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Portugal Travel & Tourism Guide
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The population of Portugal, the first unified nation-state in Western Europe, has been unusually homogeneous for most of its history. A single religion and a single language have contributed to this ethnic and national unity. The great majority of Portuguese are Roman Catholic, though a large percentage consider themselves non-practicing, especially in urban areas. Portugal was one of the last western European nations to give up its colonies and overseas territories, turning over the administration of Macau to China in 1999. Its colonial history has long since been a cornerstone of its national identity, as has its geographic position at the southwestern corner of Europe looking out to the Atlantic ocean. The country is fairly homogeneous linguistically and religiously. Native Portuguese are ethnically a combination of Celts, Lusitanians, Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans, Germanic, Alans, Vandals, Jews and Moors. However, the greatest, most dominant genetic / ethnic influences are Celtic, Lusitanian, Roman, Visigoth and Suebian.
The Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE) is Portugal's official bureau of statistics. In the 2001 census, the population was 10,355,824 of which 52% was female, 48% was male. By 2007, Portugal had 10,617,575 inhabitants of whom about 332,137 were legal immigrants. Portugal, long a country of emigration, has now become a country of net immigration, and not just from the last Indian, African, and Far East Asian overseas territories. Since the 1990s, along with a boom in construction, several new waves of Ukrainian, Brazilian, people from the former Portuguese colonies in Africa and other Africans have settled in the country. Those communities currently make up the largest groups of immigrants in Portugal. Romanians, Moldovans and Chinese also have chosen Portugal as destination. A number of EU citizens from the United Kingdom, Spain and other EU member states, are permanent residents of the country, with the British community being mostly composed of retired pensioners and the Spaniards composed of professionals. Portugal's Gypsy population, estimated at about 40,000, offers another element of ethnic diversity. Most gypsies live apart, and primarily in the south. They can often be found at rural markets selling clothing and handicrafts. Portugal also has small Protestant, Muslim and Jewish communities, largely composed of foreigners.Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Iceland, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine |
Travel Quotes: Wherever you go, go with all your heart. Confucius
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