Count of Portus Cale (Portugal). The region became known as Portucale, Portugale, and simultaneously Portugália.[35] With the forced abdication of Alfonso III in 910, the Kingdom of Asturias split into three separate kingdoms; they were reunited in 924 under the crown of León.[citation needed]
Afonso Henriques and his successors, aided by military monastic orders, continued pushing southwards against the Moors. In 1249, the Reconquista ended with the capture of the Algarve, in the aftermath of the Siege of Faro, and the last Moorish settlements were expelled.[38][39] With minor readjustments, Portugal's territorial borders have remained the same, making it one of the oldest established countries in Europe.[40]
In 1348-49 Portugal, as with the rest of Europe, was devastated by the Black Death.[41] In 1373, Portugal, during the reign of Ferdinand I, made an alliance with England, the oldest standing alliance in the world.[42] This alliance was signed during the Fernandine Wars, a series of conflicts between Portugal and Castile over the right to the throne of Castile. This alliance would be reinforced with the signing of the Treaty of Windsor in 1386.[43]
Portugal spearheaded European exploration of the world and the Age of Discovery under the sponsorship of Prince Henry the Navigator,[47][48] and made several seminal advancements in nautical science.[e] The Portuguese explored the Indian Ocean, established trade routes in most of southern Asia, and sent the first direct European maritime trade and diplomatic missions to China (Jorge Álvares) and Japan (Nanban trade). In 1415, Portugal acquired its first colonies by conquering Ceuta, in North Africa. Throughout the 15th century, Portuguese explorers sailed the coast of Africa, establishing trading posts for commodities, ranging from gold to slavery.[50]
Between 1519 and 1522 Ferdinand Magellan organised a Spanish expedition to the East Indies which resulted in the first circumnavigation of the globe. The Treaty of Zaragoza, signed in 1529 between Portugal and Spain, divided the Pacific Ocean between Spain and Portugal.[58]
After King Sebastian, followed by his grand-uncle King Henry died without heirs, it resulted in a succession crisis in 1580. Philip II of Spain claimed the throne, under the pretext that his mother, Isabella of Portugal, was a Portuguese princess. Philip II of Spain was accepted as Philip I of Portugal.[59] Yet, Portugal did not lose its formal independence.[60] Instead, a union of kingdoms was formed. But the joining of the two crowns deprived Portugal of an independent foreign policy, and led to its involvement in the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Netherlands.[61]
From 1595 to 1663 the Dutch Portuguese War primarily involved Dutch companies invading Portuguese colonies and commercial interests in Brazil, Africa, India and the Far East, resulting in the loss of Portugal's Indian sea trade monopoly.[62]
In 1640 John IV of Portugal spearheaded an uprising backed by disgruntled nobles and was proclaimed king, ending 60 years of the Iberian Union under the House of Habsburg and the beginning of the House of Braganza, which reigned until 1910. John V reign saw an influx of gold into the royal treasury, supplied largely by the royal fifth from the colonies of Brazil and Maranhão. Most estimates place the number of Portuguese migrants to Colonial Brazil during the gold rush of the 18th century at 600,000.[63] This represented one of the largest movements of European populations to their colonies, during colonial times.[64]
In 1820, constitutionalist insurrections took place at Porto and Lisbon, and King John VI and his court were forced to return to mainland Portugal in 1821.[67][68] Lisbon regained its status as the capital of Portugal when Brazil declared its independence in 1822.[69] The death of King John VI in 1826 led to a crisis of royal succession. His eldest son, Pedro I of Brazil, briefly became Pedro IV of Portugal, but neither the Portuguese nor Brazilians wanted a unified monarchy.[70]
Consequently, Pedro abdicated the Portuguese crown in favour of his 7-year-old daughter, Maria da Glória. Dissatisfaction at Pedro's constitutional reforms led the "absolutist" faction of landowners and the church to proclaim Miguel king in February 1828. This led to the Liberal Wars, in which Pedro forced Miguel to abdicate and go into exile in 1834 and place his daughter on the throne as Queen Maria II of Portugal.[71]
Portugal occupies an area on the Iberian Peninsula (referred to as the continent by most Portuguese) and two archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean: Madeira and the Azores. It lies between latitudes 30° and 42° N, and longitudes 32° and 6° W.[87]
Continental Portugal is split by its main river, the Tagus, that flows from Spain and disgorges in the Tagus Estuary at Lisbon, before discharging into the Atlantic. The northern landscape is mountainous towards the interior with several plateaus indented by river valleys, whereas the south[f] is characterised by rolling plains.[88]
Portugal's highest peak is Mount Pico on Pico Island in the Azores. The archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores are scattered within the Atlantic Ocean: the Azores straddling the Mid-Atlantic Ridge on a tectonic triple junction, and Madeira along a range formed by in-platehotspot geology. These islands were formed by volcanic and seismic events. The last terrestrial volcanic eruption occurred in 1957–58 (Capelinhos) and minor earthquakes occur sporadically.[89]
Climate change in Portugal is causing rising temperatures and longer-lasting heat waves, decreases in average rainfall and increases in the number of extremely rainy days (causing droughts and floods), and rising sea levels which will threaten the country's many coastal populations.[94][95] Wildfires are quite common and a major issue in Portugal,[96] being the country with the highest percentage of burned area, on average, in the entire European Union.[97][98][95]
Peneda-Gerês National Park is the only nationally designated park in Portugal, owing to the rarity and significance of its environment
Portugal is located on the Mediterranean Basin, the 3rd most diverse hotspot of flora in the world.[99] It is home to 6 terrestrial ecoregions.[g] Over 22% of its land area is included in the Natura 2000 network.[101][99]Eucalyptus, cork oak and maritime pine together make up 71% of the total forested area of continental Portugal.[102]
Geographical and climatic conditions facilitate the introduction of exotic species that later turn to be invasive and destructive to the native habitats. Around 20% of the total number of extant species in continental Portugal are exotic.[103] Portugal is the 2nd country in Europe with the highest number of threatened animal and plant species.[104][105] Portugal as a whole is an important stopover for migratory bird species.[106][107]
The large mammalian species of Portugal (deer, Iberian ibex, wild boar, red fox, Iberian wolf and Iberian lynx) were once widespread throughout the country, but intense hunting, habitat degradation and growing pressure from agriculture and livestock reduced population on a large scale in the 19th and early 20th century, others, such as the Portuguese ibex were even led to extinction. Today, these animals are re-expanding their native range.[108][109]
The head of state is the president, elected to a five-year term by direct, universal suffrage, the incumbent is Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. Although largely a ceremonial post,[119] Presidential powers include the appointment of the prime minister and other members of the government, dismissing the prime minister, dissolving the parliament, vetoing legislation[h] and declaring war.[i][120] The president has also supervisory and reserve powers and is the ex officio Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The President is advised on issues of importance by the Council of State.[121]
According to International IDEA’s Global State of Democracy (GSoD) Indices and Democracy Tracker, Portugal performs in the mid-high range on overall democratic measures, with particular strengths in political representation, including elected government and inclusive suffrage.[122][123][124]
The Assembly of the Republic is an unicameral parliament composed of a maximum of 230 deputies elected for a four-year term.[125] The government is headed by the prime minister and includes ministers and secretaries of state, that have full executive powers;[126] the current prime minister is Luís Montenegro.[127] The Council of Ministers – under the prime minister[j] and the ministers – acts as the cabinet.[128] The courts are organised into several levels, among the judicial, administrative and fiscal branches. The supreme courts are institutions of last appeal. The Constitutional Court oversees the constitutionality of the laws.[129]
Portugal operates a multi-party system of competitive legislatures/local administrative governments at the national, regional and local levels. The Assembly of the Republic is dominated by three political parties, the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Chega (CH) and the Socialist Party (PS), while the PSD and PS continue to be the dominant parties in the regional parliaments and at the local level.[k]
Official political map of Portugal released by the Portuguese government in 2025, note the lack of a marked border with Olivenza and its surrounding area
Olivenza: Under Portuguese sovereignty since 1297, the municipality of Olivença was ceded to Spain under the Treaty of Badajoz in 1801, after the War of the Oranges. Portugal claimed it back in 1815 under the Treaty of Vienna. However, since the 19th century, it has been continuously ruled by Spain which considers the territory theirs not only de facto but also de jure.[139]
Savage Islands: A small group of mostly uninhabited islets which fall under Portuguese Madeira's regional autonomous jurisdiction. Found in 1364 by Italian mariners under the service of Prince Henry The Navigator,[140] it was first noted by Portuguese navigator Diogo Gomes de Sintra in 1438. Historically, the islands have belonged to private Portuguese owners from the 16th century on, until 1971[141] when the government purchased them and established a natural reserve area covering the whole archipelago. The islands have been claimed by Spain since 1911,[142] and the dispute has caused some periods of political tension between the two countries.[143] The main problem for Spain's attempts to claim these small islands, has been not so much their intrinsic value, but the fact that they expand Portugal's exclusive economic zone considerably to the south, in detriment of Spain.[144] The Selvagens Islands have been tentatively added to UNESCO's world heritage list in 2017.[145]
The Portuguese Armed Forces have three branches commanded by the Portuguese Armed Forces General Staff – Navy, Army and Air Force. They serve primarily as a self-defence force whose mission is to protect the territorial integrity of the country but can also be used in offensive missions in foreign territories.[146] In recent years, the Portuguese military have carried out several NATO and European Union missions in various territories.[l] As of 2024, the three branches numbered 23,678 military personnel.[148]Portuguese military budget in 2023 was more than $4 billion, representing 1.48% of GDP.[149]
In addition to the three branches of the armed forces, there is the National Republican Guard, a gendarmerie force comprising 23,287 personnel by 2023,[157] under the authority of both the Defence and the Interior Ministry.[158] It has provided detachments for participation in international operations in Iraq and East Timor.[159] The United States maintains a military presence with 770 troops in the Lajes Air Base at Terceira Island, in the Azores.[160]
The Portuguese legal system is part of the civil law legal system. The main laws include the Constitution (1976), the Portuguese Civil Code (1966) and the Penal Code of Portugal (1982), as amended. Other relevant laws are the Commercial Code (1888) and the Civil Procedure Code (1961). Portuguese laws were applied in the former colonies and territories and continue to be influences for those countries. The supreme national courts are the Supreme Court of Justice and the Constitutional Court. The Public Ministry, headed by the Attorney General of the Republic, constitutes the independent body of public prosecutors.[161]
Drug decriminalisation was declared in 2001, making Portugal the first country to do so for personal possession of all common drugs.
In 2003, Portugal added an anti-discrimination employment law on the basis of sexual orientation.[162] In 2004, sexual orientation was added to the Constitution as part of the protected from discrimination characteristics.[163] In 2010, Portugal became the sixth country in Europe and eighth in the world to legalise same-sex marriage at the national level.[164]
LGBT adoption has been allowed since 2016[165] as has female same-sex couple access to medically assisted reproduction.[166] In 2017 the Law of Gender Identity,[167] simplified the legal process of gender and name change for transgender people, making it easier for minors to change their sex marker in legal documents.[168] In 2018, the right to gender identity and gender expression self-determination became protected, intersex minors became protected by law from unnecessary medical procedures "until the minor gender identity manifests" and the right of protection from discrimination on the basis of sex characteristics became protected by the same law.[169]
Portugal has 49 correctional facilities in total run by the Ministry of Justice. They include seventeen central prisons, four special prisons, twenty-seven regional prisons, and one 'Cadeia de Apoio' (Support Detention Centre).[171]As of 1January2025[update], the prison population stood at 12,193 inmates, which comes to about 0.11% of the country's entire population.[172] The incarceration rate had a strong increase after 2010, with the prison population surpassing 14,000 inmates by 2013, but after that same year the incarceration rate began to steadily decline, a trend that has continued in recent years.[173][174]
The term provinces (Portuguese: províncias) has been used throughout history to identify regions of continental Portugal. Current legal subdivisions of Portugal do not coincide with the provinces, but several provinces, in their 19th- and 20th-century versions, still correspond to culturally relevant, strongly self-identifying categories. They include:
Continental Portugal is agglomerated into 18 districts, while the archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are governed as autonomous regions; the largest units, established since 1976, are either mainland Portugal and the autonomous regions of Portugal (Azores and Madeira).[176] Administratively, Portugal is divided into 308 municipalities (municípios or concelhos). Operationally, the municipalities (and civil parishes), along with the national government, are the only legally local administrative units identified by the government of Portugal.[177]
Portugal's national currency is the euro (€), which started transitioning from the Portuguese Escudo in 2000 and consolidated in 2002. Most industries, businesses and financial institutions are concentrated in the Lisbon and Porto metropolitan areas, plus the areas around these two metro areas.[194]
Since the 1990s, Portugal's economic model has been based on public consumption and economic development focused on exports, private investment and the development of its high-tech sector. Consequently, business services have overtaken more traditional industries such as textiles, clothing, footwear and cork (Portugal is the world's leading cork producer),[195] wood products and beverages.[196]
In 2001, the gross agricultural product accounted for 4% of the economy; in 2022 it was 2%.[197] According to FAO, Portugal is the top producer of cork and carob in the world, accounting for about 50% and 30% of world production, respectively.[198] It is the third largest exporter of chestnuts and third largest European producer of pulp.[199] Portugal is among the world's top ten largest olive oil producers and fourth largest exporter.[200]
Portugal is among the top 20 most-visited countries in the world, receiving nearly 29 million foreign tourists by 2024.[205] In 2014, Portugal was elected The Best European Country by USA Today.[206] In 2017, Portugal was elected both Europe's Leading Destination[207] and in 2018 and 2019, World's Leading Destination[208]
Travel and tourism is an important part of Portugal's economy. As of 2024, the tourism sector contributed 11.9% to GDP, worth €34 billion, with tourism contributing 0.3% to an annual GDP growth of 1.9%.[209]
A national railway system that extends throughout the country and into Spain, is supported and administered by Comboios de Portugal (CP).[215]Rail transport of passengers and goods is derived using the 2,527km (1,570mi) of railway lines currently in service,[216] of which 1,791km (1,113mi) are electrified.[217] a
Portugal has considerable wind and hydropower resources. In 2006, the world's then largest solar power plant, the Moura Photovoltaic Power Station, began operating, while the world's first commercial wave power farm, the Aguçadoura Wave Farm, opened in the Norte region (2008). In 2008, renewable energy resources were producing 43% of the nation's electricity.[222] As of 2010, electricity exports had outnumbered imports and 70% of energy came from renewable sources.[223]
As of 31 December 2024, Portugal had a population 10,749,635, of which 52.2% was female and 47.8% male, according to Statistics Portugal.[9][224] In 2025, the median life expectancy reached 82.95 years,[225] with United Nations projecting a rise of up to 90 years or more by 2100.[226] The population historically has been relatively homogeneous, with most people adhering to Catholicism and speaking Portuguese.[citation needed]
Portugal has had a fertility rate well below the replacement rate of 2.1 since the 1980s.[227] The total fertility rate (TFR) as of 2024[update] was estimated at 1.36 children born per woman, one of the lowest in the world,[228][229] and considerably below the high of 5.0 in 1911.[230] Consequently, Portugal's population has been steadily ageing and was the 11th oldest in the world in 2024, with a median age of 46.4 years and the fourth highest number of citizens over 65 years, at 21.8% of the total population.[24][231] According to projections by the national statistics office, the population will fall to 7.7 million by 2080 and the population will continue to age.[232] As of 2022, 60.2% of births were to unmarried women,[233] and 24.5% of births were to foreign born women.[234]
Portuguese society displays relatively high rates of socioeconomic equality, with the country ranking 24th within the 41 countries of the EU and OECD in the 2019 Social Justice Index.[235] In 2018, Portugal's parliament approved a budget plan for 2019 that included tax breaks for returning emigrants in a bid to attract back those who left during the 2008 financial crisis.[236]
According to a Statistics Portugal study conducted between 2022 and 2023, around 6.4 million people aged between 18 and 74 years old identified themselves as White (84%), more than 262,000 as Mixed-race (3%), nearly 170,000 as Black (2%), 57,000 as Asian (<1%), and 47,500 as Romani (<1%)[237][238]
Historically a country of emigration,[239] Portugal has been a net recipient of immigrants since the early 21st century.[240] As of 2024, legal resident foreigners number 1,543,697, or approximately 14% of the population;[1][241] these figures do not include more than 340,000 resident foreigners who acquired Portuguese citizenship between 2008 and 2022—and thus constitute around 3.27% of the country's population in 2022.[242] That year, almost 21,000 foreign residents acquired Portuguese citizenship, of which 11,170 were female and 9,674 were male.[243]
Urbanisation
Based on commuting patterns, OECD and Eurostat define eight metropolitan areas of Portugal.[244] Only two have populations over 1 million, and since the 2013 local government reform, these are the only two which also have administrative legal status of metropolitan areas: Lisbon and Porto,[245][246] Several smaller metropolitan areas (Algarve, Aveiro, Coimbra, Minho and Viseu)[246] also held this status from 2003 to 2008, when they were converted into intermunicipal communities, whose territories are roughly based on the NUTS III statistical regions.[247][246]
Portuguese is the official language of Portugal. Mirandese is also recognised as a co-official regional language in some municipalities of North-Eastern Portugal. It is part of the Astur-Leonese group of languages.[253] An estimate of between 6,000 and 7,000 Mirandese speakers has been documented for Portugal.[254] Furthermore, a particular dialect known as Barranquenho, spoken in Barrancos, is also officially recognised and protected in Portugal since 2021.[255]Minderico, a sociolect of the Portuguese language, is spoken by around 500 people in the town of Minde.[256]
According to the International English Proficiency Index, Portugal has a high proficiency level in English, higher than those of other Romance-speaking European countries like France, Italy or Spain.[257]
The educational system is divided into preschool (for those under age six), basic education (nine years, in three stages, compulsory), secondary education (three years, compulsory since 2010), and higher education (subdivided in university and polytechnic education). Universities are usually organised into faculties. Institutes and schools are also common designations for autonomous subdivisions of Portuguese higher education institutions.[258]
The Bologna process has been adopted by Portuguese universities and poly-technical institutes in 2006. Higher education in state-run educational establishments is provided on a competitive basis, a system of numerus clausus is enforced through a national database on student admissions. However, every higher education institution offers also a number of additional vacant places through other admission processes for sportsmen, mature applicants (over 23 years old), international students, foreign students from the Lusosphere, degree owners from other institutions, students from other institutions (academic transfer), former students (readmission), and course change, which are subject to specific standards and regulations set by each institution or course department.[261]
In 2025, Portugal ranked as 23rd best healthcare system in the world.[262] The health system is characterised by three coexisting systems: the National Health Service (Serviço Nacional de Saúde, SNS), special social health insurance schemes for certain professions (health subsystems) and voluntary private health insurance. The SNS provides universal coverage. In addition, about 55% of the population is covered by the health subsystems,[263] 43% by private insurance schemes and another 12% by mutual funds.[264][265]
Similarly to other 'Eur-A countries', (Western Europe), most Portuguese die from noncommunicable diseases.[266] Portugal's infant mortality rate (IMR) stood at 2,25 deaths per 1,000 live births as of 2024.[267] A Eurostat opinion-poll in 2023 found that 55.4% of adults rated their health as good or very good, the third lowest rate collected in the European Union.[268] The largest university hospital in the country is Hospital de Santa Maria, Lisbon.[269]
Despite good economic development, the average Portuguese, along with Italians, have been among the shortest in Europe since around 1890 and still are.[270] A driving factor was modest real wage growth, given late industrialisation and economic growth compared to the European core. Another determinant was delayed human capital formation.[271]
Portugal has developed a specific culture while being influenced by various civilisations that have crossed the European continent and Mediterranean,[272] or were introduced when it played an active role during the Age of Discovery.[273] In the 1990s and 2000s (decade), Portugal modernised its public cultural facilities, in addition to the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation established in 1956 in Lisbon.[274]
Traditional architecture is distinctive and include the Manueline, also known as Portuguese late Gothic a sumptuous, composite Portuguese style of architectural ornamentation of the first decades of the 16th century, followed by Pombaline style of the 18th century.[278][279]
Portuguese cuisine is diverse, part of the Atlantic diet. A significant ingredient in the Portuguese diet is dry cod (bacalhau in Portuguese). They say that the Portuguese have mastered 365 different ways to prepare codfish, meaning a cod dish for each day of the year, to name a few recipes: bacalhau à Brás, bacalhau à Gomes de Sá, bacalhau com natas, bacalhau à Minhota, bacalhau espiritual, bacalhau à Lagareiro, bacalhau assado, bacalhau à Zé do Pipo, pastéis de bacalhau. Other fish recipes include grilled sardines, mackerel,[284]sea bream, and caldeirada, a tomato-based stew that can be made from several types of fish or shellfish, with a mix of onion, garlic, bay leaf, potatoes, peppers, parsley.[285]
The 20th century saw the arrival of Modernism, and along with it came Portuguese painters such as Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso, who was heavily influenced by French painters, particularly the Delaunays (Robert and Sonia).[296] Among his best-known works is Canção Popular – a Russa e o Fígaro. Other modernist painters/writers include Carlos Botelho and Almada Negreiros, friend to the poet Fernando Pessoa, who painted Pessoa's portrait. He was deeply influenced by both Cubist and Futurist trends.[297][298]
Portuguese literature, one of the earliest Western literatures, developed through text as well as song. Until 1350, the Portuguese-Galiciantroubadours spread their literary influence to most of the Iberian Peninsula,[304] like King D. Dinis (1261–1325) who became famous for his poetry. Other kings would write and sponsor works of literature across Portuguese history, like D. Fernando (1367–1383) who supported Pêro Menino in writing o Livro da Falcoaria.[45]
↑While Portugal has a de jure semi-presidential system, the role of the president is mostly ceremonial, and the country operates under a strong parliamentary leaning.[4]
↑The modern day concept of sovereignty or declaration of independence did not exist at the time, nor was established any notion of its recognition. Portugal was recognised as a kingdom with its own King in 1179 by the Pope who was the ultimate authority in Europe at the time. The way Europe was seen at the time was as a Res publica christiana.
↑Most notably, the Portuguese devised the volta do mar navigational technique, which enabled safe roundtrip voyages in open sea; this was a major turning point in world history, as it meant that voyagers could now return from long distant places, marking a leap from coastal hugging to deep-sea, long-range navigation, which consequently contributed to further advancements in nautical science and cartography, without that discovery European colonial empires could not have been established.[49]
↑Guimarães, Paula; Martins, Susana (March 2005). "Guia de estilo"[Style guide](PDF). Eurocid - Informação europeia ao cidadão (in European Portuguese). Centro de Informação Europeia Jacques Delors. p.41. Archived(PDF) from the original on 16 January 2026. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
12Ribeiro, Ângelo; Hermano, José (2004). História de Portugal I– A Formação do Território[History of Portugal: The Formation of the Territory] (in Portuguese). QuidNovi. ISBN989-554-106-6.
↑Fernandes, Carla Varela (August 2017). Barroca, Mário Jorge (ed.). Com a Espada e a Cruz: A imagem de D. Afonso Henriques na Escultura Medieval Portuguesa[With the sword and the cross the image of Afonso Henriques in the Portuguese medieval sculpting](PDF). No tempo de D. Afonso Henriques. Reflexões sobre o primeiro século português. (in European Portuguese). Porto: CITCEM – Centro de Investigação Transdisciplinar «Cultura, Espaço e Memória». pp.77–90. ISBN978-989-8351-75-3. Retrieved 7 April 2025– via NOVA Research Portal.
↑Wilson, Jonathan (3 May 2020). "'Neither age nor sex sparing': the Alvor massacre 1189, an anomaly in the Portuguese Reconquista?". Journal of Medieval Iberian Studies. 12 (2): 199–229. doi:10.1080/17546559.2019.1704043.
↑Casimiro, Tânia Manuel (2020). "Globalization, trade, and material culture: Portugal's role in the making of a multicultural Europe (1415–1806)". Post-Medieval Archaeology. 54 (1): 1–17. doi:10.1080/00794236.2020.1750239. hdl:10362/98047. In the Early Modern age, Portugal was among the first European countries to engage in overseas trade and colonial ventures.
↑Ertl, Alan W. (2008). Toward an Understanding of Europe: A Political Economic Precis of Continental Integration. Dissertation.com. p.303. ISBN9781599429830.
↑Dean, Warren; Barman, Roderick J. (December 1990). "Brazil: The Forging of a Nation, 1798-1852". The American Historical Review. 95 (5): 1663. doi:10.2307/2162941. JSTOR2162941.
↑"Localização". RTP Ensina. 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
↑Vieira, Gonçalo; Luís, Zêzere José; Mora, Carla (2018). Landscapes and Landforms of Portugal. Springer International Publishing. ISBN978-3-319-03640-3.
↑Martins, Ana (February 2006). "Presidential Elements in Government The Portuguese Semi-Presidential System: About Law in the Books and Law in Action". European Constitutional Law Review. 2 (1): 81–100. doi:10.1017/S1574019606000812. ProQuest216313596.
↑"Carta Administrativa Oficial de Portugal"[Official administrative charter of Portugal]. Direção-Geral do Território (in European Portuguese). Lisbon. 7 August 2025. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
↑"Historial". Instituto das Florestas e da Conservação da Natureza, IP-RAM. 6 June 2022. Archived from the original on 21 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
↑"Selvagens Islands". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
↑"Poderes e Competências". anibalcavacosilva.arquivo.presidencia.pt (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
↑Ryder, Alida (18 May 2019). "Easy Portuguese prego rolls". Simply Delicious. Archived from the original on 25 December 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
↑Oliveira, Sónia; Fradinho, Patrícia; Mata, Paulina; Moreira-Leite, Bruno; Raymundo, Anabela (October 2019). "Exploring innovation in a traditional sweet pastry: Pastel de Nata". International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science. 17 100160. doi:10.1016/j.ijgfs.2019.100160.
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10,749,635 [8] (87th)
10,343,066 [9] 
$535.210 billion [10] (51st)
31.9 [11] 
