📰 Portugal · page 4

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Portugal

See also: Portuguese people

In 2025, Portugal had a population of, of whom were Portuguese nationals.275 The remainder were foreign residents at.[8]276 Portugal is steadily ageing and has one of the world's highest proportion of elderly citizens, comprising nearly one-fourth of its entire population,[352][353] together with a female share of the population at 51.1%.[354][355]277

In 2025, Portugal had a fertility rate of 1.4, which is below the replacement rate of 2.1 and is one of the world's lowest.[8][356]278 Portugal has had a fertility rate below the replacement rate of 2.1 since the 1980s that has led to the country having a median age of 45.8, one of the highest in the world.[357][8][358]279 As of 2025, 23.3% of the population was aged 65 or older.[8]280 Despite the effects of net migration, due to low fertility rates, Portugal's population is projected to drop to 8.3 million by 2100.[359]281

Historically a country of emigration,[360] Portugal has been a net recipient of immigrants since 1993 except between 2011 and 2016 during the Portuguese financial crisis.[361][362][8]282 Since 2016, Portugal has experienced a marked increase in immigration, with the proportion of non-nationals in the total population rising from 3.5% to 14.0% by 2025, living mainly in the Algarve and the Lisbon metropolitan area, and with 24.5% of all births registered in 2024 being to foreign-born women.[363][299][364]283 In Portugal, White Portuguese constitute the largest racial and ethnic group, representing 84.2% of the population, followed by multiracial Portuguese at 3.4%, Black Portuguese at 2.2%, Asian Portuguese at 0.7%, and the Romani at 0.6%.[299]284

In 2023, 88% of the Portuguese population lived in urban areas.[365]285 The capital city, Lisbon corpus, had a population of as of 2025.286 It is part of Lisbon metropolitan area, the biggest metropolitan area of Portugal with 3.4 million people.[366]287

Religion

Main article: Religion in Portugal

Portugal has been a secular state since 1911, and it guarantees religious freedom.[367][368][369]288 Although Portugal has no official religion, the Catholic Church has a history there that predates the country's formation and can be traced back to the 3rd century.[370]289 According to the 2021 Census, 80.2% of the Portuguese population aged 15 and older were Catholic, while 14.1% are nonreligious.[371][374]290

The country has small Protestant, Latter-day Saints, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Jehovah's Witnesses, Baháʼí, Buddhist, and Jewish communities.[371]291 Influences from Chinese traditional religion are also evident among many people, particularly in fields related to Traditional Chinese Medicine.[376]292 Even though Portugal has deep ties with Christianity, as of 2019 the majority of its people were shown to be tolerant towards followers of other faiths, with the Muslim community perceiving itself as thoroughly integrated into Portugal and believing that the country provided conditions conducive to smooth integration.[377]293

Languages

Main article: Languages of Portugal

See also: Portuguese language

Portuguese is the official and predominantly spoken language in Portugal.[378][379]294 It is one of 24 official and working languages of the European Union.295 Portuguese is the fifth-most widely spoken first language in the world, with around 250 million native speakers.[380]296

Portuguese Sign Language is officially protected by the country's constitution.[381]297 The recognised regional languages and dialects include Mirandese, spoken in Terra de Miranda, and Barranquenho, in Barrancos.[381]298 Portuguese people are typically bilingual, with 67.5% speaking at least two languages, and tend to be proficient non-native English speakers, with Portugal placed sixth globally for English proficiency in the 2025 EF English Proficiency Index.[382][383]299

Education

Main article: Education in Portugal

Portugal's education system is organised into preschool education; school education, encompassing basic, secondary and higher education; and extracurricular education, which includes continuing education.[384][385]300 Optional preschool is provided for all children between three and five years old,[386][387] after which school attendance is compulsory for 12 years.[388]301 Basic education lasts nine years and is divided into three cycles, while secondary education is organised into academic and vocational pathways.[388]302

Higher education is provided by universities and polytechnic institutions in accordance with the Bologna Process, with the University of Lisbon being the country's largest university by enrolment.[389]303 A general requirement for higher education are the exames finais nacionais do ensino secundário.[390]304 Most secondary-school students continue their studies at public higher education institutions or the Military Academy, which also awards university degrees.[391][392][393]305

Although other European countries began investing in education in the 19th century, Portugal's long-established national identity, stable borders and homogeneous population contributed to a lack of political commitment to educational development until the First Republic in the early 20th century;[394] many of its reforms were subsequently reversed under the Estado Novo, whose deliberate neglect of education contributed to Portugal recording Europe's highest illiteracy rate in 1964;[395][396] following democratisation in 1974, education became more widely accessible and underwent modernisation.[388]306

Portugal lags behind most OECD countries on educational indicators, largely owing to the older working-age generation.[397]307 Fewer than two-thirds of Portugal's population have completed secondary or higher education.[397]308 Portugal's adult population aged 16 to 65 records the fifth-lowest level of knowledge and skills in the OECD, whereas school students perform at average levels.[398][399][400]309 In 2021, the national illiteracy rate among people aged 10 or over stood at 3.1%, ranging from 1.4% to 12.3% across the country's municipalities.[401]310 Portugal spent 4.5% of its total GDP on education in 2022.[402]311

Health

Main article: Health in Portugal, Healthcare in Portugal

Portugal has a predominantly universal tax-funded health care system, called Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS), that operates alongside public-sector health insurance schemes called health subsystems funded mainly through employee and employer contributions, as well as private voluntary health insurance.[403]312 Primary and hospital care are provided by both public and private entities, with the private sector and complementing services offered by the SNS.[404]313 In 2023, Portugal had the 3rd lowest public share on health spending in the European Union and over half of public hospitals in technical insolvency in 2020.[405][406]314 Portugal has a high level of health inequity in the OECD, driven by limited public spending, uneven distribution of services, low household income, long waiting times, and policy shortcomings.[407]315

Portugal ranked 23rd in the world in 2024 in life expectancy with 85.4 years for women and 79.8 years for men, and it had an infant mortality rate of 2.7 deaths per live births.[408][409]316 In 2022, the leading cause of death were cardiovascular diseases, at 25.4%.[408]317 Portugal presents several adverse public-health indicators, including the 3rd lowest share of people reporting good health in the European Union, in 2024, at 54%, the highest alcohol consumption with 11.9 l consumed per person, in 2020, and the highest share of adult population living a sedentary lifestyle, in 2022, at 73%, a pattern reinforced by limited active-transport infrastructure and unsafe conditions for pedestrians and cyclists.[410][411]318 The percentage of the Portuguese population suffering from moderate or severe food insecurity between 2022 and 2024 was on average 11.9%, which makes Portugal the third-highest country in Southern Europe for this indicator where the average stands at 5.9%.[412]319 Stakeholders have raised concerns over the effectiveness of food safety policies.[413]320

Culture

Main article: Culture of Portugal, Mass media in Portugal

Portugal's culture has developed due to, initially before its existence, the influence from various civilisations that have crossed Europe, especially the Mediterranean.[414][415]321 Later, during the period of Portugal's engagement in the Age of Discovery, cultural elements from outside of Europe were introduced and became a central element of Portuguese national identity.[85][416]322

Portugal is known for its heritage and architecture,[417] sacred sites,[418] festivities,[419][420] poetry,[421] its music (especially the fado),[422] and cuisine (including its wine).[423][424]323 As of 2026, UNESCO inscribed 17 properties in Portugal on the World Heritage List.[425]324 Portugal's national day is on 10 June, celebrated as the Dia de Portugal, de Camões e das Comunidades Portuguesas (Portugal, Camões, and Portuguese Communities Day).[426]325

Art and architecture

Main article: Portuguese art, Architecture of Portugal

The history of visual art in Portugal dates back into the Paleolithic.326 An early evidence showing an attempt at depicting motion was found at the Prehistoric Rock Art Sites in the Côa Valley and Siega Verde.[427]327 Over time, foreign and native influences, together with advancements in manufacturing, developed distinctive art styles, such as the Manueline and Pombaline,[428] and also a number of crafts that are typical of Portugal, namely the azulejo, talha dourada, and Portuguese pavement.[429][430][431]328

Historically, Christianity played an influential role in Portuguese art and was a recurrent theme in many art forms, including painting.[432]329 Throughout the country's history, artwork in Portugal was typically done by local artists who, depending on location, followed different variations in style, giving Portugal a diverse array of artistic styles throughout the country, an example of this being the thatch houses of Santana, in Madeira.[433]330

Literature

Main article: Portuguese literature

Portugal has a literary tradition that predates the Portuguese language going back into the early 13th century.[434]331 Portuguese literature developed through song as well as the written page known as cantigas.[435]332 The cantigas drew practitioners from all social ranging from King Denis I to Martin Codax who was a minstrel.[436]333 The earliest known work of literature produced by a Portuguese is the Ora faz ost'o senhor de Navarra, a cantiga de escárnio e maldizer written in Galician–Portuguese by João Soares de Paiva at around the year 1200.[437][438]334

Portuguese literature developed under the influence of both European geopolitical developments and broader European literary traditions.335 The Hundred Years' War helped foster the development of Portuguese chronicles by Fernão Lopes, which constitute a valuable record of some of Europe's early encounters with peoples beyond the continent.[439][440]336 European medieval chivalric literature, together with didactic religious literature transmitted through adaptations and partial translations, contributed to the development of Portuguese poetry in the translated works of Norman French Arturian narratives.[436][441]337 Portuguese literature flourished during the Age of Discovery with writers such as Luís Vaz de Camões and António Ferreira.[442][443]338 Modern Portuguese literature took shape through the work of Almeida Garrett, one of the founders of Portuguese Romanticism.[444]339 Portugal has one Nobel Prize–winning author—José Saramago (1998).[445]340

Music

Main article: Music of Portugal

The recorded history of music in Portugal dates back to the 6th century.341 The earliest documentation of a church singer in Portugal is from the year 525 and refers to an individual named André.342 Portuguese music initially consisted mostly of liturgical music and troubadourism.[446][447]343 Over time, new folk traditions together with the influence of foreign cultures and the creation of new instruments, especially guitars, led to a diverse variety of regional folk music such as the fado, the Coimbra fado, and Madeira's folk music.[448][449][450]344

Popular music in Portugal after the Carnation Revolution has been heavily influenced by American trends, which has led into the evolution of hip-hop tuga and popularisation of rock.[451]345 Historically, Portugal has been a country of emigration which has heavily influenced the pimba in the 20th century and led to the introduction of Portuguese music into other cultures such as the ukelele in Hawaii in the 19th century.[452][453]346

Holidays and festivities

Main article: Public holidays in Portugal

Officially, Portugal has 13 national, government-recognised holidays.[454]347 Public holidays in Portugal are regulated by the Labour Code.[454]348 Besides the national holidays, there are regional holidays celebrated only in Madeira and the Azores and two facultative holidays which are the Entrudo and one municipal holiday allowed per concelho.[455]349 Unlike some official holidays, Portugal's folk festivities remain widely attended and are rooted in local traditions, such as the Carnival of Ovar, Lisbon's Marchas Populares, and Porto's Festa de São João.[454][456]350 Many of folk festivities are associated with the Santos Populares, Christian celebrations with older pagan origins linked to Midsummer.[457]351 These festivities are celebrated across the country, especially in rural areas, and typically include music performances, stages, temporary arenas, and traditional food stalls.[458]352

Cuisine

Main article: Portuguese cuisine, Portuguese wine

Portuguese cuisine is influenced by both the Mediterranean and Atlantic diets.[459]353 Seafood, brassicas, potatoes, bread, dairy, and olive oil are traditional staples.[460]354 Bacalhau has such a broad presence in Portugal that it is considered a national dish, along with the pastel de nata.[461][423]355 Traditional Portuguese sweets are known as conventual sweets.356 Large quantities of sugar and eggs are used.[462]357

Popular Portuguese beverages include its wines, a craft that is well establish since the 7th century, and of which are such examples as Port and Madeira.[463][424]358 Beer has been brewed in Portugal since the Chalcolithic.[464]359 Tea has been produced on São Miguel Island since the 19th century.[465]360

Sport

Main article: Sport in Portugal

Portugal has contributed to the popularity and globalisation of sport through internationally recognised athletes such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Ricardinho, Naide Gomes, and Carlos Lopes, as well as through the popularity of its three largest football clubs.[466][467]361 Football is the most popular sport in Portugal.[468]362 The Portugal men's national football team won the UEFA European Championship in 2016 and the UEFA Nations League in 2019 and 2025.[469][470][471]363

Portugal is among the world's leading futsal countries,[472] with its men's national team having won the FIFA Futsal World Cup in 2021,[473] the UEFA Futsal Championship in 2018 and 2022,[474][475] and the Futsal Finalissima in 2022.[476]364 In athletics, the country has set several records and has earned more medals in this sport than in any other at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.[477][478][479]365 In traditional sport, Portugal is noted for its classical dressage as well as native sports such as jogo do pau and jogo da malha.[480][481]366 Portugal has several established sporting centres across the country, including the Algarve and Lisbon, which are international golf destinations and have hosted motorsport events such as Formula One and Grand Prix motorcycle racing,[482][483][484] as well as Nazaré and Peniche, which are known for surfing and annually host the TUDOR Nazaré Big Wave Challenge and the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal, respectively.[485][486][487]367