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| PORTUGAL |
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Portugal is located in Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain. With a rich seafaring past, superb beach resorts, wistful towns and a landscape wreathed in olive groves, vineyards and wheat fields. Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Community in 1986. Over the past decade, successive governments have privatized many state-controlled firms and liberalized key areas of the economy, including the financial and telecommunications sectors.
Area: 92,391 sq km
Population: 10.1 million
Capital: Lisbon
People: 99% Portuguese, 1% African
Language: Portuguese
Religion: 97% Roman Catholic, 2% Protestant, 1% other
Government: Parliamentary Democracy
GDP: US$195.2 billion
Major Industries: Textiles, footwear, wood products, metalworking, oil refining, chemicals, fish canning, wine, tourism, and agriculture
Major Trading Partners: EU (esp. Spain, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and UK), and the US |
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