The Race The race consists of homogeneous Mediterranean stock; citizens of black African descent who immigrated to mainland during decolonization number less than 100,000

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Religion Freedom of conscience, of religion and of worship are granted by the constitution of the Republic. The churches and religious communities are independent and separate from the State. For historical reasons dating back to the foundation of the Portuguese nation the Catholic church still plays a dominant role nowadays.

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Language Portuguese is the official language. Derived from Latin, the Portuguese language spread along the western coast of the Iberian Peninsula with the Roman invasion of 218 BC. Since then the Portuguese language has been variously influenced and altered, adopting new words used by the Germanic invaders and later, in 711, numerous Arab words after the Moorish invasion of the Peninsula. Finally words from the peoples and lands discovered and/or colonized were also adapted together with more recent French and English additions. The result is a language which is spoken in seven countries: Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Cape Verde, spread over five continents, as well as the territories of Macau and East-Timor. The Portuguese language is one of the most-widely spoken languages in the world and it is estimated that by the year 2000 it will be spoken by 200 million people.