Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic is a country in southwest Europe. It is located on the Iberian Peninsula, and 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 country is named after its second largest city, Porto, whose name derives from a combination of Latin "Portus", and the Celtic place-name "Cale".
The land within the borders of the current Portuguese Republic has been continually fought over and settled since prehistoric time. The Celts and the Romans were followed by the visigothic and the Suebi Germanic People who were themselves later invaded by the Moors These Muslim peoples were eventually expelled during the Christian Reconquista of the peninsula. By 1139, Portugal established itself as a kingdom independent from Leon. In the 15th and 16th centuries, as the result of pioneering the Age of Discovery Portugal expanded Western influence and established the First global empire, becoming one of the world's major economic, political and military powers.
Geography
The territory of Portugal includes an area in the Iberian Peninsula (referred to as the continent by most Portuguese) and two archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean: the archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores. It lies between latitudes 32° and 43° N, and longitudes 32° and 6° W.
Mainland Portugal is split by its main river, the Tagus that flows from Spain and disgorges in Tagus Estuary, in Lisbon, before escaping into the Atlantic. The northern landscape is mountainous towards the interior with several plateaus indented by river valleys, whereas the south, that includes the Algarve and the Alentejo regions, is characterized by rolling plains.
Portugal Exclusive Economic Zone, a sea zone over which the Portuguese have special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources, has 1,727,408 km2. This is the 3rd largest Exclusive Economic Zone of the European Union and the 11th largest in the world.
Climate: Portugal is defined as a Mediterranean climate.
The educational system
The educational system is divided into preschool (for those under age 6), basic education (9 years, in three stages, compulsory), secondary education (3 years, until 12th grade), and higher education (university and polytechnic).
The total adult literacy rate is 99 percent. Portuguese primary school enrollments are close to 100 percent. According to the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009, the average Portuguese 15-year-old student, when rated in terms of reading literacy, mathematics and science knowledge, is placed at the same level as those students from the United States, Sweden, Germany, Ireland, France, Denmark, United Kingdom, Hungary and Taipei, with 489 points (493 is the average). Over 35% of college-age citizens (20 years old) attend one of the country's higher education institutions (compared with 50% in the United States and 35% in the OECD countries). In addition to being a destination for international students, Portugal is also among the top places of origin for international students. All higher education students, both domestic and international, totaled 380,937 in 2005.
Portuguese universities have existed since 1290. The oldest Portuguese university was first established in Lisbon before moving to Coimbra. Historically, within the scope of the Portuguese Empire, the Portuguese founded in 1792 the oldest engineering school of Latin America (the Real Academia de Artilharia, Fortificação e Desenho). The largest university in Portugal is the University of Lisbon. Universities are usually organized into faculties.
Institutes and schools are also common designations for autonomous subdivisions of Portuguese higher education institutions.