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Portuguese have a reputation for loving cod dishes (bacalhau in Portuguese). For that there are 365 ways of making cod dishes.

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.

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.

The Parliament, or Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da República in Portuguese) is a unicameral body composed of 230 deputies. It is elected by universal suffrage according to a system of proportional representation to multi-member constituencies. Deputies serve terms of office of 4 years, unless the president dissolves the assembly and calls for new elections. The Assembly of the Republic is the main legislative body. The President of Parliament substitutes the President of the Republic in the event of his absence.

The Socialist Party, under the leadership of António Guterres, came to power following the October 1995 parliamentary elections. The Socialists later won a new mandate by winning exactly half the parliamentary seats in the October 1999 election, and constituing then the XIV Constitutional Government.