PEOPLE
Portugal's earliest recorded inhabitants-members of an Ibero-Celtic tribe known to Imperial Rome as the Lusitani and first mentioned in the second century B.C.-have mixed with Germanic, Celtic, Roman, Arabic, and African peoples to form today's relatively homogeneous Portuguese population. Portuguese citizens of black African descent, who emigrated to Portugal after decolonization of Portugal's African territories, make up the country's only significant and distinct minority group but probably number fewer than 100,000.
Portuguese Culture Luis Vaz de Camoes (1524-80) is the most famous poet to have written in Portuguese and is a Portuguese national hero. His best-known work, The Lusiads, is an epic poem in 10 cantos about Vasco da Gama's discovery of a sea route to India in 1497-98.
The Portuguese concept of saudade-nostalgia mixed with a melancholy acceptance of fate-finds its clearest expression in the songs of fado, heard most often in restaurants in Lisbon's older districts, such as the Alfama.
Portugal has many ancient and medieval monuments and buildings, that include the Pena and Sintra palaces; the ex-royal residence of Queluz; the walled city of Obidos; the cathedrals at Batalha and Alcobaca; the castle of Sao Jorge in Lisbon; Roman temple ruins in Evora; and the castle of Afonso Henriques in Guimaraes, near Oporto, where the Portuguese nation was founded.
Nationality:
Noun and adjective--Portuguese (singular and plural).
Population (2001):
10.1 million.
Population density:
105 per sq. km. (272 per sq. mi.).
Annual growth rate:
0.18%.
Ethnic groups:
Homogeneous Mediterranean stock with small black African and Eastern European minorities.
Religion:
Roman Catholic, 97%.
Language:
Portuguese.
Education:
Years compulsory--9. Literacy--90%.
Health:
Birth rate--11.51/1000. Death rate--10.21/1000. Infant mortality rate--5.94/1, 000. Life expectancy--76 years.
Work force (4.7 million): Government and services--56%; industry--32%; agriculture--12%
CULTURE
Portuguese Culture Luis Vaz de Camoes (1524-80) is the most famous poet to have written in Portuguese and is a Portuguese national hero. His best-known work, The Lusiads, is an epic poem in 10 cantos about Vasco da Gama's discovery of a sea route to India in 1497-98.
The Portuguese concept of saudade-nostalgia mixed with a melancholy acceptance of fate-finds its clearest expression in the songs of fado, heard most often in restaurants in Lisbon's older districts, such as the Alfama.
Portugal has many ancient and medieval monuments and buildings, that include the Pena and Sintra palaces; the ex-royal residence of Queluz; the walled city of Obidos; the cathedrals at Batalha and Alcobaca; the castle of Sao Jorge in Lisbon; Roman temple ruins in Evora; and the castle of Afonso Henriques in Guimaraes, near Oporto, where the Portuguese nation was founded.
