Lisbon is Western Europe’s oldest city and the second-oldest city in all Europe behind Athens. Lisbon is known for the Vasco da Gama bridge which, at over 11 miles (17.6 kilometers), is Europe’s longest bridge.
Lisbon’s Oceanarium is Europe’s largest indoor aquarium, filled with 5 million liters of sea water. Tourists can enjoy circular tours with exhibits featuring many different types of fish from small tropical species and ocean plants to sharks.
Nicknames for Lisbon include the “City of Seven Hills” and “Queen of the Sea”.
Portugal was the 46th top exporting nation during 2019, shipping US$67.1 billion worth of goods according to the latest estimates from the International Trade Centre. Portugal’s most valuable export products are cars (7% of its global total), automotive parts and accessories (5.3%), refined petroleum oils (5.2%), footwear (2.6%), uncoated paper including paperboard (2%) and new rubber tires (1.6%).
Capital Facts for Lisbon, Portugal: Quick Reference
Geography
Capital landmarks: Jeronimos Monastery, Belem Tower (Torre de Belem), St. George’s Castle (Castelo de S. Jorge) and the National Museum of Ancient Art (Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga)
Famous People
Below, you will find 10 of the most famous people born in Lisbon, Portugal.
- António Costa, prime minister (born Jul. 17, 1961)
- António Guterres, former UN Secretary-General (born Apr. 30, 1949)
- Joaquim de Almeida, actor (born Nov. 15, 1957)
- Jorge Sampaio, former Lisbon mayor (born Sep. 18, 1939)
- Mafalda Arnauth, classical singer (born Oct. 4, 1974)
- Sara Tavares, singer, guitarist & composer (born Feb. 1, 1978)
- Pedro G. Ferreira, astrophysics professor (born Mar. 18, 1968)
- Valete, hip hop artist (born Nov. 14, 1981)
- Fernando Pessoa, poet, writer & philosopher (born Jun. 13, 1888)
- Cesário Verde, poet (born Feb. 25, 1855)
Note: Data for our Famous People tab was sourced from Google searches mostly targeting published Wikipedia articles specific to each person’s name.
Population
Demonym for a Lisbon resident: Lisboetas or Alfacinha (meaning “little lettuce”)
Population: 2,956,879 (Lisbon) at June 17, 2020
Density: 76,656 people per square mile (29,554 per square kilometer)
Population: 10,197,732 (Portugal) at June 17, 2020
Density: 288 people per square mile (111 per square kilometer)
Median age for all Portuguese: 46.2 years old
Financial
GDP: US$345.6 billion in 2019 (Portugal overall)
GDP per person: $33,665
Note: The above GDP metrics are on a Purchasing Power Parity basis and are in U.S. dollars.
Official currency used in Lisbon: euros
Research
Research Sources:
BookMundi, The World’s 12 Safest Countries to Visit in 2019.
Brookings Institution, Global Metro Monitor Report (includes GDP data).
Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, Europe: Portugal.
Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, Field Listing: Major Urban Areas.
CityMetric, Where are largest cities in the world? 2015 edition.
Demographia, World Urban Area, 12th Annual Edition.
Euromonitor International, Top 100 City Destinations Rankings 2017.
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Databases.
International Trade Centre, Trade Map.
Official Government Website, Lisboa.
Renew 2016, 2nd International Conference on Renewable Energies Offshore (Lisbon, Portugal)–October 2016.
Wikimedia Commons, City Flags.
Note: Some city flags were unavailable. If so, attribution belongs to Wikimedia Commons for pertinent country flags.
Wikipedia, Lisbon.
Wikipedia, Lisbon metropolitan area.
Wikipedia, Portugal.
WorldOMeter, Portugal Population
Portuguese celebrate Portugal Day as a public holiday each June 10.
Lisbon’s land surface extends over a total 38.6 square miles (100.05 square kilometers) serving as home to 3 million people.
At the country level, Portugal’s land area covers 35,363 square miles (91,590 square kilometers). The national population count was 10.2 million inhabitants as of June 17, 2020.
Population density is much more concentrated within Portugal’s capital city with an average 76,656 residents per square mile (29,554 per square kilometer).
Zooming out to Portugal’s overall land boundaries, population density dilutes to an average 288 inhabitants per square mile (111 per square kilometer).
Zooming in to Lisbon’s municipal city limits, the city core contains an area measuring 39 square miles (100 square kilometers), within which there were 547,631 inhabitants in 2016. Lisbon city density was 14,042 per square mile (5,476 per square kilometer).
