Albania vs Portugal

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Albania ( (listen) a(w)l-BAY-nee-ə; Albanian: Shqipëri or Shqipëria; Gheg Albanian: Shqipni or Shqipnia also Shqypni or Shqypnia), officially the Republic of Albania (Albanian: Republika e Shqipërisë, pronounced [ɾɛpuˈblika ɛ ʃcipəˈɾiːsə]), is a country in Southeast Europe on the Adriatic and Ionian Sea within the Mediterranean Sea.

It shares land borders with Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo into the northeast, North Macedonia to the east, Greece to the south and maritime borders with Greece, Montenegro and Italy to the west. Geographically, the country displays diverse climatic, geological, hydrological, and morphological conditions, defined in an area of 28,748 km2 (11,100 sq mi). It possesses significant diversity together with the landscape ranging from the snow-capped mountains in the Albanian Alps as well as the Korab, Skanderbeg, Pindus and Ceraunian Mountains to the hot and sunny coasts of the Albanian Adriatic and Ionian Sea along the Mediterranean Sea. Historically, the nation has been inhabited by numerous civilisations like the Illyrians, Thracians, Ancient Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and Ottomans. The Albanians established the autonomous Principality of Arbër in the 12th century. The Kingdom of Albania and Principality of Albania formed between the 13th and 14th centuries. Before the Ottoman conquest of Albania in the 15th century, the Albanian resistance to Ottoman expansion into Europe headed by Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg won them acclaim over most of Europe. Between the 18th and 19th centuries, cultural developments, widely attributed to Albanians having accumulated both intellectual and spiritual strength, conclusively resulted in the Albanian Renaissance. Following the defeat of the Ottomans in the Balkan Wars, the modern nation state of Albania declared independence in 1912. In the 20th century, the Kingdom of Albania was invaded by Italy which formed Greater Albania before becoming a protectorate of Nazi Germany. Enver Hoxha formed Communist Albania following the Second World War and launched the Albanians on a course of oppression and decades of isolation. The Revolutions of 1991 concluded the fall of communism in Albania and eventually the establishment of the current Republic of Albania. Politically, the country is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic and developing nation with an upper-middle income economy dominated by the service sector, followed by manufacturing. It went through a process of transition following the end of communism in 1990, from centralized planning to a market-based economy. Albania provides universal healthcare and free primary and secondary education to its citizens.The nation is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, UNESCO, NATO, WTO, COE, OSCE, and OIC. It's an official candidate for membership in the European Union. It is one of the founding members of the Energy Community, such as the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and Union for the Mediterranean.

Source: Wikipedia

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Portugal (Portuguese: [puɾtuˈɣal]), formally the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa [ʁɛˈpuβlikɐ puɾtuˈɣezɐ]), is a country located mostly on the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost autonomous state of mainland Europe, being bordered to the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean and to the north and east by Spain. Its territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. The national and official language is Portuguese. 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 ancient times. Inhabited by pre-Celtic and Celtic peoples, visited by Phoenicians-Carthaginians, Ancient Greeks and ruled by the Romans, who were followed by the invasions of the Suebi and Visigothic Germanic peoples. After the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, most of its territory was part of Al-Andalus. Portugal as a nation was established during the early Christian Reconquista. Launched in 868, the County of Portugal gained prominence after the Battle of São Mamede (1128). The Kingdom of Portugal was later proclaimed after the Battle of Ourique (1139), and independence from León was recognized by the Treaty of Zamora (1143).In the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global maritime and business empire, becoming one of the world's leading economic, military and political powers. In this period, today called the Age of Discovery, Portuguese explorers initiated marine exploration, especially under imperial patronage of Prince Henry the Navigator and King John II, with such notable voyages as Bartolomeu Dias' sailing beyond the Cape of Good Hope (1488), Vasco da Gama's discovery of the sea route to India (1497--98) and the European discovery of what could eventually become Brazil (1500). In this period Portugal monopolized the spice trade, divided the world into hemispheres of dominion with Castile, and the empire expanded with military campaigns in Asia. However, events like the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, the country's occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence of Brazil (1822) erased to a wonderful extent Portugal's prior opulence.After the 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the democratic but shaky Portuguese First Republic was established, later being superseded by the Estado Novo authoritarian regime. Democracy was restored after the Carnation Revolution (1974), finishing the Portuguese Colonial War. Soon after, independence was granted to nearly all its overseas territories. The handover of Macau to China (1999) indicated the end of what can be considered one of the longest-lived colonial empires. Portugal has left a deep cultural, architectural and linguistic influence across the globe, with a heritage of around 250 million Portuguese speakers, and lots of Portuguese-based creoles. It is a developed nation with an advanced economy and high living standards. Additionally, it is highly placed in positions of moral freedom (2nd), peacefulness (3rd), democracy (7th), media freedom (10th), stability (15th), social advancement (18th), and prosperity (26th). A member of the United Nations, the European Union, the Schengen Area and the Council of Europe (CoE), Portugal was also one of the founding members of NATO, the eurozone, the OECD, and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.

Source: Wikipedia