Portugal - Geography
Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Portugal. Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar; they are two of the four North Atlantic archipelagos that make up Macaronesia; the others are the Canary Islands (Spain) and Cabo Verde. Mother's mean age at first birth is 29.9 years (2020 est.) (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 12 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Geographical data of Portugal
| Location | Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain |
|---|---|
| Geographic coordinates | 39 30 N, 8 00 W |
| Map references | Europe |
| Tarrain | the west-flowing Tagus River divides the country: the north is mountainous toward the interior, while the south is characterized by rolling plains |
| Natural Resources | fish, forests (cork), iron ore, copper, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble, clay, gypsum, salt, arable land, hydropower |
| Natural Hazards | Azores subject to severe earthquakes volcanism: limited volcanic activity in the Azores Islands; Fayal or Faial (1,043 m) last erupted in 1958; most volcanoes have not erupted in centuries; historically active volcanoes include Agua de Pau, Furnas, Pico, Picos Volcanic System, San Jorge, Sete Cidades, and Terceira |
| Irrigated Land | 5,662 sq km (2019) |
| Major rivers (by length in km) | |
| Major aquifers | |
| Land Boundaries | 1,224 km |
| Border Countries | Spain 1,224 km |
| Coastline | 1,793 km |
| Climate | maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south |
| Area | |
| Total Area | 92,090 sq km |
| Land Area | 91,470 sq km |
| Water Area | 620 sq km |
| comparative Area | slightly smaller than Virginia |
| Maritime Claims | |
| Territorial sea | 12 nm |
| Contiguous zone | 24 nm |
| Exclusive economic zone | 200 nm |
| Continental shelf | 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| Elevations | |
| Highest point | Ponta do Pico (Pico or Pico Alto) on Ilha do Pico in the Azores 2,351 m |
| Lowest point | Atlantic Ocean 0 m |
| Mean elevation | 372 m |
| Land Use | |
| Agricultural land | 39.7% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 11.9% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 7.8% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 20% (2018 est.) |
| Forest | 37.8% (2018 est.) |
| Other | 22.5% (2018 est.) |
Population Distribution
Concentrations are primarily along or near the Atlantic coast; both Lisbon and the second largest city, Porto, are coastal cities
People and Society
In Portugal, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Portuguese 95%; citizens from Portugal’s former colonies in Africa, Asia (Han Chinese), and South America (Brazilian) and other foreign born 5%
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Pop growth rate | -0.14% (2024 est.) |
| Birth rate | 8 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Death rate | 10.9 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Health expenditure | 10.6% of GDP (2020) |
| Physicians Density | 5.48 physicians/1,000 population (2019) |
| Hospital bed Density | 3.5 beds/1,000 population (2018) |
| Total fertility rate | 1.45 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
| Gross reproduction rate | 0.71 (2024 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 73.9% (2014) |
| Est married women (ages 15-49) | 52.6% (2023 est.) |
| Literacy | age 15 and over can read and write |
| Education expenditures | 5% of GDP (2020 est.) |
| Net Migration rate | 1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Nationality | Portuguese | Portuguese (singular and plural) |
| Languages | Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official, but locally used) |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 79.7%, Protestant 2.2%, other Christian 2.5%, other non-Christian, 1.1%, none 14.5% (2021 est.) |
| Age Structure | |
| 0-14 years | 12.7% (male 662,419/female 631,284) |
| 15-64 years | 65% (male 3,264,766/female 3,371,087) |
| 65 years and over | 22.3% (2024 est.) (male 908,578/female 1,369,043) |
| Dependency Ratios | |
| Total dependency ratio | 56 |
| Youth dependency ratio | 20.8 |
| Elderly dependency ratio | 35.2 |
| Potential support ratio | 2.8 (2021 est.) |
| Median Age | |
| Total | 46.4 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 44.3 years |
| Female | 48.3 years |
| Urbanization | |
| Urban population | 67.9% of total population (2023) |
| Rate of urbanization | 0.44% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major urban areas (Pop) | 3.001 million LISBON (capital), 1.325 million Porto (2023). |
| Sex Ratio | |
| At birth | 1.05 male(s)/female |
| 0-14 years | 1.05 male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 0.97 male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.66 male(s)/female |
| Total population | 0.9 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
| Infant Motality | |
| Total | 2.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
| Male | 2.8 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Female | 2.1 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life Expectancy at birth | |
| Total population | 81.9 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 78.8 years |
| Female | 85.2 years |
| Drinking Water Sources | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 100% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 99.7% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 99.9% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 0.3% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 0.1% of population (2020 est.) |
| Sanitation facility acess | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 99.9% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 100% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 99.9% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0.1% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 0% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 0.1% of population (2020 est.) |
| Alcohol consumption per capita | |
| Total | 10.37 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Beer | 2.62 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Wine | 6.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Spirits | 1.34 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Other alcohols | 0.37 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Tobacco use | |
| Total | 25.4% (2020 est.) |
| Male | 30.5% (2020 est.) |
| Female | 20.2% (2020 est.) |
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Portugal
Want to know more about Portugal? Check all different factbooks for Portugal below.
