Environment—current issues: soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas
Environment—international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban,
Tropical Timber 94
Geography—note: Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic
locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar
People
Population: 9,918,040 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 17% (male 866,115; female 820,438)
15-64 years: 68% (male 3,283,345; female 3,428,427)
65 years and over: 15% (male 619,086; female 900,629) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.13% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 10.49 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 10.25 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)