Portugal General Facts
Portugal is situated on the Iberian Peninsula in the southwestern part of Europe. The Azores and Madeira archipelagos are also part of the country. It is a small country sharing the peninsula with Spain. Its other orders are with the Atlantic Ocean.
The country has been populated since prehistoric times. Portugal was initially influenced considerably by the Roman civilization. Later, the territories were occupied by Germanic and Muslim people. Through the Reconquista the state established itself as a national kingdom. Through marine exploration Portugal established a colonial empire. Its colonies were in Africa, Asia and South America. After the collapse of its empire the country went through a short republic and then a dictatorship. Then, in the 1970s the current presidential republic was created.
The 11 million population of Portugal is relatively homogenous. The main denomination is Catholicism. The official language is Portuguese which derives from Latin. The Portuguese share a lot of linguistic, cultural, ethnical and political history with neighboring Spain.
Among the biggest immigrant groups that became part of the country are: the Portuguese descendants that returned after the independence of the Asian and African colonies; a lot of Brazilian, African, Asian and Ukrainian immigrants that moved recently.
The biggest city is the capital Lisbon with population of half a million. It is the historic, cultural, commercial and economic center of the country.
Portugal has a very warm climate. The average yearly temperature is around 13 °C in the mainland and even 18 °C in the mountainous north. The winters are short, warm and very rarely see snowfall. The summers are hot with a lot of sunshine. The highest temperatures measured in the country are about 48 °C in Amareleya.
Car rental companies that operate in Portugal are Portugal are Avis, Budget, Easycar, Sixt, Alamo, Thrifty and Hertz.