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Portugal is a fairly homogeneous country linguistically and religiously. Ethnically, Portuguese are a combination of several ethnicities, primarily native Iberians, Romans, Celts, and Visigoths. Other elements are Moors, Suevi and Phoenician. Even so, Portuguese people are ethnically homogenous.

The Republic of Portugal (República Portuguesa), or Portugal, is a democratic republic located on the west and southwest parts of the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe; it is the westernmost country in continental Europe.

During the past 3000 years Portugal has witnessed a constant flow of different civilizations. Phoenician, Celtic, Carthaginian, Roman, Barbarian (Germanic) and Arabic cultures have all made an imprint in Portugal.

Religious minorities include a little over 300,000 Protestants. There is also about 50,000 Muslims and 10,000 Hindus, most of them came from Goa, a former Portuguese colony on the west coast of India. There are also about 1,000 Jews, but a considerable large number of people have some Jewish heritage, and although they consider themselves Catholics, one can observe some Jewish customs.

Portugal has a territorial dispute with Spain. By the Vienna Treaty of 1815, Spain agreed to return Olivença (Olivenza in Spanish) to Portugal, but this agreement was never met. Portugal has periodically reasserted its claim to the territory. This issue has been discussed at the Portuguese Parliament as recently as 2004. In accordance with international law, Olivença is still considered to be Portuguese territory, despite being under Spanish administration since 1801.

Eating in Portugal is often a visitor's most remembered characteristic of the country. Each region of Portugal has its own traditional dishes, including various kinds of meat, sea-food, diverse and fresh fish.

In the elections of February 20, the Socialist Party obtained its largest victory ever; for the first time in the democratic history of the country a Socialist government would be formed with an absolute majority in the Assembly of the Republic.

In 1975, Portugal granted independence to its Overseas Provinces (Províncias Ultramarinas in Portuguese) in Africa (Mozambique, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe). In that same year, Indonesia invaded and annexed the Portuguese province of Portuguese Timor (East Timor) in Asia before independence could be granted. The Asian dependency of Macau, after an agreement in 1986, was returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1999. Portugal applied international pressure to secure East Timor's independence from Indonesia, as East Timor was still legally a Portuguese dependency, and recognized as such by the United Nations. After a referendum in 1999, East Timor voted for independence and Portugal recognized its independence in 2002.

There is African, Brazilian and Asian influences throughtout its culture in various fields, especially those related to food, music, dances and habits. Arabic, Jewish, and Germanic cultures are featherweighting when compared to others.

Prime Minister José Sócrates was sworn in by President Jorge Sampaio on March 12. To many's suprise, Sócrates formed a cabinet made up of roughly half senior members of the Socialist Party and half independents, among whom are Diogo Freitas do Amaral, founder of the rightist Partido Popular and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The Carnation Revolution of 1974, an effectively bloodless left-wing military coup, installed the Third Republic. Broad democratic reforms were implemented.

Portugal's name derives from the Roman name Portus Cale, a mixed Greek and Roman name meaning "Beautiful Port".

Portugal has always been turned towards the sea; its land-based treaties are notably stable. The border with Spain has remained almost unchanged since the 13th century. A 1373 treaty of alliance between England and Portugal has never been broken to this day. Since early times, fishing and overseas commerce have been the main economic activities. Henry the Navigator's interest in exploration together with some technological developments in navigation made Portugal's expansion possible and led to great advances in geographic knowledge.

In mainland Portugal, average temperatures are 13ºC in the North and 18ºC in the South. Madeira and Azores, due to their location in the Atlantic, are rainy and wet, and have a narrower range of temperatures.