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Capitals of the world
Lisbon, capital of Portugal: facts and figures
Lisbon is the capital of Portugal. It has about 2,900,000 residents, which makes it the 53rd most populous capital of the 172 in DailyGeo's atlas, and it sits 64 m above sea level. Its nearest neighbouring capital is Madrid, 503 km away.
Key figures
| Figure | Value |
|---|---|
| Country | Portugal |
| Continent | Europe |
| City population | 2,900,000 residents |
| World rank by population | 53rd of 172 |
| Elevation | 64 m |
| Founded | not reported |
| Time zone | Europe/Lisbon |
| Coordinates | 38.72° N, 9.14° W |
| Country population | 10,804,871 residents |
| Country GDP | 346.6 billion US dollars |
| GDP per capita | $32,082 |
| Life expectancy | 82.4 years |
| Internet users | 88.5 % |
| Big Mac price | not reported |
Climate through the year
Lisbon averages 12.2 °C in winter and 21.6 °C in summer. January is the coldest month of the year and August the warmest, and the city receives 543 mm of precipitation in an average year.
| Month | Mean temperature |
|---|---|
| January | 11.4 °C |
| February | 12.3 °C |
| March | 13.4 °C |
| April | 15.4 °C |
| May | 18.1 °C |
| June | 20.1 °C |
| July | 22.1 °C |
| August | 22.5 °C |
| September | 21.1 °C |
| October | 18.8 °C |
| November | 14.9 °C |
| December | 12.9 °C |
What makes it stand out
- Winter: 2nd mildest capital in Europe (12.2 °C).
- Isolation: 3rd most isolated capital in Europe (503 km).
Nearest capitals
Distances are great-circle distances between city centres, which is what the Capitals game measures when it tells you how far a guess was from the answer. Madrid is the closest capital to Lisbon.
| Capital | Country | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Madrid | Spain | 503 km |
| Rabat | Morocco | 562 km |
| Andorra la Vella | Andorra | 993 km |
| Algiers | Algeria | 1,094 km |
| Paris | France | 1,453 km |
How to remember it
Reading a figure once rarely fixes it in memory. Attach Lisbon to a place and a number you already know: it is 503 km from Madrid, and it is the 53rd largest capital in the atlas. Then practise retrieving it. DailyGeo Capitals gives you one mystery capital a day with distance, direction, language and population clues, the memorising method explains the review schedule, and the capitals index lists all 172.
To see how Portugal compares with every other country on figures like these, the richest countries by GDP per capita ranks them on geopolitix, a country-ranking game by the same maker as DailyGeo.
Sources
- City population and coordinates: DailyGeo's own game data, the same figures the Capitals game plays with. Population follows the urban area rather than the commune, which is why no density is quoted.
- Temperature and rainfall: ten-year means (2015 to 2024) computed from ERA5 reanalysis, retrieved through Open-Meteo. Hersbach, H., et al. (2020). The ERA5 global reanalysis. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society.
- Elevation: terrain height at the city's coordinates in the Copernicus DEM, read through Open-Meteo rather than taken from a curated claim.
- Time zone: resolved from the same coordinates.
- Country figures: the World Bank, latest reported year for each series: Country GDP, GDP per capita, Country population, Life expectancy, Internet users.
- This capital elsewhere: Wikipedia, UNdata, Wikidata.
- Method and limits: How this data was collected explains how each figure was collected and what it does not cover.
The short answer
Lisbon is the capital of Portugal, in Europe, with about 2,900,000 residents, averaging 12.2 °C in winter and 21.6 °C in summer.
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Play today's DailyGeo puzzleFrequently asked questions
What is the capital of Portugal?
Lisbon is the capital of Portugal. It has about 2,900,000 residents and lies in Europe.
How many people live in Lisbon?
About 2,900,000, which ranks Lisbon 53rd of the 172 capitals in DailyGeo's atlas by city population.
What is the weather like in Lisbon?
Lisbon averages 12.2 °C in winter and 21.6 °C in summer, with 543 mm of precipitation a year. These are ten-year means from ERA5 reanalysis.
How expensive is Lisbon?
GDP per capita in the country is $32,082, the latest year the World Bank reports.
Keep learning
- Madrid, capital of Spain: facts and figures
Madrid is the capital of Spain: 6,700,000 residents, 667 m above sea level, 6.5 °C in winter and 25.9 °C in summer. Key figures and sources.
- Rabat, capital of Morocco: facts and figures
Rabat is the capital of Morocco: 1,900,000 residents, 18 m above sea level, 13.6 °C in winter and 22.9 °C in summer. Key figures and sources.
- Andorra la Vella, capital of Andorra: facts and figures
Andorra la Vella is the capital of Andorra: 22,000 residents, 1,173 m above sea level, 3.2 °C in winter and 18.8 °C in summer. Key figures and sources.
- Capitals of the world: the full list by continent
Every capital in DailyGeo's atlas, grouped by continent, with population, elevation and winter and summer temperatures, each linking to its own data page.