Madeira is a sub-tropical archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and is an autonomous region of Portugal. The archipelago is made up of two populated islands, Madeira and Porto Santo, and two groups of unpopulated islands called the Desertas and Selvagens Islands. Geographically in Africa, it is an ultra- peripheral region of the European Union. It is perhaps best known as the birthplace of the Portuguese football (soccer) player Cristiano Ronaldo.