PORTUGAL : General Information

size="2 Portugal is the country lying along the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula in south western Europe. It is bordered on the East and North by Spain, and on the West and South by the Atlantic Ocean.  In addition it includes several island territories in the Atlantic, such as the Azores (Açores) and Madeira and Porto Santo (including the Savage Islands

The natural advantages of a sunny country with such diverse geographic features have turned Portugal into a chosen destination for many holidaymakers, an ideal place for practicing water sports and playing golf, offering modern tourism facilities, and quaint and personalized means of accommodation, such as turismo de habitação (privately owned homes ranging from wonderful farmhouses to manor houses), hotéis de charme or pousadas.

Portugal is a country with a rich history of seafaring and discovery. When it handed over its last overseas territory, Macau, to Chinese administration in 1999, it brought to an end a long and sometimes turbulent era as a colonial power. Until the 1970s, Portuguese overseas territories included the Cape Verde Islands, São Tomé and Príncipe, Portuguese Guinea, Angola and Mozambique (all in Africa), Macau (in Asia) and Timor (in Oceania).

For almost half of the 20th century Portugal was a dictatorship in which for decades Antonio de Oliveira Salazar was the key figure. The dictatorship's stubborn refusal to relinquish its grip on the former colonies as demands for independence gained momentum there resulted in expensive wars in Africa. This period was brought to an end in 1974 in a bloodless coup, picturesquely known as the Revolution of the Carnations, which ushered in a new democracy. As a member of the European Community and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), Portugal plays a greater role in both European and world affairs than its size would suggest. Portugal currently enjoys a steady economic growth. For centuries Portugal has kept the greatest treasure of a renowned reputation for hospitality that makes the country a haven of congeniality and safety.

It is a fairly homogeneous country, both linguistically and religiously. Ethnically, the Portuguese people form a combination of several ethnicities: pre-Roman Iberian and Celtic tribes with Romans and Germanic tribes. Moors became a reduced influence, as essentialy they were expelled during the Reconquista.

Portugal's biggest metropolitan agglomerations are Lisbon, Porto, Braga, Aveiro, and Coimbra.