Fun Facts About Portugal

 Fun Facts About Portugal

Portugal is a beautiful country with great history and even more fun facts. As part of our Portugal Week, Europe Language Café, has prepared a guide to help you find out fun facts about Portugal!

Ready? Then let’s get started!

1. Portugal owned “half” of the world

The Portuguese Empire was the first global empire in history. It colonised Brazil, along with parts of Africa and Asia. The Portuguese Empire ended in 1999 when they handed Macau to China.

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2. Portuguese is the official language in 9 countries

Portugal is an official language in 9 countries, including Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Principe, Sao Tome, and Equatorial Guinea. This makes Portuguese the 6th most spoken language in the world!

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3. Portugal has the longest bridge in Europe

The bridge is called Vasco da Gama and it is located in Lisbon. It is longer than 17 kilometres (you would need impressive stamina to cross it on foot, eh?).

4. Portugal is one of the best places in the world for surfing.

Portugal has a coastline that spans 800 kilometers and it’s known to have 364 days of surf!

5. Portugal was the first empire to stop slavery

Portugal was the first colonial power to stop slavery – half a century earlier than Britain, France, Spai, and the United States.

6. Rio de Janeiro was once the capital of Portugal

When Napoleon invaded Portugal, the country announced Rio de Janeiro as their temporary capital in order to protect their royal family.

7. Portugal is the hottest country in Europe

In Portugal, there are over 3.000 sunny hours or 300 days a year. That makes it the hottest country in Europe.

8. Portugal is named after its second largest city

Portugal is named after the city of Porto, the Latin name of which was Portus Cale.

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What do you think about these fun facts about Portugal? Would you like to visit or maybe work and live there? Let us know!

Thank you very much for hanging out with Europe Language Café and see you in our next blog!

Europe Language Café

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