60 Interesting Facts About Portugal (+ fun facts on Portugal)

Facts on Portugal to Learn All About It

Ready to learn all about Portugal?

Facts are one of the best ways to learn more about something, and I personally love to read them! I’ve put together for you quite a bit of facts on Portugal; I’ve split them in 8 categories:

• The best Portugal facts
• Fun facts about Portugal
• Portugal facts for kids
• Facts about Portugal culture
• Portugal tourism facts
• Weird facts about Portugal
• Portugal geography facts
• General facts of Portugal

Let’s dive in right away with our first category! 🚀

The Best Portugal Facts

Portugal is definitely an interesting country. Let us start with the most general facts about it. I have 16 of the best Portugal facts for you, and I hope you will love them.

1. Portugal has its own martial art

Your first thought when it comes to martial arts will probably not be Portugal, but eastern Asia and its kung-fu, karate and taekwondo.

Nevertheless, Portugal still has its own martial art, “Jogo do pau”, which means “game of the stick”. It takes its roots in the northern mountains, was used by farmers as a form of self-defense, is inspired by knightly medieval techniques… and is still practiced nowadays!

2. Portugal also has its own style of singing

It appears that the Portuguese people wanted to use their very own stuff. And not only martial arts, but also singing.

Fado was born in Lisbon’s bars and restaurants, and emerged in the 1820s. It comes from the latin world “fatum”, and means either fate or death. The music is both loud and mournful.

3. Most of the best Indian food came from Portugal

Indian food is reputed to be one of the best in the world. Using lots of spices and unique cooking techniques, it would simply not exist were it not for the trades with Portugal though!

Portugal used to have colonies and trading posts in India, and brought lots of food from the New World, most notoriously tomato, chili pepper and potato.

Read more: Discover everything about Portuguese food

4. The oldest bookstore in the world is in Lisbon

Quite surprisingly, the oldest bookstore in the world is called “Bertrand”, like the French first name.

It is simply incredible, and has been operating since 1732! Even without buying books, Bertrand is definitely worth a visit, boasting ornate interiors and having a unique atmosphere.

5. Portugal is crazy about fish

Everyone in Portugal eats fish, in every possible way. More precisely, Portugal is the third-highest fish consumer in the world.

With such a long and beautiful coastline, it is not very surprising. Fishermen use it as their base, and you will always see someone selling some sort of fish in a Portuguese street.

Traditional Portuguese salted codfish

6. The world’s most beautiful McDonald’s restaurant is in Portugal

It can be hard to find a beautiful fast-food restaurant, I will give you that, but this one McDonald’s in Porto is very special. It is set in an Art Nouveau building from the 1930s which formerly hosted the iconic Imperial Cafe.

The restaurant can now enjoy the eagle statue and gold lettering above the door, as well as ornate ceilings and chandeliers hanging inside.

7. Portuguese is the official language of 9 different countries

Even though you mostly know Portugal for speaking Portuguese, this language is far from exclusive to western Europe. In fact, there are more than 236 million native Portuguese speakers in the world!

Other Portuguese-speaking countries are Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Sao Tome, Principe and Equatorial Guinea.

8. Lisbon was struck by one of the strongest earthquakes in history

A monumental earthquake struck Lisbon on All Saints’ Day in 1755, at 9:40 AM. The city was almost entirely destroyed, and fissures 5 m / 16 ft wide opened in the city center, during the 3 to 6 minutes that the earthquake took to wreak havoc on the Portugal capital.

9. The earthquake did not come alone in Lisbon

Even though the earthquake I just told you about was incredibly devastating, it did not come alone. 40 minutes after it, a tsunami flooded the entire city and its downtown area. It was later followed by 2 more waves.

People who fled Lisbon on horseback had to gallop as fast as possible to avoid being carried away.

10. All Saints’ Day was very detrimental for Lisbon

Because the earthquake and the tsunami happened on All Saints’ Day, the vast majority of Lisbon’s inhabitants lit candles in their homes and churches. Because of the earthquake, all of these candles were knocked over and the city burned for hours, asphyxiating lots of inhabitants.

11. Lisbon came up with an ingenious solution for future possible earthquakes

Lisbon had to be rebuilt after the earthquake. But before blindly redoing everything as it was before, Portuguese authorities had to think twice to prevent future disasters.

Back at that time, they obviously had very ancient technology, but they used tiny models of buildings to simulate an earthquake.

12. Portugal became the sixth country in Europe to allow same-sex marriage in 2010

Homosexuality used to be banned during the fascist regime in Portugal, but the country has come a long way since then.

In 2010, it legalized same-sex marriage, and one year after, 380 of these marriages had taken place. This number keeps growing, and Portugal is ranked 49th worldwide on LGBT human rights rankings.

13. Half of the New World used to be Portuguese

You might wonder why Portuguese is widely spread in the eastern part of South America, while the other half speaks Spanish. Well, this is due to the Treaty of Tordesillas, signed in 1494. It gave Portugal the eastern half of the New World, as well as parts of Africa and Asia.

14. The Portuguese Empire was the first one in history

The Portuguese Empire was one of the most prominent ones the world ever saw, and was also the first global one.

On top of that, it was also one of the longest-lived colonial empires, as it lasted for almost 6 centuries: Ceuta was captured in 1415, and Macau was handed over to China in 1999.

15. One of the oldest universities in Europe is in Portugal

The University of Coimbra was founded in 1290, making it one of the oldest ones in Europe. There are now more than 20,000 students, and it is one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.

The university was founded by King Dinis, who is very notorious for his contributions to Portuguese literacy and agriculture.

University of Coimbra

16. Portugal was one of the major contributors to the triangular slavery trade

Not everything Portugal did centuries ago is synonymous with pride, and this is definitely a great example of that.

The infamous trade that happened between Europe, Africa and the Americas was mostly organized by European colonial powers like Spain, England, France, the Netherlands… and Portugal. All of them transported millions of African slaves to the New World.

And that’s it for the most general facts about Portugal. Don’t worry though, there is still a LOT to cover! First off, the fun facts of Portugal. 👇

Fun Facts About Portugal

This is definitely my favorite part. Getting to learn about all the little secrets and unusual stories of any country is always fantastic.

Today, I have 10 Portugal fun facts, let’s do this!

17. Lots of baby names are banned in Portugal

When I say “lots”, I mean it: the Portuguese government has an 80-page list of banned baby names!

You can check it here, but you will quickly see that most of them are cases of poor spelling being banned. Also, “ovnis” (which means “UFOs”), Cleopatra, Daenerys and Rihanna are all forbidden!

18. The biggest wave ever surfed was in Portugal

Maybe you don’t know this, but Portugal is very famous for its surfing.

The biggest wave ever was surfed in Nazaré, one of the best surf towns in the world. It stood at a whopping 30 m / 100 ft! In fact, the country is still known for its gigantic waves, and it attracts tons of surfers from all around the world.

19. Paris has the largest Portuguese community in a city outside of Portugal

Obviously, the major cities with Portuguese people are in Portugal.

But, interestingly enough, the city with the largest number of Portuguese people that is not in Portugal is Paris, which is home to more than 1.5 million of them! They mostly came during the 1960s and the 1970s, seeking shelter away from the dictatorship.

20. Portugal is one of the very few countries to ever have an entirely peaceful revolution

This is perhaps the most unusual fact about Portugal: in 1974, the coup plotted by the Armed Forces Movement was met with fierce resistance from the civilians. This resistance was called the carnation revolution because no shots were fired, and soldiers had carnations in their guns!

21. The highest mountain in Portugal… is not in continental Portugal!

Mount Pico is the highest Portuguese mountain, standing at 2,351 m / 7,713 ft above sea level, and is in fact a volcano. It is still active, and its last eruption dates back to 1720.

Mount Pico is located on the archipelago of the Azores, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

22. Napoleon used to occupy Portugal

To be fair, Napoleon conquered a lot of countries in Europe, and surely would have wanted to conquer the entire world, but Portugal is still one of the places he invaded.

In 1807, French troops invaded Portugal, and the royal family fled to Brazil, which was still a Portuguese colony at that time.

23. Portugal is part of one of the oldest alliance between modern nations in the world

Believe it or not, Portugal’s oldest ally is England. A very long time ago, in 1386, Portugal and England signed the Treaty of Windsor.

This treaty is vastly believed to be the oldest and longest-running alliance between 2 modern nations ever!

24. Lisbon is older than Rome

Rome, or as they call it “the Eternal City”, is quite young compared to Lisbon. The area in which the Portuguese capital currently lies was proven to be inhabited during the 8th and 6th centuries BC.

These indigenous people mostly traded with the Carthaginians, and founded Lisbon a very long time ago.

25. Porto wine comes from one of the oldest protected wine-producing regions in the world

Porto is very famous for its wine, and for good reasons. Not only does it have a unique and fantastic taste, but it is also produced in the Douro region, named after the Douro river. In fact, this region is the third-oldest protected wine-producing region on the planet!

The oldest ones are Chianti, Italy (1716) and Tokaj-Hegyalja, Hungary (1730).

Read more: Discover the Douro Valley

26. The Romans associated Portugal with wine

Portugal has always been known for its wine, even during ancient times.

So much in fact that the Ancient Romans associated the country with Bacchus, the god of wine. This is why they called the country “Lusitania”, which comes from Lusus, the son of Bacchus.

Well, the fun part is over, but don’t be sad.

Believe it or not, the relatively small country of Portugal has a lot to share with the world. And in the next part, I will talk about some facts for kids that everyone can enjoy. 

Portugal Facts for Kids

While all of the facts listed above are obviously safe for kids, this section is especially dedicated to satisfy the eternal curiosity of the young ones. Here are 10 kids facts about Portugal that you will want to know about. 

27. Portugal is very famous for its explorers

Maybe you were not aware of it, but even though Portugal is a relatively small country, it has conquered many, many parts of the world, most notably Asia, Africa and South America. Their most famous former colony is Brazil, which is why Portuguese is the national language nowadays.

Portrait of Vasco de Gama, Unknown Author / CC BY-SA

28. Now, Portugal is one of the poorest countries in Western Europe

Portugal had a glorious past, being one of the leading exploring countries during the 15th and 16th centuries, but this era is definitely over.

Nowadays, the country is quite poor, despite being located in Western Europe, one of the richest areas on the planet.

29. Portugal used to be a dictatorship

The 20th century was infamous for being the rise of many dictatorships around the world: Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal all underwent severe changes.

In Portugal, dictator Oliveira Salazar ruled the country from 1932 to 1970, and is one of the major reasons for the country to be poor now.

30. The agriculture of Portugal is very traditional

Portugal still uses traditional methods in its agriculture. You will see lots of farmers using plows pulled by oxen, which is obviously very outdated for such a modern country.

This again goes to show that the country is still in dire needs of modernization in its countryside.

31. Portugal is the #1 cork producer in the world

Believe it or not, Portugal is by far the #1 cork producer in the world, producing more than half of the world’s cork! The other notable producer is Spain, with almost a third of it, while the third one, Italy, only makes up for 6 percent of it.

This is why you will see so many cork oak trees in the Portuguese countryside.

32. Portugal is a very popular destination for surfing

People in Portugal like to say that you can surf all around the year in the country, and while it would not be easy in winter, it is definitely doable.

The country has such a large country coastline that many places are simply ideal for surfing, such as Nazaré and Ericeira.

33. Portugal used to be covered by forests

A long time ago, Portugal used to be mostly covered by forests. Now, only 25 percent of the country is forested, but that is enough for wonderful landscapes and peaceful areas.

The most frequent trees you will see in Portugal are cork oaks, pines, eucalyptus and olive trees.

34. Portugal is one of the world’s oldest countries

Portugal was established in the 12th century, making it one of the oldest countries on the planet. Besides, its borders have barely changed since the 13th century.

During these times, the country was a very powerful empire, mostly thanks to its navy and the many explorations it organized.

35. Portugal is now a republic, but this was not always the case

Nowadays, Portugal is governed by the president, who is elected for a five-year term. The government is headed by the Prime Minister, who appoints the Council of Ministers.

Before 1910 though, Portugal used to be a monarchy. After going through a dictatorship for several decades, it is now again a republic.

36. Portugal has several main industries

Portugal relies on several industries to make its economy grow. The major ones are fishing, oil, plastic products, construction, cement, textiles, steel, leather, footwear and very importantly tourism.

The country has seen a huge growth in tourists in the past decades, and relies on its ideal weather and pristine beaches to keep it growing.

Well there you go, these were my 10 interesting facts of Portugal for kids!

I hope you learned something new, but don’t go anywhere, because I still have 4 more categories to go through. We don’t have much time, so let’s speed up the pace and do short facts. 

Facts About Portugal Culture

As I told you, the next 4 categories on this list are going to be shorter, but definitely not less informative or interesting.

First off, let’s talk about 6 cultural facts about Portugal. 

37. A lot of Portuguese words have Arabic origins because of how long the Moorish were ruling the country

38. No one has been executed for a crime since 1846 in Portugal

39. Portugal was the first country to abolish life imprisonment, and now the maximum amount anyone can spend in jail is 25 years

40. The rooster is a symbol of Portugal, because it is said that a dead rooster helped an alleged criminal prove his innocence

41. Portugal was the first country to abolish slavery, 14 years before Britain!

42. Portuguese are renowned to be fatalists, and they firmly believe in their fate

There you go! Portuguese culture is definitely fascinating, and I hope I managed to convince you of that. Next up are facts about tourism. 

Portugal Tourism Facts

Portugal has an amazing coastline and ideal weather. Every year, it attracts tourists from all around Europe, and even from other continents.

If you want to learn more about it, here are 6 Portugal tourism facts.

43. Lisbon’s Vasco de Gama bridge is extremely long, it is Europe’s second-longest bridge (17 km / 10.7 mi)

44. Algarve, the most popular tourist destination in Portugal, was once the name of the entire country

45. Portugal is home to tons of local birds, having a perfect placement for migrations from Africa to Europe

46. Millions of pilgrims go to Fatima, Portugal every year, to honor a long-lasting Catholic tradition

47. Portugal shores reach a lot of water, making the country around 95 percent water

48. Europe’s westernmost point is in Portugal… but in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean

Hopefully this made you want to go to Portugal, and I cannot blame you: the country is simply wonderful.

Anyway, it is now time to move on to our next category, weird facts, which I particularly love. 

Weird Facts About Portugal

Did I tell you that the fun part was over? My mistake, because here are some weird facts about Portugal. At least, I guess some people consider it fun.

49. Lisbon’s streets are black and white to represent St. Vincent, who wore black, and the Crusaders, who wore white and got rid of the Moors

50. The first Pirate code was written by Bartholomew Portugues during the 17th century before being adopted by English pirates

51. There was a dead queen in Portugal, the wife of Pedro I, who died 2 years before he was crowned

52. Porto inhabitants are called “tripeiros”, which means “tripe eaters”, because they gave all their meat to the military in the 15th century, and had to eat the rest of it

53. Drugs were decriminalized in Portugal in 2001, and the amount of addicts quickly dropped afterwards

54. Tempura were invented in Nagasaki, Japan by Portuguese Jesuit missionaries

I hope you liked weird facts, cause I definitely did!

Now, we are headed to our final category, facts about geography.

Portugal Geography Facts

This last part is dedicated to Portugal geography facts. Believe it or not, there are quite a few things to say, so let’s do that.

55. Portugal rules over the Azores and Madeira islands, two autonomous regions in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean

Madeira

56. The northern parts of Portugal are very mountainous, and they are ideal for hiking

57. The southern parts of Portugal are majorly made of rolling hills

58. Portugal’s climate is mild and Mediterranean, which makes it perfect for farming

59. Portugal is located in southwestern Europe, right next to Spain, on the Iberian Peninsula

60. If you were to compare Portugal to other states, it is roughly the size of Virginia or twice the size of Oregon in the United States, and the same size as the United Kingdom

And that’s it for all the 60 interesting facts on Portugal and other fun facts! I hope you enjoyed this list!

If you want to learn more general information about the country as well as its most famous cities, feel free to keep reading.

General Facts of Portugal

You’ll find below a few general facts of Portugal, to learn more about this European country:

• Name: Portugal
• Land area: 92,212 km² / 35,603 sq mi
• Population: 10,347,000
• Name of inhabitants: Portuguese
• Website: Portugal

Portugal Flag

More Facts!

Do you want even more facts about Portugal?

Check out these other facts:

• Facts about Lisbon
• Facts about Porto 
• Facts about Portugal food 

Or click here to see ALL the facts up on the blog! Spoiler alert: there’s A LOT of them.

The Full List of 60 Portugal Facts

1. Portugal has its own martial art
2. Portugal also has its own style of singing
3. Most of the best Indian food came from Portugal
4. The oldest bookstore in the world is in Lisbon
5. Portugal is crazy about fish
6. The world’s most beautiful McDonald’s restaurant is in Portugal
7. Portuguese is the official language of 9 different countries
8. Lisbon was struck by one of the strongest earthquakes in history
9. The earthquake did not come alone in Lisbon
10. All Saints’ Day was very detrimental for Lisbon
11. Lisbon came up with an ingenious solution for future possible earthquakes
12. Portugal became the sixth country in Europe to allow same-sex marriage in 2010
13. Half of the New World used to be Portuguese
14. The Portuguese Empire was the first one in history
15. One of the oldest universities in Europe is in Portugal
16. Portugal was one of the major contributors to the triangular slavery trade
17. Lots of baby names are banned in Portugal
18. The biggest wave ever surfed was in Portugal
19. Paris has the largest Portuguese community in a city outside of Portugal
20. Portugal is one of the very few countries to ever have an entirely peaceful revolution
21. The highest mountain in Portugal… is not in continental Portugal!
22. Napoleon used to occupy Portugal
23. Portugal is part of one of the oldest alliance between modern nations in the world
24. Lisbon is older than Rome
25. Porto wine comes from one of the oldest protected wine-producing regions in the world
26. The Romans associated Portugal with wine
27. Portugal is very famous for its explorers
28. Now, Portugal is one of the poorest countries in Western Europe
29. Portugal used to be a dictatorship
30. The agriculture of Portugal is very traditional
31. Portugal is the #1 cork producer in the world
32. Portugal is a very popular destination for surfing
33. Portugal used to be covered by forests
34. Portugal is one of the world’s oldest countries
35. Portugal is now a republic, but this was not always the case
36. Portugal has several main industries
37. A lot of Portuguese words have Arabic origins because of how long the Moorish were ruling the country
38. No one has been executed for a crime since 1846 in Portugal
39. Portugal was the first country to abolish life imprisonment, and now the maximum amount anyone can spend in jail is 25 years
40. The rooster is a symbol of Portugal, because it is said that a dead rooster helped an alleged criminal prove his innocence
41. Portugal was the first country to abolish slavery, 14 years before Britain!
42. Portuguese are renowned to be fatalists, and they firmly believe in their fate
43. Lisbon’s Vasco de Gama bridge is extremely long, it is Europe’s second-longest bridge (17 km / 10.7 mi)
44. Algarve, the most popular tourist destination in Portugal, was once the name of the entire country
45. Portugal is home to tons of local birds, having a perfect placement for migrations from Africa to Europe
46. Millions of pilgrims go to Fatima, Portugal every year, to honor a long-lasting Catholic tradition
47. Portugal shores reach a lot of water, making the country around 95 percent water
48. Europe’s westernmost point is in Portugal… but in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean
49. Lisbon’s streets are black and white to represent St. Vincent, who wore black, and the Crusaders, who wore white and got rid of the Moors
50. The first Pirate code was written by Bartholomew Portugues during the 17th century before being adopted by English pirates
51. There was a dead queen in Portugal, the wife of Pedro I, who died 2 years before he was crowned
52. Porto inhabitants are called “tripeiros”, which means “tripe eaters”, because they gave all their meat to the military in the 15th century, and had to eat the rest of it
53. Drugs were decriminalized in Portugal in 2001, and the amount of addicts quickly dropped afterwards
54. Tempura were invented in Nagasaki, Japan by Portuguese Jesuit missionaries
55. Portugal rules over the Azores and Madeira islands, two autonomous regions in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean
56. The northern parts of Portugal are very mountainous, and they are ideal for hiking
57. The southern parts of Portugal are majorly made of rolling hills
58. Portugal’s climate is mild and Mediterranean, which makes it perfect for farming
59. Portugal is located in southwestern Europe, right next to Spain, on the Iberian Peninsula
60. If you were to compare Portugal to other states, it is roughly the size of Virginia or twice the size of Oregon in the United States, and the same size as the United Kingdom

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