Portugal

Portugal

Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are part of Portugal. The country is named after its second largest city, Porto, whose Latin name was Portus Cale. The land within the borders of today's Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times: occupied by the Gallaeci and the Lusitanians, integrated into the Roman Empire and later settled by Germanic peoples like the Suebi and the Visigoths, in the 8th century the lands were conquered by Moors. During the Christian Reconquista, Portugal established itself as an independent kingdom, claiming to be the oldest European nation-state. In the 15th and 16th centuries, as the result of pioneering the Age of Discovery and expanding Western influence globally, Portugal established a global empire that included possessions in Africa, Asia, Oceania, and South America, becoming one of the world's major economic, political and military powers. The Portuguese Empire was the first global empire in history, and also the longest lived of the European colonial empires. However, the country's international status was greatly reduced during the 19th century, especially following the independence of Brazil, its largest colony. After the 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the unstable Portuguese First Republic was established being then superseded by the "Estado Novo" dictatorship. Democracy was restored after the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution in 1974, and Portugal's last overseas provinces became independent; the last overseas territory, Macau, was ceded to China in 1999. Portugal is a developed country with an advanced and high-income economy, with a very high Human Development Index. It has the world's 19th-highest quality-of-life, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, and it is one of the world's most globalized and peaceful nations. It is member of the European Union and the United Nations, as well as a founding member of the Latin Union, the Organization of Ibero-American States, OECD, NATO, Community of Portuguese Language Countries and the Eurozone.

Website: http://www.portugal.gov.pt/Portal/EN/