Written by Michael Bryan
Modified & Updated: 24 Aug 2023
Reviewed by Jessica Corbett
Portugal is rich in history as it’s one of the oldest European countries. There are so many things to learn and explore in it – food, castles, waves, and more! Come and have an adventure with these 80 Portugal facts!
- Portugal has a land area of 92,212 km².
- It is approximately 2.6 times smaller than the United Kingdom.
- It is also a member country of the European Union since January 1, 1986.
- More than 30% of Portuguese people speak English while 10% of them can speak Spanish.
- More than 20% of Portuguese people speak and understand French.
- Portugal is a country located in Southwestern Europe.
- The capital of the country is Lisbon.
- Portugal citizens are called Portuguese.
- Spain is the only neighboring country of Portugal.
- The Atlantic Ocean borders the country from its northwest, west, and south.
- Portugal’s territory includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira.
- The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are both autonomous regions with their own regional governments.
- The official and national language of the country is Portuguese.
- Portugal also uses Mirandese (an Astur-Leonese language) as a regional language.
- Its territory got continuously settled, invaded, and fought over since prehistoric times.
- Pre-Celtic and Celtic people or a collection of Indo-European people inhabited Portugal.
- The establishment of the country started during the early Christian Reconquista.
- Around the 1400s to 1500s, Portugal established its first global maritime and commercial empire.
- The Portuguese Empire of the 15th century was one of the longest-lived empires in world history.
- Prince Henry the Navigator was a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire.
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