Portuguese in Denmark

Danish Portuguese

Luso-dinamarqueses (Portuguese) Dansk portugisisk (Danish)
Total population
4,476 [1]
Languages
Danish, Portuguese
Religion
Predominantly Christianity (Roman Catholicism), Irreligion
Related ethnic groups
Other Portuguese people, Portuguese in Finland, Portuguese in Iceland, Portuguese in Norway, Portuguese in Sweden

Portuguese in Denmark (Danish : portugisisk i Danmark) are citizens and residents of Denmark and its dependencies who are of Portuguese descent.

Portuguese in Denmark (also known as Portuguese Danes/ Danish-Portuguese Community or, in Portuguese, known as Portugueses na Dinamarca / Comunidade portuguesa na Dinamarca / Luso-dinamarqueses) are the citizens or residents of Denmark whose ethnic origins lie in Portugal.

Portuguese Danes are Portuguese-born citizens with a Danish citizenship or Danish-born citizens of Portuguese ancestry or citizenship.

There are approximately 4,476 Portuguese people living in Denmark as of 2021. They represent 0.08% of the country's population. ^{[2] [3]}

History

Map showing the location of the two countries within Europe

Portuguese embassy in Copenhagen

The Portuguese community in the country has experienced considerable growth, especially after Brexit. Portuguese emigrants are in fact leaving the United Kingdom for Nordic countries: most of them are highly qualified and aged between 20 and 40, looking for better quality of life and economic stability. ^{[4] [5]} Portuguese emigration towards Denmark didn't slow down even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[6]

There are also Portuguese living in territories of the Danish Realm other than metropolitan Denmark: in 2023 there were 8 Portuguese-born residents in Faroe Islands and 10 in Greenland. ^{[7] [8]}

Footballers

In recent years many Portuguese international footballers have moved to Denmark to play for Danish clubs. In 2023 these included: Carlos Ferreira (in the Faroe Islands, Skála ÍF), André Monteiro (Vejle), Anderson Rosso de Sena (Brabrand), Pedro Ferreira (AaB) and Diogo Gonçalves (Copenhagen). ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Remittances

The Portuguese community in Denmark retains strong ties with its homeland and, between 2000 and 2021, it has sent approximately 92.84 million euros (€) to Portugal in remittances. In the same timeframe, Danes in Portugal (numbering around 1,600 individuals) ^[12] have sent approximately 11.13 million euros (€) to Denmark. ^[13]

Portuguese language

King Luís of Portugal visits Copenhagen

As of today, the Portuguese are part of a wider Portuguese-speaking community in Denmark, comprising around 720 people from PALOP countries (the overwhelming majority being from Angola or from Mozambique), Timor-Leste or Macau and 5,800 Brazilians. ^[14]

People from CPLP countries thus number around 11,000 people, accounting for 0.19% of the population of Denmark. ^[3] Despite being small, the immigrant community of people coming from CPLP countries in Denmark is quite visible when compared to the ones in other Nordic countries: in Finland there are a little more than 5,000 CPLP nationals (0.09% of the country's population), ^{[15] [16]} in Iceland there are around 2,000 CPLP nationals (0.52% of the country's population), ^{[17] [18] [19] [20] [21]} while in Norway there are around 25,300 CPLP nationals (0.38% of the population) ^{[22] [18] [23] [24]} and in Sweden 26,700 (0.25% of the population). ^{[25] [26] [18] [27]}

Notable people

Alexandre de Sousa Holstein, Pedro de Sousa Holstein's father and Portuguese ambassador to Denmark in the 18th century.

• Berengaria of Portugal (1198–1221): Portuguese infanta (princess) and Queen of Denmark, by marriage to King Valdemar II
• Christopher I of Denmark (1219–1259): King of Denmark between 1252 and 1259. He was the son of Valdemar II of Denmark by his second wife, Berengaria of Portugal
• Christopher, Duke of Lolland (1341–1363): great-great-grandson of Christopher I of Denmark
• Eleanor of Portugal, Queen of Denmark (1211–1231): Portuguese infanta , the only daughter of Afonso II of Portugal and Urraca of Castile, Queen of Portugal. Eleanor was Queen of Denmark by marriage to Valdemar the Young
• Eric IV of Denmark (1216–1250): King of Denmark from 1241 until his death in 1250, son of Berengaria
• Erika de Casier (1990): Portuguese-Danish singer, songwriter, and record producer
• Lukas Fernandes (1993): retired Danish footballer
• Emilie da Fonseca (1803–1884): Norwegian-Danish stage actor and opera singer
• Ida Henriette da Fonseca (1802–1858): Danish opera singer and composer
• Margaret I of Denmark (1353–1412): Queen regnant of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (which included Finland) from the late 1380s until her death, and the founder of the Kalmar Union that joined the Scandinavian kingdoms together for over a century. great-great-granddaughter of Christopher I of Denmark
• Pedro Oliveira (1971): Portuguese academic
• Camille Pissarro (1830–1903): Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter

See also

• Denmark-Portugal relations
• Finland-Portugal relations
• Iceland-Portugal relations
• Norway-Portugal relations
• Portugal–Sweden relations
• Portuguese in Finland
• Portuguese in Iceland
• Portuguese in Norway
• Portuguese in Sweden
• Portuguese in Germany

References

1. "Relações Bilaterais Portugal-Dinamarca".
2. "Dinamarca". Portal Diplomático (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 23 July 2023.
3. "Population figures". www.dst.dk. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
4. Ferreira, Marta Leite (28 June 2023). "Novos emigrantes portugueses trocam o Reino Unido pelos países nórdicos: "Parece uma redistribuição", diz Observatório". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 23 July 2023.
5. Lusa (15 February 2022). "Nunca houve tantos portugueses a emigrar para a Dinamarca". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 23 July 2023.
6. "Emigrantes portugueses optam cada vez mais por países nórdicos e do Benelux". Dinheiro Vivo (in European Portuguese). 11 January 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
7. "IB01040 Population by birth country, sex and age, 1st January (1985–2023)". PxWeb. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
8. "Place of Birth by age, place of birth, gender and time". StatBank. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
9. "Carlos Ferreira: "Sei de onde venho e onde quero ir, isso é o mais importante na vida e no futebol" | A Verdade" (in European Portuguese). 17 April 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
10. "Monteiro var tæt på Sporting CP: Nu drømmer han om superligadebut i Vejle | Vejle Boldklub". vejle-boldklub.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 24 July 2023.
11. "Fra Benfica til Brabrand: Ronaldinho-fan vil slå igennem i Danmark". bold.dk (in Danish). 1 March 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
12. "Sefstat" (PDF).
13. "Observatório da Emigração". observatorioemigracao.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 28 July 2023.
14. "Statistikbanken". www.statbank.dk. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
15. "Finnish citizens with dual nationality by Second nationality, Year, Sex, Age and Information". PxWeb. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
16. "Population 31.12. by Region, Nationality, Age, Sex, Year and Information". PxWeb. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
17. "Population by country of birth, sex and age 1 January 1998–2022". PxWeb. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
18. "Brasileiros no exterior" (PDF).
19. "Observatório da Emigração". observatorioemigracao.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 23 July 2023.
20. "Foreign citizens gaining Icelandic citizenship by former citizenship, sex and age 1991–2021". PxWeb. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
21. "Statistics Iceland: Overview". Statistics Iceland. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
22. "Immigrants in Norway".
23. Pisco, Paulo (13 March 2020). "Os portugueses na Noruega". BOM DIA (in Portuguese). Retrieved 23 July 2023.
24. "Statistics Norway". SSB. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
25. "Population by country of birth, age and sex. Year 2000 – 2022". Statistikdatabasen. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
26. "Statistics Sweden". Statistiska Centralbyrån. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
27. "Observatório da Emigração". observatorioemigracao.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 23 July 2023.
28. "O Portal da História – Memórias: D. Alexandre de Sousa Holstein". www.arqnet.pt. Retrieved 27 July 2023.