Kronenburg Estates S.L.

Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country located mostly on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, 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 capital and largest city is Lisbon, other major cities are Porto, Braga, Aveiro, Faro and Coimbra.

Portugal is a developed country with a high-income advanced economy and high living standards, being the 20th most advanced country in terms of social progress and the 25th most prosperous one. It also is the 4th most peaceful country in the world and is one of the fifteen most sustainable states, maintained under a unitary semi-presidential republican form of government. Additionally, the country is ranked highly in terms of press freedom (14th), moral freedom (3rd), LGBTI rights (7th in Europe), ease of doing business (29th) and road network (3rd).

Geography

The territory of Portugal includes an area in the Iberian Peninsula and two archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean: the archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores. It lies between latitudes 32° and 43° N, and longitudes 32° and 6° W.

Mainland Portugal is split by its main river, the Tagus, that flows from Spain and disgorges in Tagus Estuary, in Lisbon, before escaping into the Atlantic. The northern landscape is mountainous towards the interior with several plateaus indented by river valleys, whereas the south, including the Algarve and the Alentejo regions, is characterized by rolling plains.

Portugal's highest peak is the similarly named Mount Pico on the island of Pico in the Azores. This ancient volcano, which measures 2,351 m is an iconic symbol of the Azores, while the Serra da Estrela on the mainland (the summit being 1,991 m above sea level) is an important seasonal attraction for skiers and winter sports enthusiasts.

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-plate hotspot geology. Geologically, these islands were formed by volcanic and seismic events. The last terrestrial volcanic eruption occurred in 1957–58 (Capelinhos) and minor earthquakes occur sporadically, usually of low intensity.

Portugal's exclusive economic zone, a sea zone over which the Portuguese have special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources, has 1,727,408 km². This is the 3rd largest exclusive economic zone of the European Union and the 11th largest in the world.

Climate

Portugal is defined as a Mediterranean climate (Csa in the South, interior, and Douro region; Csb in the North, Central Portugal and coastal Alentejo; mixed oceanic climate along the northern half of the coastline and also Semi-arid climate or Steppe climate (BSk in certain parts of Beja district far South) according to the Köppen-Geiger Climate Classification), and is one of the warmest European countries: the annual average temperature in mainland Portugal varies from 8–12 °C in the mountainous interior north to 16–18 °C in the south and on the Guadiana river basin. There are however, variations from the highlands to the lowlands: Rivas Martinez, presents several different bioclimatic zones for Portugal. The Algarve, separated from the Alentejo region by mountains reaching up to 900 metres in Alto de Fóia, has a climate similar to that of the southern coastal areas of Spain or Southwest Australia.

Annual average rainfall in the mainland varies from just over 3,200 mm in the northern mountains to less than 300 mm in the area of the Massueime River, near Côa, along the Douro river. Mount Pico is recognized as receiving the largest annual rainfall (over 6,250 mm per year) in Portugal, according to Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (English: Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere).

In some areas, such as the Guadiana basin, annual average temperatures can be as high as 28 °C, and summer highest temperatures routinely are over 40 °C. The record high of 47.1 °C was recorded in Amareleja, although this might not be the hottest spot in summer, according to satellite readings.

Snowfalls occur regularly in the winter in the interior North and Centre of the country in districts such as Guarda, Bragança, Viseu and Vila Real, particularly on the mountains. In winter temperatures may drop below −10.0 °C in particular in Serra da Estrela, Serra do Gerês, Serra do Marão and Serra de Montesinho. In these places snow can fall any time from October to May. In the South of the country snowfalls are rare but still occur in the highest elevations. While the official absolute minimum by IPMA is −16.0 °C in Penhas da Saúde and Miranda do Douro, lower temperatures have been recorded, such as −17.5 °C by Bragança Polytechnic Institute in the outskirts of the city in 1983, and below −20.0 °C in Serra da Estrela.

Demographics

The Statistics Portugal (Portuguese: INE – Instituto Nacional de Estatística) estimates that, according to the 2011 census, the population was 10,562,178 (of which 52% was female, 48% was male). In 2017 and according to more up-to-date figures, the population decreased to 10,291,027. This population has been relatively homogeneous for most of its history: a single religion (Roman Catholicism) and a single language have contributed to this ethnic and national unity, namely after the expulsion of the Moors and Jews. A number of those minorities nevertheless, stayed in Portugal, under the condition that they convert to Catholicism, after which they became known as Mouriscos and Cristãos Novos (New Christians or former Muslims). A small number of the former Jews may have continued to observe rabbinic Judaism in secret over many generations, in the case of the secret Jews of Belmonte, a small town in the interior; where now people observe the Jewish faith openly. After 1772 the distinction between Old and New Christians was abolished by decree. Some famous Portuguese New Christians were the mathematician Pedro Nunes and the physician and naturalist Garcia de Orta. Other interesting demographic feature relates with the Scandinavian expansion toward the West and strong activity in Northern Portugal were its credited to exist some coastline communities with Scandinavian ancestry in Aveiro, Porto and Braga districts.

The most important demographic influence in the modern Portuguese seems to be the oldest one; current interpretation of Y-chromosome and mtDNA data suggests that the Portuguese have their origin in Paleolithic peoples that began arriving to the European continent around 45,000 years ago. All subsequent migrations did leave an impact, genetically and culturally, but the main population source of the Portuguese is still Paleolithic. Genetic studies show Portuguese populations not to be significantly different from other European populations. Portuguese people have a preponderancy of Iberian genetics (Iron Age Period) which belong to R1b haplogroup family alongside with Brythonic, Alpine and Gaelic genetical markers. Also expectable but not so common are South European (Sardinian, Italian and Balkans), Broadly Northwestern (West Germanic) and in a less extent British/Irish (Brythonic/Gaelic) and French (Alpine). With a low confidence range there are Scandinavian and East European genetical markers. Other sources would point out a small presence of Berber and Jewish that would be also part of a low confidence region.

Native Portuguese are an Iberian ethnic group, whose ancestry is very similar to in Spaniards and have strong ties with fellow Atlantic Arc countries like Ireland, British Isles, France and Belgium due maritime trade dated far back as the Bronze Age. These maritime contacts and the prevalence of R1b haplogroup as the main genetical marker of these countries suggest a common ancestry and cultural proximity. Other maritime contacts with the Mediterranean specially with Greeks and Phoenicians add particular cultural phenotypes in Southern Portugal and Southern Spain (Tartessos culture) making both Portugal and Spain a bridge between North Western Europe and the Mediterranean but maintaining the Atlantic character.

The total fertility rate (TFR) as of 2015 was estimated at 1.52 children born/woman, which is below the replacement rate of 2.1. In 2016, 52.8% of births were to unmarried women. Like most Western countries, Portugal has to deal with low fertility levels: the country has experienced a sub-replacement fertility rate since the 1980s.

Religion

According to the 2011 Census, 81.0% of the Portuguese population is Roman Catholic. The country has small Protestant, Latter-day Saint, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Eastern Orthodox Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Baha'i, Buddhist, Jewish and Spiritist communities. Influences from African Traditional Religion and Chinese Traditional Religion are also felt among many people, particularly in fields related with Traditional Chinese Medicine and African Witch Doctors. Some 6.8% of the population declared themselves to be non-religious, and 8.3% did not give any answer about their religion.