General Information

Capital:

Lisbon 681,063 (1991 est.)

Area:

92,391 sq km (35,553 sq mi) including the Azores and Madeira Islands

Form of government

Republic

GDP per capita

Purchasing power parity-$15,300 (1999 est.)

Population

9,918, 040 (July 1999 est.)

Ethnic composition

Portuguese - 98.2%

Cape Verdean - 0.4%

Other - 1.4%

Official Language(s)

Portuguese

Minority Language(s)

Mirandese

Mirandese (Mirandés) is a Romance language of uncertain background but possibly related to the Asturian-Leonese group. It began to emerge as a separate language about the middle of the 12th century. Its linguistic similarity to Portuguese contributes to Mirandese being regarded by most people as a dialect of Portuguese. It is spoken in the villages of the municipality of Miranda do Douro (except Atenor and the town of Miranda do Douro itself), in three villages in the municipality of Vimioso and in certain villages in the municipalities of Mogadouro and Bragança located in the far north of Portugal. The total population of the area in 1991 was 14,728. The Mirandese-speaking population - 10,000 who normally speak the language - is almost entirely concentrated in small villages with fewer than 3,000 inhabitants.

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