About Portugal

Portugal is a country on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, being bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. The republic also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. 

Portuguese is the official language of Portugal. Lisbon is the largest city with a population of 545,245. Portugal has been a semi-presidential representative democratic republic since the ratification of the Constitution of 1976, with Lisbon, the nation's largest city, as its capital. The Constitution grants the division or separation of powers among four bodies referred as "organs of Sovereignty": the President of the Republic, the Government, the Assembly of the Republic and the Courts.The President, who is elected to a five-year term, has an executive role: the current President is Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. 

According to the 2011 Census, 81.0% of the Portuguese population are Roman Catholic. The country has small Protestant, Latter-day Saint, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Eastern Orthodox Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Baha'i, Buddhist, Jewish and Spiritist communities. Some 6.8% of the population declared themselves to be non-religious, and 8.3% did not give any answer about their religion.

Football is the most popular sport in Portugal. There are several football competitions ranging from local amateur to world-class professional level. The legendary Eusébio is still a major symbol of Portuguese football history. FIFA World Player of the Yearwinners Luís Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo, who won the FIFA Ballon d'Or, are among the numerous examples of other world-class football players born in Portugal and noted worldwide. 

The Portuguese currency is the euro (€), which replaced the Portuguese Escudo, and the country was one of the original member states of the eurozone. Portugal's central bank is the Banco de Portugal, an integral part of the European System of Central Banks.

Portugal is defined as a Mediterranean climate and is one of the warmest European countries: the annual average temperature in mainland Portugal varies from 8–12 °C (46.4–53.6 °F) in the mountainous interior north to 16–19 °C (60.8–66.2 °F) in the south and on the Guadiana river basin.