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Health systems in transition
Portugal
2
Fig. 1.1
Map of Portugal
Source
: Authors’ compilation.
whereas soft rolling hills and large plains characterize the southern region. The
highest range in mainland Portugal is Serra da Estrela (1993 m), but the highest
mountain in the territory is located in Pico, in the Azores (2100 m).
The climate is temperate maritime with hot summers and wet winters,
affected by Atlantic, Continental and Mediterranean influences.
According to recent estimates for 2015, Portugal has a total of 10.3 million
inhabitants (Table 1.1). Since the last census in 2011, the resident population
in Portugal has decreased by 1.6% (INE, 2011). Population density has also
decreased from 115.4 inhabitants per square kilometre in 2010 to 113.0 per
square kilometre in 2015 (World Bank, 2016). However, this figure hides one
of the major discrepancies in Portugal: the distribution of the population is
highly unbalanced and has been increased by migration to the metropolitan
PORTUGAL
SPAIN
Madeira
Azores
Bragança
Viana do Castelo
Braga
Vila Real
Porto
Aveiro
Viseu
Guarda
Covilhã
Coimbra
Castelo Branco
Portalegre
Santarém
Évora
Évora
Setúbal
Beja
Portimão
Funchal
Santa Cruz
Boaventura
Prazeres
Ponta Delgada
São Miguel
Faro
Lisbon
Leiria
0
100 miles
100 km