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Portugal


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Portugal

Land Area 91470km²
Land Area + Seaarea
Population 10562178
Population density 115.5 / km²

Informations

Portugal (Portuguese: [puɾtuˈɣal]), formally the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa [ʁɛˈpuβlikɐ puɾtuˈɣezɐ]), is a country located mostly on the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost autonomous state of mainland Europe, being bordered to the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean and to the north and east by Spain. Its territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. The national and official language is Portuguese. Portugal is the oldest nation state on the Iberian Peninsula and one of the oldest in Europe, its territory having been continuously settled, invaded and fought over since ancient times. Inhabited by pre-Celtic and Celtic peoples, visited by Phoenicians-Carthaginians, Ancient Greeks and ruled by the Romans, who were followed by the invasions of the Suebi and Visigothic Germanic peoples. After the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, most of its territory was part of Al-Andalus. Portugal as a nation was established during the early Christian Reconquista. Launched in 868, the County of Portugal gained prominence after the Battle of São Mamede (1128). The Kingdom of Portugal was later proclaimed after the Battle of Ourique (1139), and independence from León was recognized by the Treaty of Zamora (1143).In the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global maritime and business empire, becoming one of the world's leading economic, military and political powers. In this period, today called the Age of Discovery, Portuguese explorers initiated marine exploration, especially under imperial patronage of Prince Henry the Navigator and King John II, with such notable voyages as Bartolomeu Dias' sailing beyond the Cape of Good Hope (1488), Vasco da Gama's discovery of the sea route to India (1497--98) and the European discovery of what could eventually become Brazil (1500). In this period Portugal monopolized the spice trade, divided the world into hemispheres of dominion with Castile, and the empire expanded with military campaigns in Asia. However, events like the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, the country's occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence of Brazil (1822) erased to a wonderful extent Portugal's prior opulence.After the 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the democratic but shaky Portuguese First Republic was established, later being superseded by the Estado Novo authoritarian regime. Democracy was restored after the Carnation Revolution (1974), finishing the Portuguese Colonial War. Soon after, independence was granted to nearly all its overseas territories. The handover of Macau to China (1999) indicated the end of what can be considered one of the longest-lived colonial empires. Portugal has left a deep cultural, architectural and linguistic influence across the globe, with a heritage of around 250 million Portuguese speakers, and lots of Portuguese-based creoles. It is a developed nation with an advanced economy and high living standards. Additionally, it is highly placed in positions of moral freedom (2nd), peacefulness (3rd), democracy (7th), media freedom (10th), stability (15th), social advancement (18th), and prosperity (26th). A member of the United Nations, the European Union, the Schengen Area and the Council of Europe (CoE), Portugal was also one of the founding members of NATO, the eurozone, the OECD, and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.

Source: Wikipedia