Lisbon is the capital city of Portugal. It is located on the western coast of the country. Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world and one of the most multicultural. It is the country's economic, transportation, and cultural centre. Since the Middle Ages, Lisbon has been renowned for influencing other cities around the world. It is famous for its astounding medieval buildings and modern structures that stand side by side to complement each other. Some of the places that make it famous include the amazing ancient buildings, Belem Tower, Praca do Comercio, Art Galleries, Jeronimos Monastery, and the Castle of Sao Jorge.

Census in Portugal is done every 10 years and 2011 was the last time that it was conducted. The next census is scheduled for 2021 in Portugal. According to the 2011 census, Lisbon had a population of 547,733. Compared to other cities in Portugal, Lisbon is considered to be more diverse. According to the 2011 census, 96.3% of the population is white based in Lisbon. When it comes to religious beliefs, Lisbon is predominantly Catholic with a small percentage identifying as Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist. According to the data collected during the 2011 census, 81% of people in Lisbon identified themselves as Catholic, 0.6% as Muslim, 0.1% Hindu, 0.1% Jewish, 0.1% Buddhist and 0.1% Other religions. On the other hand, 6.8% of respondents declared that they followed no religion. Lisbon houses over half a million residents, who collectively speak several languages, including Portuguese, Mirandese, English, Spanish, and French. The Belem Tower is one of the most visited sites in Lisbon. It was built in the early 16th century and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

There are two tiers under local government in Lisbon. They are the City Council and the Municipal Assembly. The City Council is the executive body and the Municipal Assembly is the legislative body. The Mayor of Lisbon, who has executive powers, is elected every four years. The City Council is responsible for strategic planning, policing, the fire service, most aspects of transport and economic development. On the other hand, the 24 parishes in Lisbon are responsible for local services not overseen by the City Council, such as local planning, schools, social services, local roads and refuse collection. These parishes each have a council made up from representatives from political parties and single issue organizations elected every four years by local residents.

Lisbon has always been a commercial city and today enjoys the status of having one of the largest city economies in Portugal. The city thrives in trade and commerce and has a vibrant culture steeped in commerce. It has a GDP of over €64 billion, which is about 37 percent of Portugal's total GDP. The size of its economy is larger than that of many European regions. The Port of Lisbon handles 13.7 million tons of cargo every year.

Lisbon has made positive strides with its Lisbon Strategy 2020. It identifies a range of infrastructure priorities for Lisbon, from new energy, water and sewerage infrastructure, to enhanced digital connectivity and new subway, rail and road schemes. Some of the investment is provided by the private sector, through the privatized utilities. This has generally worked well in Lisbon, although business is particularly concerned at the lack of capacity in digital infrastructure. The take-up of high speed broadband by business is low compared to other world cities; and just over 15% of premises cannot access superfast broadband in the first place, with these not spots particularly prevalent in the City of Lisbon. Business sees these as priority areas for action by the Mayor.