Geographic distribution of Portuguese

**Portuguese-language territories**
Country/Region	Speakers (native)	Total speakers	Population (2005)

Africa
Angola Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...	60%	80%	11,190,786
Cape Verde Cape Verde The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...	ND	ND	418,224
Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....	.5%	11.5%	1,416,027
Mozambique Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...	6.5%	40%	19,406,703
São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two islands: São Tomé and Príncipe, located about apart and about , respectively, off...	50%	99.8%	187,410
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...	-	-	1,014,999
not official:
Namibia Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...	2%	2%	2,030,692
South Africa South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...	2%	2%	44,344,136
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...	0.1%	0.1%	12,236,805
Asia
East Timor East Timor The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...	ND	20%	1,040,880
Macao S.A.R. Macau Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China... , China	5%	7%	449,198
not official:
Daman, India	10%	10%	113,949
Goa, India	4%	4%	1,400,000
Europe
Portugal	100%	100%	10,566,212
not official:
Luxembourg Luxembourg Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...	14%	14%	468,571
Andorra Andorra Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...	4-13%	4-13%	70,549
Spain	2%	4%	44,187,127
France	2%	2%	60,656,178
Germany	2%	2%	82,689,000
Switzerland	2%	2%	7,489,370
The Americas
Brazil	99%	100%	190 million
not official:
Paraguay Paraguay Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...	7%	7%	6,347,884
Bermuda Bermuda Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...	4%	4%	65,365
Uruguay Uruguay Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...	1%	1%	3.241.003
Venezuela Venezuela Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...	1-2%	1-2%	25,375,281
Canada	1-2%	1-2%	32,805,041
Netherlands Antilles Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles , also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao , in Leeward Antilles just off the Venezuelan coast; and Sint...	1%	1%	219,958
Barbados Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...	1%	1%	279,000
USA	0.24%	?	308,124,000

Portuguese

Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

is the official

Official language

An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...

and first language

First language

A first language is the language a person has learned from birth or within the critical period, or that a person speaks the best and so is often the basis for sociolinguistic identity...

of Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, Cape Verde

Cape Verde

The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...

, Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau

The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....

, Mozambique

Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

, Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

and São Tomé and Príncipe

São Tomé and Príncipe

São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two islands: São Tomé and Príncipe, located about apart and about , respectively, off...

. It is also one of the official languages of East Timor

East Timor

The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...

(with Tetum), Macau

Macau

Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...

(with Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

) and the Gabon

Gabon

Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...

ese-Equatoguinean city of Cocobeach

Cocobeach

Cocobeach is a town in northwestern Gabon, lying on the south bank of the Muni River. It is the capital of the Noya Department. It has a beach and is the main border town for Equatorial Guinea, ferries sailing to Cogo across the river and the border....

(with French and Spanish).

Uruguay

Uruguay

Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

gave Portuguese an equal status to Spanish in its educational system at the north border with Brazil. In the rest of the country it's taught as an obligatory subject beginning by the 6th grade. It is widely spoken, though not official, in Andorra

Andorra

Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...

, Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

, Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, and Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

.

Although the majority of Portuguese speakers are found in Africa, South America, Asia and Europe, there are also two million in North America (most in the United States, Canada, Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

and Barbados

Barbados

Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...

). More than 2 million speakers live in Central and Northern America, under 10,000 live in Australia, including speakers of Portuguese Creole

Portuguese Creole

Portuguese creoles are creole languages which have been significantly influenced by Portuguese.- Origins :Portuguese overseas exploration in the 15th and 16th century's led to the establishment of a Portuguese Empire with trading posts, forts and colonies in the Americas, Asia and Africa...

s from nearby Asia and India, and fewer than 50 thousand speakers live in Oceania.

With more than 200 million native speakers, Portuguese is one of the few languages spoken in such widely distributed parts of the world, and is the fifth or sixth most-spoken first language in the world. It is spoken by about 190 million people in South America, 17 million in Africa, 12 million in Europe, 2 million in North America, and 0.61 million in Asia. Portuguese is the third most spoken European language. Because Brazil, with 190 million inhabitants, constitutes about 51% of South America's population, Portuguese is the most widely spoken language in South America and it is also a key language in Africa.

Portuguese is with Spanish the fastest growing language of Europe, and, following estimates by UNESCO it is the language with the highest growth potential as an international communication language in Southern Africa and South America. The Portuguese speaking African countries are expected to have a combined population of 83 million by 2050. The language is also starting to regain popularity in Asia.

Portugal

Portuguese is spoken as a first language in Portugal by 10.5 million people. Portugal (including the islands of the Azores

Azores

The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...

and Madeira

Madeira

Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...

), along with Galicia (Spain) is the birthplace of the language, which developed from the popular Latin brought there by the Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

s, in the aftermath of the Punic Wars

Punic Wars

The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage from 264 B.C.E. to 146 B.C.E. At the time, they were probably the largest wars that had ever taken place...

. A strong romanization

Romanization (cultural)

Romanization or latinization indicate different historical processes, such as acculturation, integration and assimilation of newly incorporated and peripheral populations by the Roman Republic and the later Roman Empire...

policy, planned by Roman Emperors such as Caesar Augustus

Augustus

Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...

, eventually led to the complete extinction of all the former native languages.

Spain

When referring to Spain the main debate revolves around the autonomous community of Galicia and its official language (alongside with Spanish): Galician

Galician language

Galician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and...

.

There is controversy on whether Galician is within the Portuguese language or if it is a different - although very closely related - language. Spanish administration considers Galician and Portuguese to have had the same origin

Galician-Portuguese

Galician-Portuguese or Old Portuguese was a West Iberian Romance language spoken in the Middle Ages, in the northwest area of the Iberian Peninsula. It was first spoken in the area bounded in the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean and the Douro River in the south but it was later extended south...

and common literary tradition, yet they are considered different languages today. Galician reintegracionists and organizations such as AGAL

Agal

The agal , also spelled iqal, egal or igal, is an accessory constructed of cord which is fastened around the Keffiyeh to hold it in place. The agal is usually black in colour....

or the Land Party

Land Party

The Land Party or Earth Party , is a Galician political party established in 2011.-Party platform:The party's platform encompasses six types of sovereignty: citizen sovereignty, which calls for a political reform based on direct democracy, incorporating advanced proposals of participatory...

support the idea that Galician and Portuguese still are the same language, despite some differences. As a matter of fact, spoken Galician was accepted as Portuguese in the Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

of the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

and used as such by, among others, the Galician representatives José Posada

José Posada

José Domingo Posada González , of Galicia, Spain, was a member of the European Parliament from 1994 to 1999 and is the president of Coalición Galega ....

, Camilo Nogueira and Xosé Manuel Beiras

Xosé Manuel Beiras

Xosé Manuel Hixinio Beiras Torrado - commonly known as Xosé Manuel Beiras or simply Beiras - is a Galician politician, economist, writer and intellectual. He is professor of Structural Economy at the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the University of Santiago de Compostela...

http://recantodasletras.uol.com.br/artigos/1133552 http://www.agal-gz.org/modules.php?name=News&file=articlecomments&sid=2452&mode=&order=0&thold=0 http://www.udc.es/dep/lx/cac/vo/20040526DR/index.htm. The international linguistic community generally tends to group them in the same diasystem

Diasystem

In the field of structural dialectology, a diasystem or polylectal grammar is an analysis set up to encode or represent a range of related varieties...

. For a better understanding of this issue see also Reintegrationism

Reintegrationism

Reintegrationism is the linguistic and cultural movement in Galicia which defends the unity of Galician and Portuguese as a single language. In other words, it postulates that Galician and Portuguese languages did not only share a common origin and literary tradition, but that they are in fact...

.

Galician is also spoken in Spain in Vale do Xalima (known as a fala
Fala language
Fala is a Romance linguistic variety commonly classified in the Portuguese-Galician subgroup, with some traits from Leonese, spoken in Spain by about 10,500 people, of whom 5,500 live in a valley of the northwestern part of Extremadura near the border with Portugal...

) and in a number of territories neighbouring Galicia but administratively located outside Galicia, namely in the Spanish regions of Asturias

Asturias

The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...

and Castile and León

Castile and León

Castile and León is an autonomous community in north-western Spain. It was so constituted in 1983 and it comprises the historical regions of León and Old Castile...

.

In other areas of Spain the study of Portuguese is on the rise mainly thanks to the growing number of immigrants coming from Portuguese speaking countries. A number of secondary schools and language institutes regularly offer Portuguese language as a preferred choice to study a foreign language. The regional government of Extremadura (bordering Portugal) has also played a critical role in promoting Portuguese language as it is thought this will benefit economic relations between this region and Portugal.

Brazil

There are 190 million people in Brazil who use Portuguese as their main language, where it is both the official and national language. It arrived in the beginning of the 16th century, but it was only in the 18th century that Portuguese became the national language of the country, not only because of the increased migration from Portugal but also because of the massive entry of slaves from Africa

Slavery in Brazil

Slavery in Brazil shaped the country's social structure and ethnic landscape. During the colonial epoch and for over six decades after the 1822 independence, slavery was a mainstay of the Brazilian economy, especially in mining, cotton, and sugar cane production.Brazil obtained an estimated 35% of...

, who spoke several languages and dialects and Portuguese was used by them as a lingua franca

Lingua franca

A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...

. Until then, it had been a home language

Home language

Following a widely accepted definition by Valdes , a heritage language is a language that is acquired by individuals raised in homes where the dominant language of the region, such as English in the United States, is not spoken or not exclusively spoken...

, and communication was done through trade languages based on Tupi and influenced by Latin and Portuguese, called línguas gerais
Língua Geral
Língua Geral is the name of two distinct linguae francae spoken in Brazil, the língua geral paulista , now extinct; and the língua geral amazônica , whose modern descendant is Nheengatu....

.

Rest of South America

Portuguese has been growing in importance in the rest of South America. Because of Brazil's membership in Mercosul, it is being taught other South American member states (and is popular, especially in Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

). Aside from Brazil, there are also important Brazilian communities in Argentina

Argentina

, Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

, Paraguay

Paraguay

, and Uruguay

Uruguay

, where a hybrid dialect, known as Riverense Portunhol (from português and español or espanhol) has emerged.

In Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

and Guyana

Guyana

Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...

there are important communicites of Portuguese immigrants (mostly Madeirans) and their descendants (first and second generations mostly), whom are very well integrated and play important roles in both societies.

Africa

In Africa, Portuguese is a growing language and projected by UNESCO to be one of the most spoken languages within 50 years. As the populations of Angola

Angola

and Mozambique

Mozambique

continue to grow, their influence on Portuguese will become increasingly important. Angola and Mozambique, along with São Tomé and Príncipe

São Tomé and Príncipe

, Cape Verde

Cape Verde

The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...

, Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau

The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....

, and Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...

are known as the Países Africanos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa (Official Portuguese Language African Countries) or PALOP, forming a community of some 16 million speakers (9 million use it as first or only language; the rest are bilingual, using the language daily). The educational aid of Brazil and Portugal to these countries also increases the need of people to educate their children in Portuguese. Portuguese especially grew in use after the independence of Portugal's former colonies. Independence movements from Guinea-Bissau to Mozambique saw it as an instrument to achieve their countries' development and national unity. The residents of these countries use European Portuguese

European Portuguese

European Portuguese refers to the variety of Portuguese spoken in continental Portugal, as well as the Azores and Madeira islands...

Angola

In Angola

Angola

, Portuguese is quickly becoming a national language rather than only an official language or cohesion vehicle. By the census of 1983, in the capital, Luanda

Luanda

Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of at least 5 million...

, Portuguese was the first language of 75% of a population of 2.5 million, with at least 300,000 residents speaking no other language. Also, according to the 1983 census, as much as 99% of the capital's population could speak Portuguese, albeit to varying degrees. In the entire country 40% of the 12.5 million inhabitants spoke Portuguese as their first language as of 1992. Most younger Angolans can only speak Portuguese; as early as 1979 a survey conducted in Luanda's slums showed that local African children aged between 6 and 14 spoke uniformly Portuguese, while only 47% of them knew an African language. Angola receives several Portuguese and Brazilian television stations. Today, Angola is the third largest lusophone country in terms of native speakers.

Since there are also many other native languages in Angola, some words from those languages have been borrowed by Portuguese when the retornados returned to Portugal after Angola's independence. Words like iá (yes), bué (many), or bazar (going away), common in the young and urban Portuguese population, have their origin in Angolan languages, used in Angolan Portuguese

Angolan Portuguese

Angolan Portuguese is a variety of Portuguese used mostly in Angola where it is an official language. It is generally used in Angola by 80% of all residents, of which 60% of the inhabitants of Luanda, with around 7.5 million first-language speakers....

. They were also borrowed by Brazilian Portuguese through the Portuguese Angolan refugees settling Brazil after Angolan independence also.

Mozambique

is among the countries where Portuguese has the status of official language, mostly spoken as a lingua franca

Lingua franca

(thus spoken with accents influenced by the local Bantu languages). However, it is the main language in the cities. According to the 1997 Census, Portuguese speakers account for more than 40% of the population, this number rising to more than 72% in the urban areas. However, only 6,5% consider Portuguese as their main language (17% in the cities as opposed to 2% in rural areas). All Mozambican writers write in Portuguese. Mozambique receives several Portuguese and Brazilian television stations.

Cape Verde

In Cape Verde

Cape Verde

The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...

, the most widely spoken language is a Portuguese creole

Creole language

A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...

known as Cape Verdean Creole, and the informal use of Portuguese seems to be decreasing. Most Cape Verdeans can also speak Portuguese which is used formally. There is some decreolization

Decreolization

Decreolization is a hypothetical phenomenon whereby over time a creole language reconverges with one of the standard languages from which it originally derived...

due to education and the popularity of Portugal's national TV channels.

Guinea-Bissau

In Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau

The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....

, the most widely spoken language is a Portuguese Creole known as Crioulo or Upper Guinea Creole

Kriol

The word Kriol could mean one of the following ethnic groups:* Belizean Kriol people or Kriols* Upper Guinea Kriol peopleIt could also mean any of the following Creole languages:* The English-based Australian Kriol language...

, and the formal use of Portuguese seems to be decreasing. However, the situation there is different from Cape Verde (where only Portuguese and Portuguese Creoles are spoken). In Guinea-Bissau, there are numerous languages and Portuguese and its Creole are spoken by about 74% of the inhabitants (as first and second language), of which Portuguese itself is only spoken by 14% (11.4% according to the 1992 census). This is mostly due to internal political instability which affects education. In the country, several different African languages are spoken, and the lingua franca

Lingua franca

is Upper Guinea Creole, which is taught informally throughout the country, as it is an important vehicle of communication between different tribes, including mestiços, because of the lack of a nationwide educational system.

In 2005, cooperation between the Government of Guinea-Bissau and the Instituto Camões

Instituto Camões

The Instituto Camões is an institution created in 1992 for the world-wide promotion of the Portuguese language and culture...

led to an agreement for the opening of ten centres of the Portuguese language in the country: in Canchungo

Canchungo

Canchungo is a town located in the western Cacheu Region of Guinea-Bissau formerly known as Vila Teixeira Pinto after Major Teixeira Pinto, the colonial officer that pacified the area.Population 6,434 ....

, Ongoré, Mansoa

Mansôa

Mansôa is a town located in the Oio Region of Guinea-Bissau. Population 7,376 .-References:...

, Bafatá

Bafatá

Bafatá is a town in central Guinea-Bissau, known as the birthplace of Amílcar Cabral. The town has a population of 22,501 .It lies in an area known for its wildlife, including monkeys. Bafatá’s main industry is brickmaking. It is the capital of Bafatá Region as well as the seat of the Roman...

, Gabu

Gabu

Gabu may refer to:* Gabú, a city in Guinea-Bissau* Gat Andrés Bonifacio University, a university in the Philippines...

, Buba

Buba

Buba is the largest city in southern Guinea-Bissau, lying on the Rio Grande de Buba, near the Contanhez National Park. Population 6,815 .It is also a seaport and is the capital of the Quinara Region...

, Catió

Catió

Catió is a city in south eastern Guinea-Bissau. It is the capital of Tombali Region.Population 9,217 .Catio, along with Canjadude and other camps were besieged by the Portuguese in 1973....

, Bolama

Bolama

Bolama is the closest of the Bijagós Islands to the mainland of Guinea-Bissau, and is also the name of the island's main town, the capital of the Bolama Region. Population 10,014 ....

, Bubaque

Bubaque

Bubaque is one of the Bijagós Islands in Guinea-Bissau, and is also the name of its main town. Population 9,244 . The island is known for its wildlife and is heavily forested. It is linked by ferry to Bissau and has an airstrip.-External links:...

, and Quinhamel

Quinhámel

Quinhámel is a city in Guinea-Bissau. It is the capital of Biombo Region. Population 2,887 .-References:...

. Before there was only one centre, in Bissau

Bissau

Bissau is the capital city of Guinea-Bissau. The city's borders are conterminous with the Bissau Autonomous Sector. In 2007, the city had an estimated population of 407,424 according to the Instituto Nacional de Estatística e Censos...

, the capital of the country. The objective of these centres is to support teachers in each province, to effectively launch the teaching of the language to children in the country.

São Tomé and Príncipe

In São Tomé and Príncipe

São Tomé and Príncipe

, the Portuguese used by the population is an archaic form of Portuguese known as São Tomean Portuguese, which has many similarities with Brazilian Portuguese. Politicians and the upper classes use European Portuguese, like the other PALOP countries.

Three different Portuguese creoles are also spoken in São Tomé and Príncipe. Usually children can only speak Portuguese because of their parents' preference and not because of school. By the time they are adults they usually have learned a Portuguese Creole known as Forro

Forro language

Forro is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in São Tomé and Príncipe.The name means "freed slave" in Portuguese. The language is also called crioulo santomense. It should not be confused with the dialect of Portuguese spoken in São Tomé and Príncipe.- History :São Tomé is an island of the...

(which is a social group language), but more than 50% of the population keeps using Portuguese informally and its use is on the increase. Almost all the population can speak Portuguese (99.8% according to the 1991 census). The population of Príncipe Island uses Portuguese, though some elderly people still speak a local Portuguese Creole.

Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea, a Spanish colony between 1778 and 1968, was originally a group of Portuguese colonies between 1474 and 1778 and Portuguese creoles and pidgins are still spoken today. A Portuguese creole

Portuguese Creole

linked to São Tomé and Principe is the language of the island of Annobón

Annobón

Annobón may refer to:* Annobón Province* Annobonese language* Annobon people...

, Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea

.

In July 2007, President Teodoro Obiang Ngumema announced his government's decision to make Portuguese Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea

's third official language, in order to meet the requirements to apply for full membership of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. This upgrading from its current Associate Observer condition would result in Equatorial Guinea being able to access several professional and academic exchange programs and the facilitation of cross-border circulation of citizens. Its application is currently being assessed by other CPLP members. In October 2011, the unicameral Assembly of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea finally made Portuguese the West African nation's third official language following Spanish and French. This was in an effort by the government to improve its communications, trade, and bilateral relations with Portuguese-speaking countries.

Rest of Africa

Portuguese is also spoken in Malawi

Malawi

The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...

, Namibia

Namibia

, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, Senegal

Senegal

Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, Swaziland

Swaziland

Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...

, Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

, Zambia

Zambia

Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....

, and Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

. In Namibia it is spoken by less than 2% of the population, though it is dying out, and by more than one million people in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. Unlike the PALOP countries, Portuguese spoken in Nigeria (although not official) is Brazilian Portuguese

Brazilian Portuguese

Brazilian Portuguese is a group of Portuguese dialects written and spoken by most of the 190 million inhabitants of Brazil and by a few million Brazilian emigrants, mainly in the United States, United Kingdom, Portugal, Canada, Japan and Paraguay....

, as it is spoken by freed black slaves from Brazil

Afro-Brazilian

In Brazil, the term "preto" is one of the five categories used by the Brazilian Census, along with "branco" , "pardo" , "amarelo" and "indígena"...

. As a fellow member of the SADC, Zambia has introduced Portuguese language instruction in its primary school system.

In the south of Senegal

Senegal

Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

, known as Casamance

Casamance

Casamance is the area of Senegal south of The Gambia including the Casamance River. It consists of Basse Casamance and Haute Casamance...

, there is an active Portuguese creole community linked culturally and linguistically to Guinea-Bissau. Learning the history and language of Portugal is popular, and people feel they are learning part of their background, since they are descendants of Portuguese and Africans.

For further information on the creolization of Portuguese in Africa see Portuguese Creole

Portuguese Creole

Asia

In Asia, Portuguese is spoken in East Timor

East Timor

, Goa, Daman and Diu in India, and Macau

Macau

Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...

in China. It is one of the official languages of East Timor

East Timor

and Macau.

India

In Goa

Goa

Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...

, where it is spoken by an increasingly small minority, it is seen as the 'language of grandparents' because it is no longer taught in schools, nor is it an official language. Goa's national language Konkani

Konkani language

KonkaniKonkani is a name given to a group of several cognate dialects spoken along the narrow strip of land called Konkan, on the west coast of India. This is, however, somewhat an over-generalisation. Geographically, Konkan is defined roughly as the area between the river Damanganga to the north...

, however, has picked up some Portuguese vocabulary, especially Konkani spoken by Catholics.

In Daman, the Portuguese heritage is more lively than Goa, and that is also seen in the language use; about 10% of the population uses Portuguese or a Portuguese semi-Creole, called Língua da Casa. Most of the Indo-Portuguese creoles are already extinct. Aside from that of Daman, the other existing Indo-Portuguese creole is Kristi

Kristi language

Korlai Indo-Portuguese is the language of some 1,000 Christians in an isolated area around the village of Korlai in Raigad District of Maharashtra state, India...

in Korlai.

In addition, Indian Catholics, especially those in the upper castes, often bear Portuguese surnames, despite having no Portuguese background themselves; a relic of the influence that Portugal had in India during the Age of Discovery.

East Timor

In East Timor

East Timor

, the most spoken language is Tetum, an Austronesian

Austronesian languages

The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia that are spoken by about 386 million people. It is on par with Indo-European, Niger-Congo, Afroasiatic and Uralic as one of the...

language that is heavily influenced by Portuguese. The reintroduction of Portuguese as an official language has caused suspicion and resentment among some younger East Timorese who have been educated under the Indonesian system and do not speak it.

Portuguese in East Timor is spoken by less than 20% of its population (13.6% according to the 2004 census), mostly the elder generation, though this percentage is increasing as European Portuguese

European Portuguese

European Portuguese refers to the variety of Portuguese spoken in continental Portugal, as well as the Azores and Madeira islands...

is being taught to the younger generation (in schools) and to interested adults.

East Timor asked the other CPLP nations to help it to reintroduce Portuguese as an official language. East Timor uses Portuguese to link itself to a larger international community and to differentiate itself from Indonesia. Xanana Gusmão

Xanana Gusmão

Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão GCL is a former militant who was the first President of East Timor, serving from May 2002 to May 2007...

, president of East Timor, believes that Portuguese will be widely spoken again within 10 years. Recent numbers made in Asian Lusophone meetings showed that the language almost tripled the number of speakers from 1999 to 2005. Its capital Dili

Dili

Dili, spelled Díli in Portuguese, is the capital, largest city, chief port and commercial centre of East Timor.-Geography and Administration:Dili lies on the northern coast of Timor island, the easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands....

also houses an Instituto Camões language center which will increase the percentage of Portuguese speakers.

Macau

In the Chinese special administrative region of Macau, Portuguese is a co-official language with Cantonese

Chinese language

. It is predominately spoken by the Macanese

Macanese people

The Macanese-born Portuguese people or simply the Macanese people refer to an ethnic group which originated in Macau since the 16th century, consisting mostly of people with some Portuguese ancestry.-Culture:...

(Eurasian

Eurasian (mixed ancestry)

The word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent....

) and Portuguese

Portuguese people

The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....

minorities, who comprise 3% of Macau's population, although there are Portuguese-speaking ethnic Chinese

Han Chinese

Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...

and there is only one school where Portuguese is the language of instruction, due to strong immigration from mainland China since the 20th century.

Macau has a Portuguese-language radio and television station, which existed before the return to the People's Republic of China. Some Brazilian television stations air in Macau, but the only Portuguese-language school said that European Portuguese must be taught to students. Although Portuguese use was in decline in Asia in the early 21st century after Macau was ceded back to China in 1999, it is becoming a language for opportunity there, mostly due to East Timor's boost in the number of speakers in the last five years, but also retention of Portuguese as official language in Macau (part of the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration on the issue of Macau) in addition to increased Chinese diplomatic and financial ties with Portuguese-speaking countries. Macau also houses an Instituto Camões language center.

The Macanese

Macanese people

formerly spoke a Portuguese-based creole, the Macanese language

Macanese language

Macanese or Macau Creole is a creole language derived mainly from Malay, Sinhalese, Cantonese, and Portuguese, which was originally spoken by the Macanese community of the Portuguese colony of Macau...

or Patuá which is almost extinct.

Japan

In Japan, Portuguese is spoken as a home language

Home language

by Brazilians of Japanese descent, known as dekassegui
Dekasegi
Dekasegi is a term used in Latin American cultures to refer to ethnic Japanese people who have migrated to Japan, having taken advantage of Japanese citizenship or nisei visa and immigration laws to escape from economic instability in South America...

, who number approximately 300,000 (in 2010) people, making Japan the Asian nation with the largest number of Portuguese speakers. Portuguese is also the third most spoken foreign language as mother tongue in Japan, after Chinese

Chinese language

and Korean

Korean language

Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...

India

In Goa

Goa

Konkani language

Kristi language

Korlai Indo-Portuguese is the language of some 1,000 Christians in an isolated area around the village of Korlai in Raigad District of Maharashtra state, India...

Rest of Asia

In Malacca

Malacca

Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...

(Malaysia), there is a Portuguese creole

Portuguese Creole

known as Papiá Kristang
Kristang language
Papiá Kristang , or just Kristang, is a creole language. It is spoken by the Kristang, a community of people of mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry, chiefly in Malacca and Singapore....

or Cristão, still spoken by some of the Eurasian population. There are also several Portuguese creole

Portuguese Creole

s especially in India and Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

Europe

The language is also spoken throughout Europe by Portuguese influence, by more than 10% of the population of Luxembourg

Luxembourg

and Andorra

Andorra

. There are also strong Portuguese speaking communities in Belgium, France, Germany, Jersey

Jersey

Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...

, United Kingdom and Switzerland, but Portuguese emigration has declined, which could lead to a decrease of speakers in some European countries. An exception is Luxembourg, where the language has gained strong roots, and most Luxembourgeois of Portuguese descent can speak Portuguese perfectly; there are Portuguese radio and TV stations, and the language is taught in some schools. In January 2003, 14.23% of the Luxembourgeois population was Portuguese. The United Kingdom also has a number of Portuguese speakers, including Portuguese Creole speakers from Asia, Africa, and India.

Americas

In North America, Portuguese is spoken by 600,000 people in the USA and around 100,000 Luso-Canadians. In the United States, there are large populations of Portuguese-speakers in the states of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, and Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

. In Canada, most Portuguese speakers can be found near and around Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

and Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

. There is also a sizable community in the Caribbean and Bermuda

Bermuda

International organizations

The Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries, or CPLP, is an international organization consisting of the eight independent countries which have Portuguese as an official language. Portuguese is also an official language of the European Union

European Union

, Mercosul and the African Union

African Union

The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...

(along with English and French) and the Latin Union

Latin Union

The Latin Union is an international organization of nations that use Romance languages, with the aim of protecting, projecting, and promoting the common cultural heritage and unifying identities of the Latin, and Latin-influenced, world. It was created in 1954 in Madrid, Spain, and has existed as a...

, and one of the official languages of other organizations. It is named one of the working languages of Southern African Development Community

Southern African Development Community

The Southern African Development Community is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security cooperation among 15 southern African states...

. Except for Equatorial Guinea and the Asian territories East Timor and Macau, Portuguese is the sole official language in each country.

Related languages and dialects

Some dialects and languages related to Portuguese exist in border areas between Spanish and Portuguese:

Mirandese (Mirandes/lingua Mirandesa), within the Asturian
Asturian language
Asturian is a Romance language of the West Iberian group, Astur-Leonese Subgroup, spoken in the Spanish Region of Asturias by the Asturian people...

–Leonese
Leonese language
The Leonese language is the endonym term used to refer to all vernacular Romance dialects of the Astur-Leonese linguistic group in the Spanish provinces of León and Zamora; Astur-Leonese also includes the dialects...

language group, spoken in and around Miranda do Douro
Miranda do Douro
Miranda do Douro or Miranda de l Douro , is a city in Miranda do Douro Municipality, district of Bragança, Portugal.The city has a population of 1,960.-General information:...

/ Miranda de I Douro, Northeastern Portugal.
Barranquenho
Barranquenho
Barranquenho , is a Romance linguistic variety spoken in the Portuguese town of Barrancos, near the Spanish border. It can be considered a variety of Portuguese heavily influenced by the Spanish dialects of neighbouring areas in Extremadura and Andalusia , or a Spanish dialect heavily influenced by...

- mixture of Portuguese and Extremaduran language
Extremaduran language
Extremaduran is a Romance language, spoken by several hundred thousand people in Spain, in an area covering the north-western part of the autonomous community of Extremadura and adjoining areas in the province of Salamanca....

, spoken in Barrancos
Barrancos
Barrancos is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 168.3 km² and a total population of 1,825 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of one parish, being one of the six Portuguese municipalities composed of only one parish, and is located in Beja District, close to the Spanish...

, Alentejo, Portugal.
The Fala
Fala language
Fala is a Romance linguistic variety commonly classified in the Portuguese-Galician subgroup, with some traits from Leonese, spoken in Spain by about 10,500 people, of whom 5,500 live in a valley of the northwestern part of Extremadura near the border with Portugal...

- Portuguese-Galician subgroup, spoken in some parts of Spain.
Galician language
Galician language
Galician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and...

- the native language of Galicia, original member of the Portuguese-Galician subgroup, and not distinct from Portuguese until the 15th century.
Riverense Portuñol
Riverense Portuñol language
The Riverense Portuñol/Portunhol, also known as Fronterizo/Fronteiriço or just Portuñol/Portunhol, is a mixed language formed from Portuguese and Spanish. It is spoken on the border between Uruguay and Brazil, and more specifically in the region of the twin cities of Rivera and Santana do...

- mixture of Portuguese and Spanish, spoken in Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

, Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

, Brazil and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

.

Portugal

Spain

Brazil

Rest of South America

Africa

Angola

Mozambique

Cape Verde

Guinea-Bissau

São Tomé and Príncipe

Equatorial Guinea

Rest of Africa

Asia

India

East Timor

Macau

Japan

India

Rest of Asia

Europe

Americas

International organizations

Related languages and dialects

See also