Portugal

Portugal is a country in Europe.

The Atlantic Ocean is next to it. Spain is its only neighbor. It has islands far out in the sea too. The capital city is Lisbon.

Portugal lies in the far southwest of Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula, which it shares with Spain. Spain is to the north and east, and the Atlantic Ocean is to the south and west. Out in the Atlantic are two groups of islands that are also part of Portugal: the Azores and Madeira.

Portugal has more than 800 kilometers of coastline, and most of it faces west, toward the open ocean. About 11.4 million people lived in Portugal at the start of 2026. Its capital is Lisbon, built on hills beside the wide Tagus River.

Portugal occupies one-sixth of the Iberian Peninsula at Europe's southwestern edge. Spain lies to the north and east and the Atlantic to the south and west, and the Azores and Madeira Islands, to the west and southwest, are part of metropolitan Portugal. The coastline runs for more than 800 km, four-fifths of it facing west, with few natural harbors apart from Lisbon on the Tagus and Setúbal on the Sado.

Eurostat, the European Union's statistics office, counted 11,424,031 residents on January 1, 2026, up from 10,394,297 in 2021. Britannica notes that the cold, rocky north coast and mountainous interior are sparsely settled, while the Algarve in the south is warm and fertile. The name of the country comes from Portus Cale, a Roman-era settlement near the mouth of the Douro River, close to present-day Porto.

Lisbon is the capital of Portugal.

It is built on hills next to a big river. Many houses have orange roofs. Porto is another big city. It is next to a river too.

Lisbon is Portugal's capital and largest city. It sits on hills along the Tagus River, near where the river meets the Atlantic, and it is the westernmost capital city on the European mainland. In 1755 an earthquake destroyed the city center, which was then rebuilt.

At Belém, in Lisbon, stands the Jerónimos Monastery, begun in 1502, and the Tower of Belém, built to honor the voyage of the explorer Vasco da Gama. Porto, in the north, climbs the hills above the Douro River and has a history of about 2,000 years. Its name comes from the Roman word for port.

Lisbon, on the north bank of the Tagus estuary about 13 km from the Atlantic, is the westernmost capital of continental Europe and the country's chief port; its metropolitan area had 2,871,133 people in 2021 (Britannica). The city center was destroyed by the earthquake of 1755 and rebuilt under the marquês de Pombal. Expo '98 brought the largest renewal since then, including the six-lane Vasco da Gama Bridge across the widest part of the estuary, then the longest bridge in Europe.

UNESCO inscribed the Monastery of the Hieronymites (Jerónimos), begun in 1502, and the Tower of Belém, built to commemorate Vasco da Gama's expedition, in 1983. The historic center of Porto (inscribed 1996), on hillsides above the mouth of the Douro, records some 2,000 years of growth linked to the sea, from a cathedral with a Romanesque choir to the neoclassical Stock Exchange. Port wine is named after the city, where it has been bottled for centuries.

Portugal has mountains in the north.

In winter, snow sits on the tallest ones. The south is warm and dry. Far out at sea, some islands are volcanoes.

The Tagus River flows across Portugal and divides it in two. Most of the mountains are north of the river, where the Estrela Mountains rise to nearly 2,000 meters and keep snow on their tops for several months of winter. The south is lower and drier, with summer dry spells of two months or more.

The Azores are nine volcanic islands in the middle of the Atlantic, about 1,600 kilometers west of the mainland. Some of their volcanoes are occasionally active. The highest point in Portugal is the volcano Mount Pico, 2,351 meters, on Pico Island. Madeira is another group of volcanic islands, about 1,000 kilometers southwest of the mainland.

The Tagus divides Portugal: north of it, more than nine-tenths of the land rises above 400 m, and the Estrela range, nearly 2,000 m, is the highest on the mainland; in the south, only the São Mamede range exceeds 1,000 m. Less than one-eighth of the country rises above 700 m. Atlantic, continental and Mediterranean influences meet: the northwest is mild and rainy, with more than 2,500 mm a year on some mountain slopes, while in the south the summer drought lasts two months or more and temperatures average about 24 °C in summer and 10 °C in winter.

The nine Azores rise from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; earthquakes and eruptions show their instability, and the 1957–58 Capelinhos eruption enlarged Faial. Ponta do Pico, 2,351 m, is the highest point in metropolitan Portugal; a new survey marker set on the summit in 2023 marks the same 2,351 m. Madeira's eight volcanic islands, two of them inhabited, lie about 1,000 km southwest; its Laurisilva, a World Heritage Site since 1999, is the largest surviving area of laurel forest. About one-fourth of Portugal is woodland, with cork oak, pines and eucalyptus.

Rabbits, hares and foxes live all over Portugal.

Wolves live in faraway places in the north. Many birds pass through Portugal in winter. Sardines swim in the sea.

Portugal's animals are a mix of European and North African kinds. Foxes, rabbits and Iberian hares are found all over the country, and wild goats, wild pigs and deer live in the countryside. Wolves survive in remote parts of the far north and northeast, and lynx live in the Malcata Mountains.

Many birds from western and central Europe pass through on their winter journeys. The sea around Portugal is full of fish, especially sardines. On Madeira's Desertas Islands, a nature reserve protects the highly endangered Mediterranean monk seal.

Britannica describes Portugal's fauna as a mixture of European and North African types: wild goats, wild pigs and deer in the countryside; wolves surviving in remote parts of the far north and northeast; lynx in the Malcata Mountains; and foxes, rabbits and Iberian hares everywhere. Birdlife is rich because the peninsula lies on the winter migration route of western and central European species. On the Azores, only smaller mammals are found, and some 20 species of whales and dolphins can be watched offshore; whaling ended in 1984.

The highly endangered Mediterranean monk seal is native to Madeira's Desertas Islands, a nature reserve since 1990, where some 40 bird species breed, including the Madeira laurel pigeon and Zino's petrel. Atlantic waters are rich in fish, especially the European sardine; clams and oysters are raised in the Algarve. Protected areas cover more than 5 percent of the mainland, from Peneda-Gerês in the north to the Formosa River in the south.

About 11 million people live in Portugal.

Most people speak Portuguese. In the countryside, many meals are fish, vegetables and fruit. Some people sing deep, emotional songs called fado.

About 11.4 million people lived in Portugal at the start of 2026, and Portuguese is the first language of most of them.

In the countryside, everyday meals are often fish, vegetables and fruit. Dried salted cod, called bacalhau, is thought of as the national dish, and a seafood stew called cataplana is cooked in a copper pot shaped like a clamshell. Fado is a kind of song from Lisbon, sung by one singer with guitars. Nearly every village has its own dance floor for traditional dances, and each region has its own dances and songs.

Britannica names communities of Brazilians, Han Chinese and people from Portugal's former colonies in Africa and Asia, and a Roma community living mainly in the Algarve. Portuguese, which took shape in the 12th century, is the first language of most people. Britannica describes some nine-tenths of citizens as Roman Catholic, and twice a year, in May and October, many people travel to the pilgrimage site of Fátima.

Bacalhau is considered the national dish, the cataplana seafood stew is found everywhere, and sweets, a legacy of Moorish rule, take many regional forms. Fado, inscribed by UNESCO in 2011, is sung by a solo singer with an acoustic guitar and the Portuguese guitarra, a pear-shaped instrument with 12 wire strings. Public holidays include Liberty Day (April 25), marking the 1974 revolution, Portugal Day (June 10), for the poet Luís de Camões, author of The Lusiads (1572), and Republic Day (October 5), for the republic of 1910. José Saramago won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998.