Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost sovereign state in mainland Europe, bordered to the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean and the north and east by Spain, the sole country to have a land border with Portugal. Portugal’s territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, autonomous regions with their own regional governments. The official and national language are Portuguese. Lisbon is the capital and largest city.
Portugal is the oldest nation-state on the Iberian Peninsula and one of the oldest in Europe, its territory having been continuously settled, invaded, and fought over since prehistoric times.
The word Portugal derives from the Roman-Celtic place name Portus Cale, a city where present-day Vila Nova de Gaia now stands, at the mouth of the River Douro in the north of Portugal. The city's name is from the Latin word for port or harbour, portus, but the second element of Portus Cale is less clear.
