Geographical distribution of Portuguese speakers
This article provides details regarding the geographical distribution of all Portuguese-speakers, a.k.a. Lusophones, regardless of legislative status. The Portuguese language is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world and is an official language of countries on four continents.
Statistics
Native speakers
This table depicts the native speakers of the language, which means that the table includes people who have been exposed to the Portuguese language from birth and, thus, excludes people who use the language as a second language (L2).
Country or territory | Number | % | Year | Note | Reference(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Angola | 23,800,000 | 70% | 2023 | better source needed ]
| |
Australia | 52,222 | 0.2% | 2016 | [note 1] | [3] |
Belgium | 72,715 | 0.7% | 2012 | [note 2] | [4] |
Brazil | 203,000,000 | 97% | 2022 | [5] | |
Canada | 221,540 | 0.7% | 2016 | [6] | |
Cape Verde | 11,800 | 2.2% | 2016 | [7] | |
France | 1,089,497 | 1.7% | 2007 | [note 2] | [8] |
Germany | 105,116 | 0.1% | 2010 | [note 2] | [9] |
Ireland | 20,833 | 0.4% | 2016 | [10] | |
Luxembourg | 74,636 | 16% | 2011 | [11] | |
Macau (China) | 3,779 | 0.6% | 2016 | [note 1] | [12] |
Mexico | 15,300 | 0.2% | 2019 | [13][14] | |
Mozambique | 5,000,000 | 17% | 2020 | [15] | |
Netherlands | 47,848 | 0.3% | 2012 | [note 2] | [4] |
Portugal | 10,022,070 | 95% | 2012 | [note 2] | [4] |
São Tomé and Principe | 214,000 | 66% | 2022 | [16] | |
Switzerland | 309,270 | 3.7% | 2016 | [note 1] | [17] |
United Kingdom | 142,622 | 0.2% | 2011 | [18] | |
United States | 746,018 | 0.2% | 2016 | [note 1] | [19][20] |
Total | 240,661,428 | [21] |
Status by country
Continent | Country or territory | Status |
---|---|---|
Africa | Angola | Official |
Cape Verde | Official | |
Equatorial Guinea | Co-official with French and Spanish | |
Guinea-Bissau | Official | |
Mozambique | Official | |
Namibia | Minority | |
São Tomé and Príncipe | Official | |
South Africa | Minority | |
Asia | East Timor | Co-official with Tetum |
India | Minority in the state of Goa | |
Japan | Minority (see Brazilians in Japan) | |
Macau (China) | Co-official with Chinese | |
Malaysia | Minority in Malacca (see Kristang language) | |
Europe | Andorra | Minority |
France | Minority | |
Germany | Minority | |
Luxembourg | Minority | |
Portugal | Official | |
Spain | Minority in Olivenza | |
Switzerland | Minority | |
North America | Canada | Minority |
United States | Minority | |
Oceania | Australia | Minority |
South America | Brazil | Official (see Brazilian Portuguese) |
Paraguay | Minority | |
Uruguay | Minority | |
Venezuela | Minority |
Spread of Portuguese
During a period of Portuguese discoveries and through a large colonial empire, the language was spread to areas in Africa, the Americas, and Asia, beyond East Timor and Macau in the Far East. Portuguese-based creole languages also developed during this era.
Today, Portuguese continues to thrive outside the Lusophone world through the presence of large expat communities of
Europe
Portugal
Portuguese is spoken as a first language in Portugal (the language's namesake) by nearly all of the nation's 10.6 million people.[22] The ancestor of modern Portuguese, Galician–Portuguese,[clarification needed] began developing in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula, in an area encompassing present-day northern Portugal and Galicia, at around the 9th century. Modern Portuguese started developing in the early 16th century[clarification needed].
Galicia (Spain)
The region of Galicia in Spain is not exactly classified as Lusophone, but holds close ties to the Lusophony. The Galician language used to form a common dialect continuum with Portuguese during the Middle Ages, denominated as Galician–Portuguese by historians. Thus, efforts have been made by the Xunta de Galicia to promote cultural and linguistical interchange between Galicia and the Lusophone world,[23] such as the Euroregion between Galicia and North Portugal. The Consello da Cultura Galega (Council of Galician Culture) has been considered an observer member of the CPLP since 2016.[24]
Rest of Europe
Portuguese-speaking immigrants from Portuguese-speaking Africa, Brazil, Macau, and Portugal have also settled in Andorra (around 15,000 speakers), Belgium, France (around 500,000 speakers), Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. In Luxembourg, 19% of the population speaks Portuguese as mother tongue, making it the largest minority language by percentage in a Western European country.[25]
Africa
Angola
Portuguese is the sole official language of Angola, and 85% of the population profess fluency in the language.[26] Additionally, 75% of Angolan households speak Portuguese as their primary language, and native Bantu languages have been influenced by Portuguese through loanwords.[26]
Cape Verde
Similar to Guinea-Bissau, although Portuguese is the only official language, a Portuguese-based creole known as Cape Verdean Creole is spoken by the majority of the population. Most Cape Verdeans are fluent in Portuguese as well. Education and media are available largely in standard European Portuguese only.
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea was a Spanish colony between 1778 and 1968 and was originally a group of Portuguese colonies between 1474 and 1778. A
In 2007, President
Guinea-Bissau
Despite being the sole official language, only 50% of the population professes fluency in Portuguese.[29] However, a Portuguese-based creole called Guinea-Bissau Creole (Kriol) is spoken by nearly the whole population.
Mozambique
Portuguese is the sole official language of Mozambique and serves as a lingua franca between the various ethnic groups in the country. Slightly over 30% of the population are native speakers of Portuguese, while 65% profess fluency.[30] Most of Mozambican media is available solely in Portuguese, and the country receives several Portuguese and Brazilian television stations.
São Tomé and Príncipe
In São Tomé and Príncipe, Portuguese is by far the most spoken language, with around 95% of the population speaking it at home or professing fluency; 99.8% declared speaking Portuguese in the 1991 census. A Portuguese-based creole called
Rest of Africa
Large Portuguese-speaking communities are found in Namibia, South Africa, and Zambia due to immigration from the Lusophone African countries. Portuguese is also taught in the schools of these countries.
Americas
North America
There are more than 1.5 million
In
South America
Brazil
With a population of over 212 million, Brazil is by far the world's largest Portuguese-speaking nation and the only one in the Americas.[35] Portuguese was introduced during the Portuguese colonial period. Portuguese has also served as a lingua franca between the various ethnic groups in Brazil and the native Amerindian population[36] after the Jesuits were expelled from every Portuguese territory and the languages associated with them prohibited.
Portuguese is the first language of the overwhelming majority of Brazilians, at 99.5%.[37]
The form of Portuguese spoken in South America is somewhat different from that spoken in Europe, with differences in vocabulary and grammar that can be compared to the differences between American and British English,[38] but with somewhat different phonology and prosody from the remaining Portuguese-speaking countries. Nevertheless, European and Brazilian Portuguese are completely mutually intelligible[clarification needed]. The vast majority of Brazilian characteristics are also found in some rural, remote Portuguese registers[clarification needed] (or the African and Asian ones, indicating an Old Portuguese feature lost in Europe),[39] while nearly all distinctive European characteristics can be found in any major dialect of Brazil (such as fluminense, specially its carioca sociolect, and florianopolitano), due to a stronger or more recent Portuguese and other European immigration.[clarification needed]
Rest of South America
Although Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in
In Guyana and Venezuela, there are communities of Portuguese immigrants (mostly Madeirans) and their descendants who speak Portuguese as their native language.[40]
Given the similarities between Spanish and Portuguese, a colloquial mix of both, unofficially called "Portuñol" or "Portunhol", is spoken by large number of people travelling between Brazil and its Spanish-speaking neighbours. People living in the border areas usually like Paraguay and Uruguay mix the two languages in their daily conversation, a phenomenon similar to Spanglish for Latinos living in the United States.
Asia
East Timor and Indonesia
Portuguese is co-official with Tetum in East Timor and was introduced during the colonial period. A little under 39% of the population professes fluency in Portuguese, and their number is steadily growing. Meanwhile, on the Indonesian side, it is rare to hear a Portuguese speaker because it lost in competition with the local language after becoming a Dutch colony in 18th century. The local Tetum language has been heavily influenced by Portuguese through loanwords, and code-switching between the two languages is common.[41]
Goa (India)
Portuguese is present in the Indian state of
Portuguese rule in
Portuguese people were also present in the area of Vasai, previously Bassein or Bacaim since 1560 until 1739. Though the Portuguese were defeated by Marathas, there are some words which are used by the locals which were borrowed from the Portuguese language. Today there is a large Catholic population, and many churches built during those days are still being used for worship.
Macau
Due to the
Rest of Asia
Portuguese is spoken in
In Malacca, Malaysia, a Portuguese creole known as Papiá Kristang or Cristão is still spoken by some of the Eurasian population.
See also
- Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP)
- Glossary of Japanese words of Portuguese origin
- Latin America
- List of countries and territories where Portuguese is an official language
- List of international organisations which have Portuguese as an official language
- List of topics on the Portuguese East Indies
- Luso-American
- Portuguese creole
- Portuguese dialects
- Portuguese language
- Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP)
- Latin Europe
- World Portuguese Language Day
Notes
- ^ a b c d The reported population size was obtained by projecting the respondent percentage to the total population, since the source either included the part of the population who did not answer or did not take into account some parts of the population, for example children.
- ^ a b c d e Population data by Eurostat, using the source year."The number of persons having their usual residence in a country on 1 January of the respective year". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2018-11-08.[dead link]
References
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- ^ a b "A língua portuguesa". Linguaportuguesa.ufrn.br. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
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