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The political origin of the Portuguese state can be traced back to the founding of the County of Portugal in 868. However, it was not until the Battle of São Mamede (1128) that Portugal gained international recognition as a kingdom through the Treaty of Zamora and the papal bullManifestis Probatum. This establishment of the Portuguese state in the 12th century paved the way for the Portuguese people to unite as a nation.[95][96][97]
The Portuguese played an important role in sailing, and
conquest of Ceuta, the Portuguese began to play a significant role in the Age of Discovery, which culminated in a colonial empire, considered as one of the first global empires and one of the world's major economic, political and military powers in the 15th and 16th centuries, with territories that are now part of numerous countries.[98][99][100] Portugal helped to the subsequent domination of Western civilization by other neighboring European nations.[101][102][103][100]
Due to the large historical extent from the 16th century of the Portuguese Empire and the subsequent colonization of territories in Asia, Africa and the Americas, as well as historical and recent emigration, Portuguese dispersed to different parts of the world.[104]
The name Portugal, from which the Portuguese take their name, is a compound name that comes from the Latin word Portus (meaning port) and a second word Cale, whose meaning and origin are unclear. Cale is probably a reminder of the Gallaeci (also known as Callaeci), a Celtic tribe that lived in the area today part of Northern Portugal.
There is also the possibility that the name comes from the early settlement of Cale (today's Gaia), situated on the mouth of the Douro River on the Atlantic coast (Portus Cale). The name Cale seems to come from the Celts – perhaps from one of their specifications, Cailleach – but which, in everyday life, was synonymous with shelter, anchorage or door.[128] Among other theories, some suggest that Cale may stem from the Greek word for "beautiful" kalós. Another theory for Portugal postulates a French derivation, Portus Gallus[129] "port of the Gauls".
During the Middle Ages, the area around Cale became known through the Visigoths as Portucale. Portucale could have evolved in the 7th and 8th centuries, to become Portugale, or Portugal, from the 9th century. The term denoted the area between the Douro and Minho rivers.[130]
Aroeira 3 skull of 400,000-year-old Homo heidelbergensis found in 2014. The oldest trace of human history in Portugal
The Portuguese are a Southwestern European population, with origins predominantly from
mtDNA data suggests that modern-day Portuguese trace a proportion of these lineages to the paleolithic peoples who began settling the European continent between the end of the last glaciation
Northern Iberia is believed to have been a major Ice age refuge from which Paleolithic humans later colonized Europe. Migrations from what is now northern Iberia during the Paleolithic and Mesolithic link modern Iberians to the populations of much of Western Europe, and particularly the British Isles and Atlantic Europe.[131]
Y-chromosome
Atlantic Modal Haplotype (AMH). This haplotype reaches the highest frequencies in the Iberian Peninsula and in the British Isles. In Portugal it reckons generally 65% in the South summing 87% northwards, and in some regions 96%.[133]
The Neolithiccolonization of Europe from Western Asia and the Middle East, beginning around 10,000 years ago, reached Iberia as well as it had previously reached the rest of the continent, although according to the demic diffusion model its impact was greatest in the southern and eastern regions of the European continent.[134]
The Celts and the arrival of the Indo-Europeans
A simplified map of archaeological cultures of the late Bronze Age (c. 1200 BC):
autosomal component was detected in modern Europeans which was not present in the Neolithic or Mesolithic, and which entered into Europe with paternal lineages R1b and R1a, as well as the Indo-European languages.[135][136][137]
Indo-European migrations
The first immigrations of Indo-European languages speakers were later followed by waves of
Celts. The Celts arrived in the territory that is today Portugal about 3,000 years ago[138] even though the migration phenomenon was particularly intense from the 7th to the 5th centuries BC.[139][140]
These two processes defined Iberia's, and Portugal's, cultural landscape "Continental in the northwest and Mediterranean towards the southeast", as historian José Mattoso describes it.[141]
The northwest–southeast cultural shift also shows in genetic differences: based on 2016 findings,
Atlantic façade, including the Cantabrian Coast and Portugal. It displays the highest frequency in Galicia
(northwestern corner of Iberia). The frequency of haplogroup H shows a decreasing trend from the Atlantic façade toward the Mediterranean regions.
This finding adds strong evidence where Galicia and Northern Portugal was found to be a cul-de-sac population, a kind of European edge for a major ancient central European migration. Therefore, there is an interesting pattern of genetic continuity existing along the Cantabria coast and Portugal, a pattern that has been observed previously when minor sub-clades of the mtDNA phylogeny were examined.[143]
Given the origins from Paleolithic and Neolithic settlers, as well as
Celts, before gaining full independence from them. The Romanian archaeologistScarlat Lambrino [ro], active in Portugal for many years, proposed that they were originally a tribal Celtic group, related to the Lusones.[150]
Proto-Balto-Slavic may have developed east of the Carpathian Mountains, in present-day Ukraine, moving north and spreading with the Corded Ware culture in Middle Europe (third millennium BCE). One theory postulates that a European branch of Indo-European dialects, termed "North-west Indo-European" and associated with the Bell Beaker culture, may have been ancestral to not only Celtic and Italic, but also to Germanic and Balto-Slavic.[151]
The Celtic root of the Lusitanians and their language, is further emphasized by recent research by the
Max Planck Institute on the origins of Indo-European languages. This comprehensive genetic-linguistic study, identifies one common Celtic branch of peoples and languages spanning most of Atlantic Europe, including Lusitania, at around 7,000 BC. This new work contradicts previous theories which excluded Lusitanian from the Celtic linguistic family.[152]
In Roman times, the original Roman province of Lusitania was extended north of the areas occupied by the Lusitanians to include the territories of Asturias and Gallaecia but these were soon ceded to the jurisdiction of the Provincia Tarraconensis in the north, while the south remained the Provincia Lusitania et Vettones. After this, Lusitania's northern border was along the Douro river, while its eastern border passed through Salmantica and Caesarobriga to the Anas (Guadiana) river.
Other Pre-Roman groups (excluding Lusitanians)
Map showing the main pre-Roman tribes in Portugal and their main migrations. Turduli movement in red, Celtici in brown and Lusitanian in a blue colour. Most tribes neighbouring the Lusitanians were dependent on them. Names are in Latin.
As the Lusitanians fought fiercely against the Romans for independence, the name Lusitania was adopted by the Gallaeci, tribes living north of the Douro, and other closely surrounding tribes, eventually spreading as a label to all the nearby peoples fighting Roman rule in the west of Iberia. It was for this reason that the Romans came to name their original province in the area, that initially covered the entire western side of the Iberian peninsula, Lusitania.
Here is a list of the tribes, often known by their Latin names, who were living in the area of modern Portugal prior to Roman rule:
Luanqui– living between the rivers Tâmega and Tua;
Lima
, on the border between Portugal and Galicia;
Narbasi– living in the north of modern Portugal (interior) and nearby area of southern Galicia;
Nemetati– living north of the Douro Valley in the area of Mondim;
Oestriminis also referred to as Sefes and supposedly linked to the Cempsii [pt].[153] There is not a consensus regarding their exact origins and location. They are believed to have been the first known humans to inhabit the whole Atlantic margin covering Portugal and Galicia, the people from ‘Finis terrae’ at the end of the Western world.[154][155]
Paesuri– a dependent tribe of the Lusitanians, living between the rivers Douro and Vouga;
Quaquerni– living in the mountains at the mouths of rivers Cávado and Tâmega;
Seurbi– living between the rivers Cávado and Lima (or even reaching the river Minho);
Tamagani– from the area of Chaves, near the river Tâmega;
Tapoli– another dependent tribe of the Lusitanians, living north of the river Tagus, on the border between modern Portugal and Spain;
Zoelae– living in the mountains of Serra da Nogueira [pt], Sanabria and Culebra, up to the mountains of Mogadouro in northern Portugal and adjacent areas of Galicia.
Since 193 B.C., the Lusitanians had been fighting Rome and its expansion into the peninsula following the defeat and occupation of Carthage in North Africa. They defended themselves bravely for years, causing the Roman invaders serious defeats although, in the end they were severely punished by PraetorServius Galba in 150 B.C. Springing a clever trap, he killed 9,000 Lusitanians and later sold 20,000 more as slaves further northeast in the newly conquered Roman provinces in Gaul (modern France).
The inhabitants of the Lusitanian cities, in a manner similar to those of the rest of the Roman-Iberian peninsula, eventually gained the status of "Citizens of Rome". During the last centuries of the Roman colonization many saints venerated by the Catholic church emerged from the territory of modern-day Portugal. These include Saint Engrácia, Saint Quitéria and Saint Marina of Aguas Santas among others.
The Reconquista Timetable and expulsion of the Moors.
The
Arab and Berber genetic influence throughout most of Iberia, with higher incidence in the south and west, and lower incidence in the northeast; almost nonexistent in the Basque Country.[173][174][111][112]
The political origin of the Portuguese state is in the founding of County of Portugal in 868 (Portuguese: Condado Portucalense; in documents of the period the name used was Portugalia[181]). It was the first time in its history that a cohesive nationalism emerged, as even during the Roman Era, the indigenous populations were from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
Although the country was established as a county in 868, it was only after the Battle of São Mamede on 24 June 1128 that Portugal was officially recognised as a kingdom in virtue of the Treaty of Zamora and the papal bullManifestis Probatum of Pope Alexander III. The establishment of the Portuguese state in the 12th century paved the way for the Portuguese to group together as a nation.[95][96][97]
Geographical distribution of Haplogroup R1b (Y-DNA), R1b1a1a2 (R-M269)
The Portuguese have a unique characteristic among world populations: a high frequency of HLA-A25-B18-DR15 and A26-B38-DR13, which may reflect a still detectable founder effect coming from ancient Portuguese, i.e., Oestriminis and Cynetes.[183] According to an early genetic study, the Portuguese are a relatively distinct population according to HLA data, as they have a high frequency of the HLA-A25-B18-DR15 and A26-B38-DR13 genes, the latter being a unique Portuguese marker. In Europe, the A25-B18-DR15 gene is only found in Portugal, and it is also observed in white North Americans and in Brazilians (very likely of Portuguese ancestry).[184]
The pan-European haplotype A1-B8-DR3 and the western-European haplotype A29-B44-DR7 are shared by Portuguese, Basques and Spaniards. The latter is also common in Irish, southern English, and western French populations.[184]
Culturally and linguistically, the Portuguese are close to the Galicians who live in northwestern Spain.[186][187][188][189] The similarities among the two groups are very pronounced and some people claim that Galician and Portuguese are, in fact, the same language (see also: Reintegrationism).[190][191]
There are around 9.15 million Portuguese-born people in Portugal,[192] out of a total population of 10.467 million[193] (87.4%).
Concerning citizenship, there are about 782,000 foreigners legally living in the country (7.47%), thus approximately 9.685 million people living in Portugal hold Portuguese citizenship or legal residency.[194]
With respect to the infant mortality rate, Portugal boasts one of the lowest in the world (2.6%), attesting to a significant improvement in living conditions since 1961, when 8.9% of newborns would die.[200] The average age of women at first childbirth stands at 29.9 years, in contrast to the EU average of 28.2.[201]
About 66.85% of the population lives in urban settings, with the population being unevenly distributed and concentrated along the coast and in the Lisbon metropolitan area, where 2,883,645, or 27.67% of the population, live.[202][203]
About 64.88% of the national population, or 6,760,989 people, live in the 56 municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, about 18.2% of all national municipalities. On the other hand, there are 122 municipalities, about 39.6% of all national municipalities, with a population of 10,000 inhabitants or less, totaling 678,855 inhabitants, about 6.51% of the national population.
The main language spoken as first language by the overwhelming majority of the population is Portuguese.[204] Other autochthonous languages spoken include:
Barranquenhu (see also Barranquenho), spoken in the town of Barrancos (in the border between Extremadura and Andalusia, in Spain, and Portugal). As of today, there are about 3,000 speakers of the language (0.03%).[216] It is a dialect of Portuguese heavily influenced by Extremaduran and, more recently, southern Spanish.
Minde, practically extinct. There are about 150 speakers left[217][218]
, and there are now approximately 60,000 Ukrainian refugees in Portugal, making them the second migrant community in Portugal, after Brazil's.
[222][223]
Portugal is also home to other EU and EEA/EFTA nationals (French, Germans, Dutch, Swedes, Spaniards). The UK and France represented the largest senior residents communities in the country as of 2019, they are part of a larger expatriate community including Germans, Dutch, Belgians and Swedes as well.[227]
Officially registered foreigners accounted to 7.3% of the population,[194] with the tendency to increase further.[228] These include both citizens born in Portugal with foreign citizenship and foreign immigrants. Descendants of immigrants are excluded (Portugal, like many European countries, does not collect data on ethnicity) and those who, regardless of place of birth or citizenship at birth, were Portuguese citizens (see also Portuguese nationality law).
Dealing with religious minorities, there are also about 100,000
Flag map of the most common foreign nationality in Portugal per each district. One can see the importance of the Brazilian immigration as well as the influx of Venezuelans in Madeira, Britons in Algarve and Indians in Beja
Flag map of the second most common foreign nationality in Portugal in every district. Cape Verdeans are present in Lisbon Area, Italians in Porto while Britons and Romanians in the interior.
Flag map of the fourth most common foreign nationality in Portugal in every district. Angolans and Eastern Europeans (such as Ukrainians in Santarém) are present nationwide
Flag map of the fifth most common foreign nationality in Portugal in every district. One can appreciate the presence of the Chinese near the Spanish border and the prevalence of Europeans along the coast
Coat of arms associated with Silva surname; approximately 1/10 of the population bears this surname
A Portuguese surname is typically composed of a variable number of
family names (rarely one, often two or three, sometimes more). The first additional names are usually the mother's family surname(s) and the father's family surname(s). For practicality, usually only the last surname (excluding prepositions
) is used in formal greetings.
Portugal has a highly adaptable naming system that complies with the country's legal framework. The law mandates that a child must be given at least one personal name and one surname from either parent. Additionally, there is a limit to the number of names that can be given, which is set at a maximum of two personal names and four surnames.[236]
In pre-Roman times, the inhabitants of what is now Portugal had either a single name or a name followed by a patronym, which reflected their ethnicity or the tribe/region they belonged to. These names could be
(blond). Toponymic, locative, and religion-derived surnames are often preceded by the preposition 'of' in its varying forms:
(De, de), (Do, do- masculine), (Da, da- feminine) or 'of the' (dos, Dos, das, Das – plural) such as De Carvalho, Da Silva, de Gouveia, Da Costa, da Maia, do Nascimento, dos Santos, das Mercês. If the preposition is followed by a vowel, sometimes apostrophes are used in surnames (or stage names) such as D'Oliveira, d'Abranches, d'Eça. In some previous Portuguese colonies in Asia (India, Malaysia, East Timor) there are alternative spellings such as 'D'Souza, Desouza, De Cunha, Ferrao, Dessais, Balsemao, Conceicao, Gurjao, Mathias, Thomaz.
Below there is a list of the most frequent 25 surnames in Portugal; the "percent frequency" figures are higher than one might expect because the majority of Portuguese individuals have multiple surnames. To illustrate, if we assume that surname distribution is relatively uniform (at least for those with high frequency), we can infer that roughly 0.5626% (9.44 x 0.0596) of the Portuguese population carries both the surnames Silva and Santos simultaneously.[237][238][239]
Portuguese coat of arms and sign – commending the property and hospital to Anthony of Lisbon – outside the Church of Sant'Antonio dei Portoghesi, Rome; the Portuguese presence in Europe outside of Portugal, has had many reasons such as economic, cultural and religious (up). Santa Cruz Church, Thon Buri District, Bangkok, Constructed by Portuguese monks in the 18th Century (down)
Overview
Portugal has traditionally been a land of emigration: according to estimates, in the whole world there could easily be more than one hundred million people with recognizable Portuguese ancestors, with Portuguese diasporas found everywhere, in many diverse regions around the globe in all continents. Due to the extent of the phenomenon and lack of sources dealing with statistics dating hundreds of years ago, the total number of people of Portuguese descent is hard to estimate.[240][241][242]
The extension of the phenomenon is due to explorations carried in the 15th and 16th centuries as well as to the subsequent
China in 1999. As a consequence, during those 600 years, millions of people left Portugal. As a result of inter-ethnic marriage and cultural influences, dialects based on Portuguese have occurred both in the former colonies (e.g. Forro) and in other countries (e.g. Papiamentu
).
In addition, a considerable segment of the Portuguese communities abroad is due to recent mass emigration phenomena, mainly driven by economic reasons, dating to the 19th and 20th centuries. In fact, between 1886 and 1966 Portugal, after Ireland, was the second Western European country to lose more people to emigration.[244]
From the middle of the 19th century to the late 1950s, nearly two million Portuguese left Europe to live mainly in Brazil and with significant numbers to the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.[245] About 1.2 million Brazilian citizens are native Portuguese.[246] Significant verified Portuguese minorities exist in several countries (see table below).[247]
By 1989 some 4,000,000 Portuguese citizens were living abroad, mainly in France, Germany, Brazil, South Africa, Canada, Venezuela, and the United States.[248] Estimates from 2021 point that as much as 5 million Portuguese citizens (thus not taking into account descendants or citizens not registered within the Portuguese consular authorities) may be living abroad.[249]
Within Europe, substantial concentrations of Portuguese may be found in Francophone countries like France, Luxembourg and Switzerland, spurred in part by the linguistic proximity that exists between the Portuguese and the French language. In fact, according to data from the General Directorate of Consular Affairs and Portuguese Communities of the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the countries with the largest Portuguese communities are, in ascending order of demographic importance, France, the UK and Switzerland.[250]
Generally speaking, Portuguese diaspora communities often feel a strong bond to the land of their ancestors, their language, their culture and their national dishes such as cod.
"The Banishment of the Jews", by Alfredo Roque Gameiro, in Quadros da História de Portugal ("Pictures of the History of Portugal", 1917)
Dating back many centuries, descendants of Portuguese
Sephardi Jews are found everywhere in the world, with notable communities having settled in significant numbers in Israel, the Netherlands, the United States, France, Venezuela, Brazil and Turkey
.
The Expulsion
The Portuguese Jewish diaspora was mainly a result of the
In memoriam of the expulsion of the Jews from Porto.
It is believed that up to 10,000 Portuguese-Jews might have migrated to France from 1497; this phenomenon remained noticeable up until the 1600s, when the Netherlands became a favourite choice.[255][256]
The Netherlands and England became in fact top destinations for Portuguese-Jewish emigrants due to the absence of the
During the Shoah, nearly 4,000 Jews of Portuguese descent residing in the Netherlands lost their lives, making up the largest group of casualties with a Portuguese background in the Nazi German genocide.[267][268] Among famous Portuguese-Jewish victims of the Shoah is painter Baruch Lopes Leão de Laguna. It is worth highlighting that, although officially neutral, the Portuguese regime at that time, Estado Novo, aligned with Germany's ideology and failed to fully protect its citizens and other Jewish people living overseas.[269][270][271] Despite the lack of support by the Portuguese authorities, some Jews of both Portuguese[272] and non-Portuguese descent, were saved thanks to the actions of individual citizens such as Carlos Sampaio Garrido, Joaquim Carreira, José Brito Mendes and the well known case of Aristides de Sousa Mendes,[273] who alone helped 34,000 Jews escaping Nazi violence.[274]
Portuguese-Jews nowadays
Over 500 years after the expulsion decree, in 2015 the Portuguese parliament officially acknowledged the expulsion of its citizens of Jewish descent as unrightful. To try and make up for long-lasting historical injustices, the government passed a law known as "Law of Return".[275] The law aimed to right the historic wrongs of the Portuguese Inquisition, which resulted in the expulsion or forced conversion of thousands of Jews from Portugal in the 15th and 16th centuries. The law grants citizenship to any descendants of those persecuted Jews able to confirm their Sephardic Jewish ancestry and a "connection" to Portugal. It is intended to provide a measure of justice and recognition to those whose families suffered from discrimination and persecution five centuries prior.[276][277][278][279]
Since 2015, more than 140,000 people of Sephardic descent, from 60 countries (mostly from Israel or Turkey) applied for Portuguese citizenship.[280][281][282][283] Unfortunately, soon after this law was approved, it transpired that a number of foreigners with no legitimate historical Sephardic links were granted Portuguese citizenship, among those, Russian oligarchRoman Abramovich became Portuguese – thus EU – citizens under the new law. Due to cases of abuse and loopholes in this law which was meant as reparation towards a minority, the judiciary was prompted to intervene and review this law.[284][285][286][287]
Notable people of Portuguese-Jewish descent include:
Grace Aguilar (1816–1847): English novelist, poet and writer on Jewish history and religion
Neo-Impressionist painter considered the "dean of the Impressionist painters"[288]
Francis Lewis Cardozo (1836–1903): American clergyman, politician, and educator. When elected in South Carolina as Secretary of State in 1868, he was the first African American to hold a statewide office in the United States
The United States has had bilateral relations with Portugal since its early years. After the American Revolutionary War, Portugal became the first neutral country to acknowledge the United States.[291]
Despite Portugal never colonizing—nor attempting to colonize—the current territory of the United States of America, navigators such as
Mathias de Sousa, who was potentially a Sephardic Jew of mixed African background, is believed to be the first documented Portuguese resident of colonial United States.[296] Additionally, one of the earliest Portuguese Jews in the United States, Isaac Touro, is commemorated in the name of the country's oldest synagogue, the Touro Synagogue.
Despite the relations between the two countries dating hundreds of years, the Portuguese started to settle in significant numbers only in the 19th century, with major migration waves occurring in the first half of the 20th century, especially from the Azores.[297][298][299][300] Of the 1,4 million Portuguese Americans found in the nation today (0.4% of the US population) the majority of them are originally from the Azores. Not only the arrival of Azorean emigrants was easier because of geographic proximity, but it was also encouraged by the Azorean Refugee Act of 1958, sponsored by Massachusetts senator John F. Kennedy and Rhode Island senator John Pastore so as to help the population affected by the 1957–58, the Capelinhos volcano eruption.[301][302][303] Moreover, it is noteworthy that the 1965 Immigration Act stated that if someone had legal or American relatives in the United States who could serve as a sponsor, they could be given the status of legal aliens. This act dramatically increased Portuguese immigration into the 1970s and 1980s.[304]
Major Portuguese communities are found in New Jersey (particularly in Newark), the New England states, California and along the Gulf Coast (Louisiana). Springfield, Illinois once possessed the largest Portuguese community in the Midwest.[305] In the Pacific, Hawaii (see Portuguese immigration to Hawaii) has a sizable Portuguese population, encouraged by the availability of labor contracts on the islands 150 years ago.[306]
The Portuguese community in the US is the second largest in the Americas after the one found in Brazil.
Canada
See also:
subway station
in Toronto (down), both in Canada
Canada, particularly Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, has developed a significant Portuguese community since the 1940s. The availability of more job opportunities in Canada attracted a significant number of Portuguese migrants, leading to the flourishing of Portuguese culture in the subsequent decade. Many Portuguese residents took the initiative to purchase homes and establish their own businesses, resulting in contributing to the Canadian cultural landscape.
According to the
2016 Census, there were 482,610, or 1.4% of Canadians, who claimed full or partial Portuguese ancestry.[307]
Two major neighbourhoods where the Portuguese heritage is particularly present include Little Portugal, in both Toronto and Montréal. Montréal's Little Portugal, known as "Petit Portugal" in French, is adorned with numerous Portuguese shops, restaurants, and cafes, and it is also home to "Parc du Portugal" (Portugal's park), embellished with vibrant murals and elements inspired by Portuguese design.[308][309]
Portuguese Canadians are proud of their heritage and, despite the geographical distance between the two countries, interest towards the language remains vivid.[310][311][312] Recent statistics reveal that the Portuguese language is spoken by over 330,000 Canadians, making up around 1% of the population.[313] It is considered one of the most significant cultural contributions that the Portuguese have made to Canada, adding to its diversity and enriching the country as a whole.[314][315][316]
Despite the growth the community has seen in the 20th century, significant testimonies of the Portuguese presence in Canada include the name of one of the
King Henry VII coined the name "New found land" for the territory explored by Sebastian and John Cabot.. In Portuguese, the land is known as Terra Nova, which translates to "new land," and is also referred to as Terre-Neuve in French, the name for the province's island region. The name Terra Nova is commonly used on the island, including in the name of Terra Nova National Park. The influence of early Portuguese exploration is evident in the name of Labrador, which is derived from the surname of Portuguese navigatorJoão Fernandes Lavrador.[317] Other remnants of early Portuguese exploration include toponyms such as Baccalieu (from bacalhau, Portuguese for codfish) and Portugal Cove. Portuguese cartographer Diogo Ribeiro is responsible for one of the earliest maps depicting the territory of modern-day Canada.[318]
The Caribbean
There are Portuguese influenced people with their own Portuguese-influenced culture and
population of the West Indies
and today their descendants form an active minority in many countries across the region.
In the Caribbean territories of Overseas France there are about 4,000 Portuguese people, especially in Saint Barthélemy (where they constitute about a third of the population), Guadeloupe and Martinique.[341][342][343]
Portuguese heritage is still very tangible in Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. In the three territories, the official language, Papiamentu, retains numerous Portuguese elements.
Moreover, the North Atlantic archipelago of Bermuda (10%[344] to 25%[345] of the population) has had sustained immigration especially from the Azores, as well as from Madeira and the Cape Verde Islands since the 1840s.[346]
Latin America (excluding Brazil)
Forcados are a Portuguese tradition in Tequixquiac, Mexico
Mexico (see
Durango and Torreon. Santiago Tequixquiac, due to its natural conditions and its lime and stone mining deposits, was a place of settlement for Portuguese Crypto-Jews during the colonial period, they were brought there together with the Tlaxcalans and peninsular Spaniards to appease the Otomi indigenous people, in that town. Many Lusitanian cultural traits were preserved throughout the 19th century, such as forcados, gastronomy, some Sephardic customs and the surnames of its inhabitants. Every year dozens of young people seek to experience the adventure of catching a bull in the bullring, and one of the Portuguese traditions that prevail in Mexico.[348] A notable Portuguese-Mexican Jew was Francisca Nuñez de Carabajal, executed by burning at the stake by the Inquisition for judaizing
Venezuela has the biggest number of Portuguese people in Latin America after Brazil (see Portuguese Venezuelans) . Portuguese started arriving to Venezuela in the early and middle 20th century as economic immigrants particularly from Madeira.[350] In Venezuela about 1.3 million people (4.61% of the population) is of Portuguese descent.[350] The emigration towards Venezuela occurred mainly in the 1940s and 1950s. The extense Luso-Venezuelan community includes personalities such as María Gabriela de Faría, Marjorie de Sousa, Vanessa Gonçalves, Kimberly Dos Ramos and Laura Gonçalves.
Colombia did not witness mass Portuguese immigration, since the Portuguese tended to move to countries where immigration was not curbed but promoted, such as Brazil and Venezuela. Although Portuguese may have explored the area during the Age of Discovery, there is not evidence that they established communities in nowadays Colombia. It is noteworthy that Colombia was under full Spanish sovereignty, as defined by the Treaty of Tordesillas. The Portuguese embassy in Bogota estimates that there are around 800 Portuguese nationals who live in Colombia, although the numbers could be much higher as Portuguese are not obliged to register their presence within consulates abroad. The number of people of Portuguese ancestry is not known, but it is safe to assume that they have integrated very well in the Colombian society and are indistinguishable, except for some surnames, from other Colombians.[351][352]
In Peru, Portuguese immigration gradually began at the time of the Viceroyalty of Peru until the beginning of the 19th century, without being massive. Many sailors who traveled along the Peruvian coast, and later entered the country following the route from the Atlantic through the Amazon River established themselves in Peru, intermarrying with local people. There are also records of Luso-Brazilians in the cities surrounding the Brazil-Peru border. Although the number of Portuguese citizens in Peru is not high (about 2,000 people),[353] Peruvians with Portuguese ancestors could easily be as much as 1 million people, including direct and indirect descendants, which represents about 3% of the national total.[354] A famous Peruvian of Portuguese descent is popular TV presenter Janet Barboza [es].
Portuguese Uruguayans) and Chile numbers around 255,000 people combined[355][356][357]
(0.37% of the population of the region).
In particular, Portuguese Uruguayans are mainly of Azorean descent[358] even though Portuguese presence in the country dates back to the colonal times, in particular to the establishment of Colonia del Sacramento by the Portuguese in 1680,[359] which eventually turned into a regional center of smuggling. Other Portuguese entered Uruguay as Brazilians of Portuguese descent, who crossed the border into the country ever since it became independent from Brazil itself. During the second half of the 19th century and part of the 20th, several additional Portuguese immigrants arrived; the last wave was during 1930–1965.[360][361] As of 2021, 3,069[362] Portuguese citizens have registered as residing in Uruguay within Portuguese authorities. In addition to Portuguese citizens, there are also many luso-descendants (lusodescendentes) whose numbers are hard to estimate.[363][355]
stevedores, and porters, were already present in these areas. During the 1970s, they began to organize themselves ethnically, and over the following decades, community life, including mutual support organizations, clubs, and newspapers, became more active.[364][365] A popular member of the Portuguese community in Argentina was best-selling author Silvina Bullrich
.
Africa
See also:
Mozambique, and by the 1970s, there were up to 1 million Portuguese settlers living in their overseas African provinces.[366] Minor communities also settled in Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe, Portuguese influences are still found in these countries, where Portuguese enjoys the status of official language
.
Following the
Retornados
(literally, those who came back).
Other Portuguese moved to South Africa, Brazil, Botswana and Algeria.[368][369][370][371][372] In particular, in South Africa there is now the largest Portuguese community in the continent, numbering about 700,000 people (more than the city of Lisbon itself).
Portuguese descendants still make up a significant minority in the former colonies where, as a result of intermarriage and cultural influences, they form the bulk of Mestiços (Mixed African-European people).[373][374][375][376]
In Europe outside of Portugal
France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, Andorra and Switzerland
According to the most recent estimates of both Eurostat and INE, around 15.4% of Portuguese people are fluent in French.[381][382] Although relatively popular still, French has been dwindling, and English is taught in schools as a global language. For instance, in 2005 the proportion of Portuguese adults fluent in French stood at 24%[383] which indicates a clear decline in younger speakers. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy noticing that 70% of middle school students study French.[384] French media are widely available in Portugal (newspapers, magazines, radio stations and TV channels) and many libraries still offer a French-language section.
Some Portuguese migration to the more affluent French speaking countries in Europe exists, although not as significant as in post-WWII decades.
Between France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, Andorra and Switzerland there are more than 2,260,000 Portuguese citizens and, taking int account People with Portuguese ancestry not holding Portuguese nationality their numbers could easily soar up to 2,7 million: for instance, France alone hosts 450,000 Luso-descendants or lusodescendentes. In fact, with more than 1,55 million Portuguese citizens[385] and up to 2 million people of Portuguese descent,[386] France hosts, by far, the largest community of Portuguese people outside of Portugal, second only to Brazil (see Portuguese in France).
There are records of Portuguese people living in France since the early centuries of the Portuguese kingdom, notably merchants but also
From the 1960s, the economic stagnation of Brazil, a traditional destination, measures taken by France to attract Portuguese workers, António de Oliveira Salazar's dictatorship and the colonial wars, were all factors that contributed to 1,000,000 people fleeing Portugal and going to France from 1960 to 1974.[389][390][391][392][393] After 1974, despite remaining a major destination for Portuguese migrants, Portuguese nationals have started moving to Luxembourg and Monaco (1980s), Switzerland (1990s) and – increasingly – Belgium and Andorra (2000s). This is also due to the tightening control of immigration by French authorities following the 1973 oil crisis.[394][395][396][397]
Portuguese constitute 23.4% of the population of Luxembourg, which makes them one of the largest ethnic groups as a proportion of the total national population, second only to native Luxembourgers(see Portuguese in Luxembourg). Andorra is inhabited by 16,300 Portuguese nationals (19.4% of the population)[398][399],Monaco hosts around 1,000 Portuguese nationals (3.3% of the Population)[400] while Belgium is home to around 80,000 Portuguese nationals (0.7% of the population).[401]
In Switzerland, Portuguese have settled mainly in Romandy. In fact, while official figures suggest that Portuguese is spoken by 5% of the population of Switzerland as a whole at home - by comparison Italian, an official language of Switzerland, is spoken by 8.8% - the figure rises to 10.1% in French speaking Switzerland, thus making Portuguese the most spoken language in the region's households, second only to French. Around 460,000 Portuguese nationals live in the country according to the latest estimates (5.3% of Switzerland's population).[402]
Despite Portuguese migration towards these countries has steadily declined over the years, from 2003 to 2022 around 615,000 Portuguese nationals have moved towards these countries, especially during the years following the 2008 financial crisis. Interestingly, as of 2021 around 40% has returned to Portugal, in particular after 2015, when the economic outlook the Mediterranean country bettered significantly.[403]
Immigration of Portuguese nationals in Belgium, France, Luxembourg and Switzerland
in 2003–2022 (2022 data for Belgium missing)[404]
In the post-war period, Hundreds of thousands of Portuguese settled as guest workers in other European countries, especially in Western Europe. On 17 March 1964, the recruitment agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and Portugal was signed under the Erhard I cabinet. The Portuguese Armando Rodrigues de Sá was officially welcomed in 1964 as the millionth "guest worker" in Germany and was given a certificate of honor and a two-seater Zündapp Sport Combinette – Mokick.[405] The number of Portuguese citizens living in Germany is estimated at 245,000 as of 2021.[406]
The largest Portuguese community is located in Hamburg with about 25,000 people with Portuguese descent. There is also a Portugiesenviertel (Portuguese quarter) in Hamburg near the Port of Hamburg and between the subway stations of Landungsbrücken and Baumwall where many Portuguese restaurants and cafes are located there.
The United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, people of Portuguese origin were estimated at 400,000 in 2021 by Portuguese authorities (see Portuguese in the United Kingdom).[407][408] Although unconfirmed, other sources claim that there might be as much as 500,000 Portuguese in the country,[409] a considerably higher than the estimated 170,000 Portuguese-born people residing in the country in 2021[410] (this figure does not include British-born people of Portuguese descent).
In areas such as Thetford and the crown dependencies of Jersey and Guernsey, the Portuguese form the largest ethnic minority groups at 30% of the population, 9.03% and 3.13% respectively.
Portuguese emigration to Brazil from the beginning of colonization, in 1500 to Present
Source: Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE)
Decade
Nationality
1500–1700
1701–1760
1808–1817
1827–1829
1837–1841
1856–1857
1881–1900
1901–1930
1931–1950
1951–1960
1961–1967
1981–1991
1991–2023
Portuguese
100,000
600,000
24,000
2,004
629
16,108
316,204
754,147
148,699
235,635
54,767
4,605
400,000
Passport of an immigrant from the Braga District to Brazil
Due to the emigration of a significant part of the Portuguese towards Brazil, they played a particularly important role in the formation of Brazilians as a nation, becoming one of its main components. In fact, given the shared past and the fact that Portuguese deeply influenced the formation of Brazilians as a nation, the Portuguese are the largest European immigrant group in Brazil. In colonial times, over 700,000 Portuguese settled in Brazil, and most of them went there during the gold rush of the 18th century.[412]
Brazil received more European settlers during its colonial era than any other country in the Americas. Between 1500 and 1760, about 700,000 Europeans immigrated to Brazil, compared to 530,000 European immigrants in the United States.[413][414] They managed to be the only significant European population to populate the country during colonization, even though there were French and Dutch invasions. The Portuguese migration was strongly marked by the predominance of men (colonial reports from the 16th and 17th centuries almost always report the absence or rarity of Portuguese women). This lack of women worried the Jesuits, who asked the Portuguese King to send any kind of Portuguese women to Brazil, even the socially undesirable (e.g. prostitutes or women with mental maladies such as Down Syndrome) if necessary.[415][416] The Crown responded by sending groups of Iberian orphan maidens to marry both cohorts of marriageable men, the nobles and the peasants. Some of which were even primarily studying to be nuns.[415][417]
The Crown also shipped over many Órfãs do Rei of what was considered "good birth" to colonial Brazil to marry Portuguese settlers of high rank. Órfãs do Rei literally translates to "Orphans of the King", and they were Portuguese female orphans in nubile age. There were noble and non-noble maidens and they were daughters of military compatriots who died in battle for the king or noblemen who died overseas and whose upbringing was paid by the Crown. Bahia's port in the East received one of the first groups of orphans in 1551.[418]
In colonial Brazil, the Portuguese men competed for women, because among the African slaves and the female component of Indigenous peoples of the Americas were minorities.[419] This explains why the Portuguese men left more descendants in Brazil than the Amerindian or African men did. The Indigenous and African women were "dominated" by the Portuguese men, preventing men of color to find partners with whom they could have children. Added to this, White people had a much better quality of life and therefore a lower mortality rate than the black and indigenous population. Then, even though the Portuguese migration during colonial Brazil was smaller (3.2 million Indians estimated at the beginning of colonization and 4.8 million Africans brought since then, compared to the descendants of the over 700,000 Portuguese immigrants) the "white" population (whose ancestry was predominantly Portuguese) was as large as the "non-white" population in the early 19th century, just before independence from Portugal.[420][421][419] After independence from Portugal in 1822, around 1.7 million Portuguese immigrants settled in Brazil.[419]
Portuguese immigration into Brazil in the 19th and 20th centuries was marked by its concentration in the states of
urban centers. Portuguese women appeared with some regularity among immigrants, with percentage variation in different decades and regions of the country. However, even among the more recent influx of Portuguese immigrants at the turn of the 20th century, there were 319 men to each 100 women among them.[422] The Portuguese were different from other immigrants in Brazil, like the Germans,[423] or Italians[424] who brought many women along with them (even though the proportion of men was higher in any immigrant community). Despite the small female proportion, Portuguese men married mainly Portuguese women. Female immigrants rarely married Brazilian men. In this context, the Portuguese had a rate of endogamy which was higher than any other European immigrant community, and behind only the Japanese among all immigrants.[425]
Even with Portuguese heritage, many Portuguese-Brazilians identify themselves as being simply Brazilians, since Portuguese culture was a dominant cultural influence in the formation of Brazil (like many British Americans in the United States, who will never describe themselves as of British extraction, but only as "Americans", since British culture was a dominant cultural influence in the formation of The United States).
In 1872, there were 3.7 million
mixed-race people (mostly of Portuguese-African-Amerindian ancestry) and 1.9 million Blacks. These numbers give the percentage of 80% of people with total or partial Portuguese ancestry in Brazil in the 1870s.[426]
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a new large wave of immigrants from Portugal arrived. From 1881 to 1991, over 1.5 million Portuguese immigrated to Brazil. In 1906, for example, there were 133,393 Portuguese-born people living in Rio de Janeiro, comprising 16% of the city's population. Rio is, still today, considered the largest "Portuguese city" outside of Portugal itself, with 1% Portuguese-born people.[413][427]
Genetic studies also confirm the strong Portuguese genetic influence in Brazilians. According to a study, at least half of the Brazilian population's
Y Chromosome (male inheritance) comes from Portugal. Black Brazilians have an average of 48% non-African genes, most of them may come from Portuguese ancestors. On the other hand, 33% Amerindian and 28% African contribution to the total mtDNA (female inheritance) of white Brazilians was found[3][4]
An autosomal study from 2013, with nearly 1300 samples from all of the Brazilian regions, found a predominant degree of European ancestry (mostly Portuguese, due to the dominant Portuguese influx among European colonization and immigration to Brazil) combined with African and Native American contributions, in varying degrees. 'Following an increasing North to South gradient, European ancestry was the most prevalent in all urban populations (with values from 51% to 74%). The populations in the North consisted of a significant proportion of Native American ancestry that was about two times higher than the African contribution. Conversely, in the Northeast, Center-West and Southeast, African ancestry was the second most prevalent. At an intrapopulation level, all urban populations were highly admixed, and most of the variation in ancestry proportions was observed between individuals within each population rather than among population'.[428]
A large community-based multicenter autosomal study from 2015, considering representative samples from three different urban communities located in the Northeast (Salvador, capital of Bahia), Southeast (Bambuí, interior of Minas Gerais) and South Brazilian (Pelotas, interior of Rio Grande do Sul) regions, estimated European ancestry to be 42.4%, 83.8% and 85.3%, respectively.[429] In all three cities, European ancestors were mainly Iberian.
It was estimated that around 5 million Brazilians (2.3% of the country's population) can acquire Portuguese citizenship, due to the last Portuguese nationality law that grants citizenship to grandchildren of Portuguese nationals.[430]
Australia and New Zealand have sizeable Portuguese communities.
Petersham (Sydney) is a neighbourhood known for its extensive Portuguese commercial offerings
In Australia, although their numbers are relatively small in comparison to the Greek and Italian communities, the Portuguese constitute a highly organized, self-aware, and active community across various aspects of Australian life. Despite being among the early settlers, with some (unproven) theories that state they might have discovered Australia, their numbers have never been massive, when compared to major communities. The Portuguese immigration to Australia experienced a boom after the Carnation Revolution and the Indonesian Invasion of Timor-Leste. The Portuguese are dispersed throughout the country and engage in activities such as sports teams, social clubs, radio programs, newspapers, cultural festivals, culinary events, and even have a designated Portuguese neighborhood. The 73,903 people of Portuguese descent constitute about 0.28% of the Australian population. Portuguese cuisine has gained popularity within mainstream Australian society, exemplified by the rapid expansion and establishment of restaurants and fast-food outlets such as "Nando's", "Oporto," and "Ogalo." The delectable Portuguese pastry known as "pastel de nata" is widely enjoyed and readily available throughout the country. Many of the Portuguese are from Madeira.[431][432][433][434][435] Notable Portuguese Australians include Naomi Sequeira, Kate DeAraugo, Junie Morosi, Lyndsey Rodrigues, Sophie Masson and Irina Dunn.
The community in New Zealand is much smaller and the 1,500 Portuguese people living there (although the numbers could be significantly higher) constitute about 0.03% of the population. On 22 April 2010, the Office of Ethnic Affairs officially recognized Portuguese New Zealanders as a distinct community in New Zealand. A symbolic act of tying the 70th ribbon to Parliament's mooring stone in the Parliament House Galleria marked this recognition. In addition to their official recognition, the Portuguese community in New Zealand organizes various annual gatherings and celebrations, such as Portugal Day, and maintains a friendship association. Portuguese individuals were among the early settlers in New Zealand, although immigration from Portugal declined gradually until the 1960s. After the Carnation Revolution, the community started to increase again.[436][437]
In Pakistan (seePortuguese in Pakistan) there is a small Portuguese community numbering about 64 people,[464] even though other estimates point at 400 people of Portuguese origin in Karachi alone.[465] Notable Portuguese Pakistani include actress Dilshad Vadsaria and scholar Bernadette Louise Dean. Despite today not being numerically visible[466] it is noteworthy to remember that, before the partition of India, it is estimated that the Goan community in Karachi numbered up to 15,000. The majority of them after 1947 moved back to Goa or went to other territories controlled by the Portuguese, as well as to the UK.[467] The Portuguese community has greatly contributed to the musical scene of the pre-1947 Karachi.[466] As of today, about 6,000 Goans remain in Pakistan, mainly in Karachi.[465]
Portuguese heritage is also present in Bangladesh, where they were the first Europeans to arrive:[468] not only did the Portuguese introduce Catholicism, a religion now professed by about 375,000 Bangladeshis,[469] but their heritage extends also to more than 1,500 words in Bengali that are of Portuguese origin.[470] In colonial times, the Portuguese population in Bangladesh may have reached 40,000 people[471][472] but, as time went by, many resettled to other colonies. Those who remained are now perfectly integrated in the larger Bangladeshi society. Notable examples of Portuguese influence in Bangladesh are the surnames bore by a large part of the Catholics, as well as Bangladesh's oldest church, the Holy Rosary Church in Dhaka.[473] As of now, the Portuguese community in Bangladesh is almost no existent with only a few expatriates[474] and some descendants of the early settlers.
Nevertheless, the most important Portuguese community found today in the Indian subcontinent – as well as in Asia as a whole when taking into account people with distant Portuguese ancestry – remains the one that has settled in India, especially in Goa, Damão e Diu and Dadrá e Nagar Aveli.[475]
A small but growing Portuguese community – consisting mainly of recent expats and numbering about 3,500 people – is found in Japan,[476][477]South Korea,[478] China[479][480] and Taiwan, whose name used by European literature until the 20th century – Formosa, meaning "Beautiful (island)" - came from Portuguese.[481]
Due to the shared past, the most important Portuguese community in Eastern Asia is the one in Macau, that was, until
1999, a Portuguese colony. With more than 150,000 Portuguese citizens, accounting for 22.34% of the total population, Portuguese influence in Macau is still very visible and Macau still has, as of today, the largest concentration of Portuguese nationals in Asia as well as one of the most important in the world.[483] Notable people from Macau of Portuguese descent include personalities such as singer Germano Guilherme [zh
].
List of countries by population of Portuguese heritage
5% (2.5% children and grandchildren, eligible for Portuguese citizenship)
[507] Portuguese nationals and descendants down to the third generation (excludes many of more distant ancestry), of which an estimated 5,400,000 children and grandchildren of Portuguese nationals (eligible for Portuguese citizenship)
Statistics Portugal (2022)[608][609] Figure is only a population estimate of all residents of Portugal, and includes people of non-Portuguese ethnic origin
Portuguese literature has a long and varied history, with roots in the Middle Ages when troubadours dominated the literary world. In the 16th century, Portugal's literature entered its "Golden Age", during which time poets like Luís de Camões and Francisco de Sá de Miranda were some of the nation's most renowned literary figures.[610] Portuguese is often referred as to the "língua de Camões" (Camões's language), highlighting the importance the author had in forging the national identity as well as the domestic literary production.[611]
Famous Portuguese authors from the Age of Discoveries include
A new generation of authors appeared in the 19th century, including Almeida Garrett, who is credited with founding modern Portuguese literature. His writings reflect the political and social revolutions taking place in Portugal at the time, and his writing style is recognized as exceptionally original and unique for the time.[613]
Portuguese authors like Fernando Pessoa and Guerra Junqueiro gained international acclaim for their writings in the 20th century. In this century there was a great rise in the country's literary production. It is worth mentioning that Pessoa, due to him being considered very innovative and ground-breaking for his time, is often referred to as one of the most emblematic 20th-century Portuguese authors and his contributions to the nation's literary production are among the most notable ones.[614][615]
With modern authors like José Saramago and António Lobo Antunes, receiving both home and foreign critical recognition, Portuguese literature is still thriving today. These authors write about identity, culture, and society, and their writing reflects Portugal's rich and varied cultural legacy.
Moreover, Susan Lowndes Marques, writer and journalist, was a leading figure in the Portuguese-British community in Lisbon, and contributed to promoting Portugal in the UK. Still nowadays, with more than 2 million Britons coming to Portugal for their holidays every year, they are the most common international tourists in the country, second only to Spaniards.
Portugal has not had as major of an impact on law and justice as some other Western countries, yet there have been famous Portuguese personalities over the years. Portugal created a legal system for its overseas possessions during the Age of Discovery, creating the basis for current international law. Another notable example is the 20th century, lawyer and diplomat José Cutileiro, who played a significant role in the negotiations that led to Portugal and Spain's entry into the European Union in 1986.
Particularly in the domain of human rights, Portugal has contributed significantly to the growth of international rights. The European Convention on Human Rights, which was established in 1950 with the purpose of defending human rights and basic freedoms, was one of the initiatives championed by Portugal, together with other EU countries, since its accession into the EU.
Notable Portuguese active in the field of Law and Justice include
In Portugal, research and development (R&D) units belong mainly to state universities and autonomous state research institutes carry out science and technology through a network. However, there are also non-state research institutes and some private projects.[616][617]
Despite its small size, In 2001 Portugal was ranked 28th among countries that contributed to the top 1% of the world's highly cited publications and Portugal was ranked 32nd in the Global Innovation Index in 2022.[621][622]
Within Europe and the European Union (EU), Portugal has full membership into several pan-European scientific organizations like the
European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), ITER, and the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Portuguese scientists and technicians work in all of those organizations. In the period 2005–2007, Portugal was the EU member state with the highest growth rate in research and development (R&D) investment as a percentage of the GDP – a 46% growth. Portugal's R&D investment equals 1.2% of Portuguese GDP. This was the 15th largest allocation of funds as a percentage of the GDP for R&D, among the 27 EU member states in 2007.[623]
Overall, the Portuguese contributed in numerous scientific fields. Some examples of notable Portuguese people who had made important contributions to science and technology, becoming in their time internationally known within their respective field, include:
The president is the head of the country and has significant political power. He is elected for a 5-year term by direct vote, and he is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. His powers include the election of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, in accordance to general elections results. The Council of State, a presidential oversight body, is composed of six senior civilian officers, any former president elected since 1976, five members elected by the Assembly, and five directly appointed by the president.
The role of executive is assigned to the Council of Ministers. Both the
deputies
serve a four-year term. In case of extreme unrest or of impossibility of forming a government the president has the power to dissolve the Assembly and to call for new elections.
The judiciary in Portugal is independent of the executive and legislative branches and the national Supreme Court is the court of last appeal. Military, administrative and fiscal courts are designated as different court categories. A nine-member Constitutional Court verifies the constitutionality of legislation.
Portugal's economy is ranked 34th on the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report in 2019.[624]
The majority of international trade is with the EU, whose countries were the source and destination of more than 70% of Portugal's total international trade in 2020.[625] The total international trade amounted to approximately 153.3 billion Euros in 2022. Spain is by far, for evident historical and geographical reasons, the largest trading partner, accounting for 11.61% of exports and 32.07% of imports.[626][627] Other areas that are important trading partners with Portugal include NAFTA (6.3% of exports and 2% of imports), PALOP (5.7% of exports and 2.5% of imports), Maghreb (3.7% of exports and 1.3% of import and Mercosul (1.4% of exports and 2.5% of imports).
The Portuguese currency is the euro (€), which replaced the escudo in 2002 (that since 2022 is no longer exchangeable[628]) and the country has been part of the Eurozone since its foundation.
The country's national bank is
Millennium BCP
.
Portugal is home to a number of large companies with a great international reputation. Among the most renown Portuguese companies there is
In addition, there are many companies targeting the thriving media market, such as
Sociedade Independente de Comunicação (SIC), the first Portuguese private television network, NOS and MEO
.
Education in Portugal has been gradually modernized and expanded since the 1970s. According to the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2015, 15-year-old students in Portugal were significantly above the OECD average when it came to reading skills, mathematics and knowledge of science.[631][632] Portugal has several recognized universities and business schools that have contributed several well-known international leaders[633] and which attract an increasing number of foreign students. Portugal is both among the top senders and receivers country within the Erasmus+ programme,[634] with more student coming than leaving.[635]
Bacalhau codfish is one of the epitomes of Portuguese cuisine
The oldest cookbook on Portuguese cooking comes from the 16th century and is titled Livro de Cozinha da Infanta D. Maria de Portugal[636] (Crown-Princess Maria's cookbook). It describes a number of well-known recipes made of beef, fish, fowl, and other traditional ingredients.
Dating back to the
Fishing is also an inherent occupation in Portugal, with sardines being caught from April to October. Both men and women work as fishermen.
Chamuças (samosas) are an example of dish of foreign origin today widely popular in Portugal. They were first brought to the country during the Age of Discovery in the 15th century.
Portuguese cuisine consists mostly on meats (pork, cattle, chicken and game among others), seafood (fish, crustaceans including lobster, crab, shrimp, prawns, and octopus), vegetables, legumes, and sweets (the most common of which are cakes). The Portuguese traditionally enjoy a diet rich in carbohydrates which often includes fresh breads like broa, rice, and potatoes with their meals.[637][638][639] The Portuguese are the Europeans recording the highest rice consumption per capita, eating 16.1 kg of rice per year, while the French eat 8.2 kg, Britons consume 7.4 kg and Poles eat around 3 kg.[640] Among Portuguese dishes using rice, Arroz de Tamboril (Monkfish rice), Arroz de Pato (duck rice) and Arroz de Cabidela (rooster rice) enjoy high popularity.[641] Consuming around 62 kg of potatoes per capita every year, the Portuguese are among the largest potato-consumers in the European Continent.[642] Portugal also has one of the largest livestock populations in the EU,[643] making meat very popular, and the very high fish-consumption being explained by the long 1,800 km of coastline (1,115 miles) which the country enjoys.
António-Maria De Oliveira Bello, also known as Olleboma, wrote "Culinária Portuguesa" (Portuguese Cuisine) in 1936.[644] Portuguese cuisine also draws from Mediterranean cuisine – Portugal is among the countries recognised by UNESCO for their Mediterranean diet – and cuisines from all over the world, especially from lands once part of the Portuguese Empire.
In addition, numerous classic desserts and some savory meals contain cinnamon, vanilla, lemon, orange, anise, clove, and allspice. Portuguese merchants also introduced oranges in Middle Eastern countries. Today the Turkish ("Portakal"), Farsi (نارنجی or "portaqal") and Arabic (البرتقالي or "lburtuqaliiu") words for orange all denote a Portuguese origin. This term also extended to areas within the Ottoman Empire and beyond, today being used in languages such as Romanian (portocale), Albanian (portokalli), Greek (πορτοκάλι-portokáli) and Georgian (ფორთოხალი-portokhali).
A very popular dish is "Feijoada" where feijão is the Portuguese for bean. With feijoada salada de tomate and " vinagrete " or "molho vinagrete" are sometimes served.
From a rich and varied cuisine, which includes a said 365 different ways of cooking cod (bacalhau), emblematic Portuguese traditional dishes are Cozido à portuguesa (Portuguese stew) and Caldo verde (green soup). The most globally widespread pastry is the pastel de nata, sometimes known as Natas or Portuguese custard tarts.
Portuguese architecture encompasses the architectural styles and patrimony of Portugal and its former colonies, reflecting the artistic influences of diverse cultures throughout its rich history. The multiple civilizations that have inhabited Portugal or come in contact with its people have left their mark on its architecture, including the Romans and Moors. The Portuguese Empire's historical reach has led to a widespread heritage of Portuguese colonial architecture in many countries globally, particularly in Africa and the Americas, as well as Asia.
Over the centuries, various styles or movements have shaped Portuguese architecture, ranging from Romanesque to contemporary styles, and have produced celebrated architects such as Raul Lino, Fernando Távora and Álvaro Siza Vieira, among others.
Today, Portugal continues to produce talented architects, including
Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian
, built in the 1960s is one of the very best, defining examples of 20th-century Portuguese architecture.
classical, music has always played an important role in Portuguese culture
.
Portuguese music is rich in history and cultural diversity. From traditional songs from the north of the country to the rhythms of Portuguese-influenced samba, from fado to Portuguese pop-rock, Portuguese music enjoys a centuries-long tradition.
The history of Portuguese music dates back to the country's foundation in the Middle Ages, when troubadours, poets and musicians, broadcast their love songs throughout the country.
In the 16th century, with the discovery of new lands and the expansion of the Portuguese Empire, new musical influences were introduced. One example is the famous stringed instrument, the Krencong, which was brought from Portugal to Indonesia and is one of the most notable Portuguese contributions to Indonesian culture still present today. Another instrument of Portuguese origin that is widely used in Hawaiian music today is the ukulele, with origins in Madeira Island.
Fado is, without a doubt, an emblematic musical genre of Portugal. Originating in Lisbon in the 19th century, it is considered a symbol of Portuguese culture. Fado songs often express love, saudade (longing) and difficulties in life. The great ambassador of Portuguese fado, Amália Rodrigues, had great success all over the world during the 1950s and 1960s. Today, musicians like Mariza, Ana Moura and Cristina Branco, Katia Guerreiro keep this musical art alive by modernizing it . The genre is one of two Portuguese music traditions in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, with the other being Cante Alentejano.
Besides fado, the country has produced other forms of popular music, including Portuguese Pop Rock which developed in the 1980s and 1990s with artists such as Xutos & Pontapés, Rui Veloso and the Madredeus. The band Madredeus have been noted for their innovative use of the Portuguese guitar, a traditional Portuguese instrument.
Other popular modern multicultural genres in Portugal include dance,
zouk
.
In Portugal we can also find famous names in world music, such as the musician Waldemar Bastos. With his exceptional voice, he conquered international stages and worked with renowned musicians such as Peter Gabriel.
In conclusion, Portuguese music is rich and diverse, offering a multitude of different styles that deserve to be discovered. Whether with fado, pop rock or classical music, the Portuguese contribution to world music is undeniable. Portuguese musical heritage – as is the case with musical traditions from all over the world – is a musical gem that must be preserved for future generations.
Hip hop began in Portugal in the early 1990s. The first artist to sign a major record deal was General D with EMI Records. Other important artists from the Hip hop tuga genre include Sam the Kid and Regula.
Portuguese cinema is a popular art that has grown and evolved over the years. It appeared at the end of the 19th century, with the screening of silent films in music halls and theatres. However, it was not until the 1920s that cinema became an important cultural and artistic element in Portugal.
The first Portuguese film, shot in Porto, was directed by Aurélio da Paz dos Reis [pt] in 1896. In homage to the Departure of the Workers from the Lumière Factory (La Sortie de l'usine Lumière à Lyon) by Auguste and Louis Lumière shot in 1895, he filmed the Departure of the Workers from the Confiança Factory (Saída do Pessoal Operário da Fábrica Confiança).[649]
José Leitão de Barros pioneered the Portuguese film industry, producing and directing several silent films starting in the 1910s.[649] One of the first notable Portuguese female actresses is Cremilda de Oliveira. Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira extended de la Velle's legacy. His film "Aniki-Bóbó" (1942), remains a major Portuguese film for its innovation and poetic vision of adolescence. Manoel de Oliveira has made more than 30 films, including his last, "I'm Going home" (2001), produced at the age of 93.
In the 1950s, new American technologies gave a resurgence of interest in Hollywood films rather than those from Portugal. In the 1960s, with the international cultural opening, the attention of the Portuguese public was brought back to national soil. The 1960s saw the rise of innovative cinema, notably with director Fernando Lopes. He made films that touched on the themes of politics and religion, generating debate and great controversy at the time. His film "Belarmino" (1964), won the Golden Lion at that year's Venice exhibition.
Despite their national success, Portuguese films have often been ignored by international festivals. However, this has started to change with the emergence of some very talented directors such as Marco Martins.
In 1989, the first of a new wave of filmmakers, Pedro Costa, presented "O Sangue". This film, along with its follow-up efforts in the 90s, 'Ossos' and 'Casa de Lava ', shaped a style that would gradually gain international recognition. Costa became a creator of films in competition at Cannes.
Portuguese directors have also played an increasingly important role in the international film industry. Director Manoel de Oliveira was the first Portuguese director to compete for the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1985. Since then, several other renowned Portuguese filmmakers have competed at major international festivals. Cinema has evolved over time and Portugal has not been left out with the changes that are happening in the field. Portuguese directors have continued to produce films close to their audiences while opening them up to foreign countries.
Ultimately, Portuguese cinema has contributed enormously to the artistic and cultural expression of Portugal as well as to world cinema. Directors have been and remain great artists and the legacy they left represents a tremendous contribution to the cinematic arts.
Influencers (Instagram)
This is a list of the top 10 accounts managed by Portuguese nationals (Brand accounts excluded) with most followers on the photo and video-sharing social platform Instagram.[653][654][655] Instagram is, as of 2023, one of the most popular social media platforms in Portugal,[656][657] as well as in the whole world.[658][659]
The most followed individual is Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo who is, as well, the most followed person on Instagram overall. Because of the large Portuguese diaspora, of the 10 most followed Portuguese people (defined as holding a Portuguese passport) 7 were owned by Luso-Brazilian citizens.
Among positions 11 to 50 of the list of the most followed Portuguese citizens on social media platform Instagram, one can notice the large number of footballers. In fact, football is arguably the most popular sport in Portugal.
Ranking 51–100 in the list of most followed Portuguese on Instagram there are many actresses and Television personalities. Although the numbers may seem low, they are important when compared to the population of Portugal. Giving that people in the following table are mostly known in the domestic market, an Influencer with 800,00 followers, for example, reaches out to 7.6% of the Portuguese people (if taking into account also approximately 5 million people in the Portuguese diaspora holding Portuguese nationality, they reach 5.3% of the Portuguese nationals worldwide).
In positions 101–150 of the most followed Portuguese on Instagram there are many actresses as well as well known television personalities popular with Portuguese public.
^Only people legally registered as living in Portugal and not holding Portuguese nationality (thus excluding naturalised citizens and descendants of immigrants) are taken into account. For further information see Immigration to Portugal
^Portuguese ethnicity is more clear-cut than Spanish ethnicity, but here also, the case is complicated by the Portuguese ancestry of populations in the former colonial empire. Portugal has 10 million nationals. The 40 million figure is due to a study estimating a total of an additional 31 million descendants from Portuguese including grandparents; these people would be eligible for Portuguese citizenship under Portuguese nationality law (which grants citizenship to grandchildren of Portuguese nationals). Emigração: A diáspora dos portuguesesArchived 28 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine (2009)
^Jarnagin, Laura (2012), Portuguese and Luso-Asian Legacies in Southeast Asia, 1511–2011: Culture and identity in the Luso-Asian world, tenacities & plasticities. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies., p. 268
. We could say that contemporary Europe is made up of three large groups of peoples, divided on the criteria of their origin and linguistic affiliation. They are the following: the Romanic or neo-Latin peoples (Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, French, Romanians, etc.), the Germanic peoples (Germans proper, English, Dutch, Danes, Norwegians, Swedes, Icelanders, etc.), and the Slavic peoples (Russians, Ukrainians, Belorussians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats, Slovenians, etc.
^"the Indo-European but clearly non-Celtic language that we today call Lusitanian.(...)": Book Reviews: Alejandro G. Sinner, Javier Velaza (eds.). Palaeohispanic Languages and Epigraphies, Oxford University Press, 2019, Juan Luis García Alonso, University of Salamanca, Spain, Journal of Language Relationship, № 19/3-4, 2021
Mallory, James P. (2013). "The Indo-Europeanization of Atlantic Europe". In J. T. Koch; B. Cunliffe (eds.). Celtic From the West 2: Rethinking the Bronze Age and the Arrival of Indo–European in Atlantic Europe. Oxford: Oxbow Books. pp. 17–40. Archived from the original
^"O Barco Poveiro" – Octávio Lixa Filgueiras, 1ª edição 1966
^Ripoll López, Gisela (1989). "Características generales del poblamiento y la arqueología funeraria visigoda de Hispania". Espacio, Tiempo y Forma, S. I, Prehist. y Arqueol., t. 2. pp. 389–418. Archived from the original(PDF) on 12 August 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2017. En resumen se puede considerar que el pueblo visigodo—sin diferenciar la población civil de la militar— representó de un uno a un dos por ciento sobre la totalidad de la población de Hispania.
^Quiroga, Jorge López (January 2017). "(PDF) IN TEMPORE SUEBORUM. The time of the Suevi in Gallaecia (411–585 AD)". Jorge López Quiroga-Artemio M. Martínez Tejera (Coord.): In Tempore Sueborum. The Time of the Sueves in Gallaecia (411–585 Ad). The First Medieval Kingdom of the West, Ourense. Academia.edu. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
^Numa breve cronologia: 1526 – Alvará de João III, de 13 de Março de 1526, proibiu que os ciganos entrassem no reino, e ordenou que saíssem os que cá estavam; 1538 – Nova lei de 26 de Novembro desse ano, ordenando a sua expulsão; 1592 – Lei de 28 de Agosto agravou as penas contra os ciganos que dentro de 4 meses não saíssem de Portugal; Ordenações Filipinas, proíbindo a entrada no Reino; 1606 – Alvará de 7 de Janeiro exigindo a observância das Ordenações, com a mesma pena agravada com degredo para as galés e com severas cominações para os magistrados remissos; 1614 – Nova carta régia de 3 de Dezembro impedindo a sua entrada no Reino; 1618 – Carta régia de 28 de Março em que o monarca mandava averiguar se no Reino andavam ciganos com «traje e língua diferente dos naturais»; 1654 – D. João IV mandou prender os ciganos que havia no Reino e embarcá-los para Maranhão, Cabo Verde e São Tomé; 1718 – D. João V, em 10 de Dezembro de 1718, determinou a expulsão dos ciganos. Ver Joel Serrão, Dicionário de História de Portugal, ed. de 2006.
^"Auto Da Fé". JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
^Registo Civil, Instituto dos Registos e Notariado, Ministério da Justiça. "Composição do nome" [Composition of the name]. IRN.Justica.gov.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 3 August 2022. «O nome completo deve compor-se, no máximo, de seis vocábulos gramaticais, simples ou compostos, dos quais só dois podem corresponder ao nome próprio e quatro a apelidos.»
^"FAQs e Dicas – SPIE". Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2013. (a fonte utilizada enuncia "100 apelidos", mas a listagem traz apenas 96).
^Direcção Geral dos Assuntos Consulares e Comunidades Portuguesas do Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros (1999), Dados Estatísticos sobre as Comunidades Portuguesas, IC/CP – DGACCP/DAX/DID – Maio 1999.
U.S. Department of State, "A GUIDE TO THE UNITED STATES' HISTORY OF RECOGNITION, DIPLOMATIC, AND CONSULAR RELATIONS, BY COUNTRY, SINCE 1776: PORTUGAL", [1]
^Ponta-Garça, Nelson, director. Portuguese in New England. 2016.
^Martin, Andrea. "Carpenter Street Underpass"(PDF). Springfield Railroads Improvement Project. US Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
^étrangères, Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires. "Présentation du Portugal". France Diplomatie : : Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères.
^See the analysis of King, D.A., The scientific Impact of Nations – What difference countries for their research spending, Nature, vol. 430, 15 July 2004
Brazil
France
United States
Venezuela
Canada
Angola
Switzerland
Germany
Mozambique
Chile
Spain
United Kingdom
Macau
Luxembourg
Myanmar
India
Belgium
Australia
Argentina
Sri Lanka
Malaysia
Netherlands
Cape Verde
East Timor
Hong Kong
Malawi
Zimbabwe
Singapore
Andorra
Bermuda
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Flag map of the most common foreign nationality in Portugal per each district. One can see the importance of the Brazilian immigration as well as the influx of Venezuelans in Madeira, Britons in Algarve and Indians in Beja
Flag map of the second most common foreign nationality in Portugal in every district. Cape Verdeans are present in Lisbon Area, Italians in Porto while Britons and Romanians in the interior.
Flag map of the third most common foreign nationality in Portugal in every district. US-citizens are present in the Azores, Chinese in the industrialized north while PALOP citizens in the Lisbon metropolitan area
Flag map of the fourth most common foreign nationality in Portugal in every district. Angolans and Eastern Europeans (such as Ukrainians in Santarém) are present nationwide
Flag map of the fifth most common foreign nationality in Portugal in every district. One can appreciate the presence of the Chinese near the Spanish border and the prevalence of Europeans along the coast
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