- Official name: ‘Republic of Portugal’ (República Portuguesa).
- The country spreads over an area of approximately 92,090 sq km (35,645 sq mi).
- Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe.
- The official language in the country is Portuguese.
- Population - February 2011 estimate 10,647,267
- Lisbon is Portugal’s capital city.
- The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are part of Portugal.
- Portugal was called Luisitania by the Romans.
- Majority of the Portuguese are Roman Catholic.
- It is illegal to kill a bull in Portuguese bullfighting.
- Vasco da Gama, the man who discovered the sea route to India, was Portuguese.
The Vasco da Gama Bridge of Lisbon is the longest bridge in Europe. - Portuguese is the official language of 9 countries (Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, Equatorial Guinea, East Timor).
- With the establishment of the Kingdom in 1139, recognized in 1143, and the stabilization of its borders by 1249, Portugal claims to be the oldest European nation-state.
- Portugal's Empire was the first, and most long-lived Global Empire in the world, spanning almost six centuries.
Interesting facts about Portugal
