How Many People Speak Portuguese, And Where Is It Spoken?

Portuguese is among the 10 most spoken languages in the world, but only 5 percent of its speakers live in Portugal. Curious about how many people speak Portuguese and where it’s most prevalent? Read on for some fun facts about the language, starting with a bit of history.

A Brief History Of Portuguese

Portuguese is a Romance language that developed over 2,000 years ago — in the third century BCE — when the Romans arrived at the Iberian Peninsula, a European peninsula primarily comprised of modern-day Portugal and Spain. In 216 BCE, Roman soldiers arrived speaking Vulgar Latin, also called colloquial Latin, which is the form of spoken Latin from which all Romance languages evolved.

The Romans weren’t alone in their influence on Portuguese. During the collapse of the Roman Empire between 409 CE and 711 CE, the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Germanic tribes, who  both brought their languages to the region and adopted some of the Vulgar Latin dialects and culture. The Moorish invasion of 711 CE also influenced both Spanish and Portuguese. Today, modern Portuguese has between 400 and 800 words of Arabic origin.

In 1143, Portugal was recognized as an independent kingdom. In 1290, the king of Portugal, Denis, created the first university in Lisbon and declared that the spoken language of Vulgar Latin be used and that it should be called Portuguese.

Modern Portuguese evolved from Galician-Portuguese or Old Portuguese, which is now two distinct languages: Galician and Portuguese. Even though they are two separate languages, Galician and Portuguese are similar, with some speakers describing the difference between them as akin to the difference between American and British English.

Where Is Portuguese Spoken?

Portuguese is an official language in ten countries and territories, including Brazil, Mozambique, Angola, Portugal, Guinea-Bissau, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Macau, Cape Verde, and São Tomé and Príncipe.

During the period of Portuguese colonialism of the 15th and 16th centuries, the Portuguese language was brought to many regions of Africa, Asia and the Americas. Local officials and Europeans of all nationalities used Portuguese as a lingua franca (a common language) to facilitate communication. Portuguese was also used by Roman Catholic missionaries in Asia, and today there is a cultural presence of Portuguese in parts of India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia.

How Many People Speak Portuguese?

Let’s dig into the key question presented by this article: how many people speak Portuguese around the world? Portuguese is estimated to have 232 million native speakers and about 258 million speakers in total. It’s the ninth most spoken language in the world, and the second most spoken Romance language, after Spanish.

How Many People Speak Portuguese In The Americas?

Brazil has the largest population of Portuguese speakers in the world: 211.2 million. No other country in the Americas even comes close to that number, but there are a few places with significant Portuguese-speaking contingents.

The United States is home to 693,000 Portuguese speakers and Canada has 222,000. In addition to Brazil, a few South American countries have Portuguese-speaking pockets, including Argentina (58,000), Paraguay (235,000), Uruguay (30,600) and Venezuela (254,000).

How Many People Speak Portuguese In Europe?

It won’t come as a surprise that Portugal is the European country with the most Portuguese speakers — nearly 10 million. But to put that in perspective, the Brazilian city of São Paulo alone has a population of 12 million.

Although they are the same language, there are some differences between the European Portuguese spoken in Portugal and Brazilian Portuguese. The one you decide to learn will depend on your individual goals and interests.

There are populations of Portuguese speakers spread across Europe. In fact, France is not far behind Portugal with 959,000 Portuguese speakers. Germany, Spain and Switzerland each have about 200,000 speakers, give or take a few thousand. 135,000 Portuguese speakers live in the United Kingdom.

How Many People Speak Portuguese In The Rest Of The World?

There are quite a few Portuguese speakers in Africa, largely due to colonialism. Angola is home to around 18 million speakers and Mozambique has roughly 13 million. Guinea-Bissau and South Africa each have a few hundred thousand speakers as well.

In Asia and Oceania, you can also find significant Portuguese-speaking populations. There are close to 300,000 speakers in both India and Japan, and just shy of 49,000 in Australia.

Are There Any English Words With Portuguese Origins?

There are many words in the English language with Portuguese origins, including “banana,” “breeze,” “embarrass” and “açai.” The word “cobra” comes from cobra-de-capelo, meaning “snake with a hood,” and “mosquito” is a Portuguese word meaning “little fly.” 

Why Learn Portuguese?

“If you already know Spanish, Portuguese will be easier for you to learn,” says Vitor Shereiber, a project manager on the Didactics team at Babbel and a native Portuguese speaker from Brazil. Another reason to learn Portuguese is for a better travel experience. Planning an upcoming vacation to Brazil? Shereiber says that Brazilians don’t usually speak foreign languages, so if you speak Portuguese, it will make your trip easier.

“Brazilians are usually very welcoming and will be very excited about that,” he says. “That’s really good if you’re looking to learn the language—they will try to talk to you in Portuguese and you will have lots of people willing to help you.”

Although there are some regional differences, there are no Portuguese dialects in Brazil, he explains. That means that no matter where you go in the country, you’ll be able to understand everyone if you speak Portuguese.

If you’re interested in learning Portuguese, Shereiber suggests listening to Brazilian music.

“It’s a good way to learn,” Shereiber says. “You can find something that you like, and it’s something you can talk about with Brazilians once you start to have more complex conversations.”

Some popular genres include bossa nova, which Shereiber mentions is great for Portuguese beginners to listen to because the lyrics are often short and simple. For more sophisticated lyrics, there’s “MPB,” which stands for Música Popular Brasileira. Finally, for musical genres that are commonly associated with the Brazilian celebration of Carnival, listen to
axé and samba.