📰 Portugal · page 3

Portugal's legislative body is the Assembly of the Republic, a unicameral parliament.[247][248]159 It consists of a single chamber with a minimum of 180 seats and a maximum of 230, elected by popular vote every four years or when dissolved.[249][250][251]160 The members of parliament represent the whole country and not the constituencies for which they are elected.[252]161 The Assembly of the Republic is dominated by three political parties, the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Chega (CH), and the Socialist Party (PS).[253]162

As the head of government, the prime minister directs government policy, leads the Council of Ministers which includes ministers and junior ministers that execute government policy, and is appointed by the president in light of electoral results after consulting with the parties with parliament seats.[254][255][256]163 Portugal's current prime minister is Luís Montenegro, who took office after the AD – PSD/CDS Coalition won enough seats to form a minority government following the 2024 Portuguese legislative election.[257]164

Portugal has a civil law system based on Roman law and on Canon Law and influenced by German civil law.[258]165 The Constitution is the supreme law of Portugal.[259]166 In the Portuguese legal system, private civil law and criminal law are codified in the Código Civil and the Código Penal respectively.[260][261]167 Portugal's court system is organised into judicial, administrative, and fiscal branches with three levels of jurisdiction and separate courts of last appeal, while the Constitutional Court is responsible for constitutional review and oversight of elections, referendums and political parties.[262]168

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Portugal

Portugal is a highly centralised unitary state comprising two autonomous regions, as well as seven regions on the mainland.169 Subnational government in Portugal is currently organised through municipalities (concelhos), civil parishes (freguesias), and intermunicipal communities (comunidades intermunicipais).170 In the following table, the intermunicipal communities are grouped by region:[263][264]171

• North ---- 1.172 Alto Minho 2.173 Cávado 3.174 Porto Metropolitan Area 4.175 Ave 5.176 Tâmega e Sousa 6.177 Alto Tâmega e Barroso 7.178 Douro 8.179 Terras de Trás-os-Montes; Centre ---- 9.180 Aveiro 10.181 Viseu Dão Lafões 11.182 Beiras e Serra da Estrela 12.183 Coimbra 13.184 Leiria 14.185 Beira Baixa; Oeste e Vale do Tejo ---- 15.186 Oeste 16.187 Médio Tejo 17.188 Lezíria do Tejo; Greater Lisbon ---- 18.189 Greater Lisbon190
• Setúbal Peninsula ---- 19.191 Setúbal Peninsula; Alentejo ---- 20.192 Alto Alentejo 21.193 Alentejo Central 22.194 Alentejo Litoral 23.195 Baixo Alentejo; Algarve ---- 24.196 Algarve; Autonomous regions ---- 25.197 Madeira 26.198 Azores199

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Portugal

A member state of the United Nations since 1955,[265] Portugal is a member of almost all major international organisations,[266] and is among the countries that founded NATO in 1949,[267] the OECD in 1961,[268] EFTA in 1960,[269] and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) in 1996, an international organisation of countries with Portuguese as an official language.[270]200

Portugal has a stable foreign policy that is the result of its history, geography, and specific foreign policy choices.201 It is structured around six principal regional and policy priorities: Europe, NATO and relations with the United Kingdom and with the United States, the Portuguese-speaking world, the importance of and support for Portuguese communities abroad, the internationalisation of the national economy, and the strengthening of multilateralism.202 Portugal regards the success of European integration as paramount and is prepared, where a consensus exists among European Union member states, to endorse policies that go against with the country's national interests;[271] it also supports general disarmament, the dismantling of political-military blocs, and the creation of a collective security system aimed at establishing an international order grounded in peace and justice among peoples.[272]203

Portugal has two territorial disputes, both of which are with Spain: the Spanish town of Olivenza which has been claimed by Portugal since the 19th century, and the surrounding waters of the Portuguese Savage Islands which have been claimed by Spain since the 15th century.204 Despite causing moments of tension between the two countries, the relationship between the two countries remains excellent.[273][274][275]205

Military

Main article: Portuguese Armed Forces

The Portuguese Armed Forces consist of three branches commanded by the Estado-Maior-General das Forças Armadas (Armed Forces General Staff): the Marinha (Navy), Exército (Army), and Força Aérea (Air Force).[276]206 In addition to the three branches of the armed forces, there is the Guarda Nacional Republicana (National Republican Guard), a gendarmerie, comprising personnel in 2025, under the authority of both the Defence and the Home Affairs ministries.[277][278]207 The Portuguese military serves as a self-defence force, takes part in humanitarian and peace missions undertaken by the international organisations to which Portugal belongs, and cooperates in civil defence missions.[279]208 In recent years, the Portuguese military have carried out several NATO and European Union missions worldwide.[280]209 The Portuguese military budget in 2025 was estimated at more than $6 billion, representing 2% of GDP.[281]210

As of 2025, the three branches numbered military personnel.[282]211 Until 1999, military service was compulsory for men at age 18 becoming officially suspended during peace time and replaced by one mandatory day of sensibilisation about the Armed Forces called Dia da Defesa Nacional (National Defence Day).[283]212 Since 1992 women may serve in all branches of the armed forces.213 The Portuguese military became fully professional in 2004.[284]214

Law enforcement

Main article: Law of Portugal, Judiciary of Portugal, Law enforcement in Portugal, Crime in Portugal

In Portugal, public prosecution is conducted by the Public Prosecution Service which is headed by the prosecutor general.[285]215 The main police organisations of Portugal are the Guarda Nacional Republicana (National Republican Guard), the Polícia de Segurança Pública (Public Security Police), a civilian police force that works in urban areas; and the Polícia Judiciária (Judiciary Police), a senior criminal police body, under the authority of the Minister of Justice and endowed with administrative autonomy.[277][286][287]216

Portugal has 49 correctional facilities run by the Directorate-General for Reintegration and Prison Services (DGRSP).[288]217 The facilities are classified by security level, and by degree of management complexity, and often house inmates with different legal statuses, risk levels, and criminal trajectories within the same facilities.[288]218 Despite following a reintegration-oriented penal model, Portugal retains high prison occupancy and an average sentence length of 31.3 months and one of the world's highest prison suicide rates representing around 30% of the 60 to 70 deaths occurring annually.[288][289]219

Human rights

Main article: Human rights in Portugal

Portugal has a tradition of a humanistic criminal justice.[290]220 The Portuguese Constitution defines the country as being one that is based on human dignity.[291]221 It abolished capital punishment and life imprisonment in the 19th century,[290] and forbids extradition in the case of either sentence possibly being imposed.[292]222 The Portuguese Penal Code provides for a wide range of non-custodial sentences, with the aim of keeping a prison sentence a punishment of last resort.[290]223 Portuguese penitentiary laws have traditionally been progressive, and based on rehabilitation as the main goal of the implementation of such a sentence.[290]224

Since the 1980s, Portugal has strengthened LGBTQ rights and become one of Europe's most equal countries, although historical isolation and authoritarianism continues to shape social acceptance of LGBTQ people.[293][294][295]225 In 2001, Portugal decriminalised the personal possession and consumption of all drugs.[296]226 Portugal faces issues such as unwarranted use of force by law enforcement,[297][298] racism and discrimination against minorities,[299][300] migrant slavery,[301] restrictions on freedom of association and collective bargaining,[302] violations of wage, hour, and overtime laws,[303] and persistent structural and institutional deficiencies in the prison system.[304]227

Economy

Main article: Economy of Portugal

Portugal is a high-income country with an advanced economy that follows the Mediterranean model.[305][306][307]228 The country's economic policy is framed by strategic guidelines called Major Options, which are subsequently implemented through the State Budget.[308]229 Portugal has the EU's 14th-largest economy by nominal GDP and the 12th-largest economy by PPP-adjusted GDP.[309]230 Its PPP-adjusted GDP per capita stood at to 81% of the EU average in 2025.[310]231 As of 2024, Portugal's service sector contributed the most for its economic output followed the industrial sector and its primary sector.[311]232 In 2025, Portugal unemployment rate was 5.8%.[312]233 As of 2024, its poverty rate after social transfers was 15.4% of the population while in 2023, the at-risk-of-poverty rate before social transfers stood at 40.3%.[313][314]234 The national debt of Portugal was estimated at 89.7% relative to GDP as of 2025.[315]235

Portugal is part of the European single market which represents more than 450 million consumers.[316]236 Portugal replaced the escudo with the euro in 2002.[317]237 Its monetary policy is set by the European Central Bank.[318]238 The country has been a part of the Eurozone since its inception.[319]239 Portugal's central bank is the Banco de Portugal and it is part of the European System of Central Banks.[320]240 In 2024, Portugal had a combined share of exports and imports that amounted to 90% of its total GDP.[321]241

In February 2026, Portugal's main export markets were Spain at 26% and Germany at 13.9%.242 Its main exports are machinery and mechanical appliances, vehicles and other transportation equipment, base metals, and plastics.243 Portugal's main import markets in 2026 were Spain at 32.9% and Germany at 11.9%.244 Portugal's main imports are machinery and mechanical appliances, chemical products, agricultural products, and mineral fuels.[322]245

Since the 1990s, Portugal's economic model has been based on public consumption and economic development focused on exports, private investment and the development of its high-tech sector.246 Consequently, business services have overtaken more traditional industries such as wine and cork in export earnings.[323]247 Operated by the Euronext Lisbon, Portugal's stock market, the PSI, includes 16 major companies based on the country, including Sonae, Mota-Engil, Corticeira Amorim, The Navigator Company, and EDP.[324]248

In 2025, Portugal ranked 16th among European Union member states in innovation by the European Innovation Scoreboard, while placing 31st worldwide in the Global Innovation Index.[325][326]249 In 2024, neuroscience accounted for 12.5% of Portugal's scientific output, the second-highest national share, and the country ranked 23rd worldwide in total neuroscience output.[327]250 Among the research institutions based in the country are the Gulbenkian Institute of Molecular Medicine, the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, and the Champalimaud Foundation which was the world's 11th top non-profit institution in neuroscience research between 2019 and 2023.[328]251

Agriculture and fishery

Main article: Agriculture in Portugal, Fishing industry in Portugal

The Portuguese agriculture sector accounted for 2.9% of the country's total GDP as of 2024.[311]252 Portugal's agricultural land encompassed an area of approximately 3697000 ha as of 2023, of which 17.4% was dedicated to organic farming, representing the fifth-highest share worldwide.[329]253 Despite the extent of the country's agricultural land, the diversity of Portugal's edaphoclimatic and agroecological conditions enables the cultivation of various agricultural products such as wheat, maize, and rice, with each one having an important role in the primary sector, and resulting in an agricultural self-sufficiency rate of 85% as of 2018.[330][331]254

Portugal ranks sixth in the world in seafood consumption per capita, with each Portuguese person consuming on average 54 kg of fish in 2023.[332]255 The high fish consumption in Portugal is due to tradition and cultural roots, politics, dynamics of the fish market system, and geography.[333]256 Strong demand for seafood makes the fisheries a valuable national asset.[333]257 While Portugal captured 185000 t of fish in 2019, down from the 222000 t in 2010, fish and seafood represent the single highest import of biocapacity from abroad, amounting to 1600000 global hectares in total.[333]258

Industry and services

Main article: Tourism in Portugal, :pt:Indústria automóvel em Portugal

Portugal's manufacturing industry accounted for 21.2% of the country's total GDP as of 2024, down from an annual average of 26% over the period between 1953 and 1973.[311][334]259 The lower contribution of manufacturing to Portugal's economy has led to lower real GDP growth rates between 1974 and 2019 than during the period between 1950 and 1973.[334]260 As of 2025, Portugal's automobile industry produced the biggest share of the country's exports.[322]261 The automobile industry accounts for 20.2% of the country manufacturing exports and 82.8% of the total value of its exports employing 43.247 workers in 2020.[335]262

Portugal's service sector accounted for 76.5% of the country's total economic output as of 2024.[311]263 Tourism, retail, and telecommunication are all major industries.[324]264 Tourism represented 11.8% of the Portugal's total GDP as of 2025.[336]265 Portugal attracted nearly 30 million international tourists in 2025,[337] ranking 15th in the world in that year for inbound tourism.[338]266

Infrastructure

Main article: Transport in Portugal, Energy in Portugal

Portugal's road network includes a system of 48 motorways, which, as of 2023, ranked as the seventh largest among 42 European countries.[339][340][341]267 The busiest Portuguese airports are Lisbon Airport, Porto Airport, Faro Airport, Madeira Airport, and Ponta Delgada Airport.[342]268 As of 2024, passenger and freight rail transport in Portugal operated on 2526 km of active railway lines, with passenger services operated mainly by Comboios de Portugal (CP).[343][344]269 The Port of Sines serves as Portugal's foremost container port and leads the country in cargo tonnage.[345]270

As of 2023, two-thirds of Portugal's energy supply was imported, representing the 11th-highest level of energy dependency in the European Union.[346]271 The country is pursuing energy transition and has invested in the development of renewable energy sources such as the Aguçadoura Wave Farm.[347][348]272 Portugal has expanded the role of renewable sources in its energy sector, with renewables accounting for 35.2% of energy consumption, up from 21.9% in 2007, and 78.1% of total installed capacity, compared with 59.3% in 2014.[349]273 In 2021, the country completed the phase-out of coal-fired generation.[350][351]274