Total population | |
---|---|
244,217 [1] | |
Languages | |
German, Portuguese | |
Religion | |
Predominantly Christianity (Roman Catholicism), Irreligion | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Other Portuguese people, Portuguese in Austria, Portuguese in Liechtenstein, Portuguese in the Netherlands, Portuguese in Switzerland |
Portuguese in Germany (German: Portugiesen in Deutschland) are citizens and residents of Germany who are of Portuguese descent.
Portuguese in Germany (also known as Portuguese Germans/ German Portuguese Community or, in Portuguese, known as Portugueses na Alemanha / Comunidade portuguesa na Alemanha / Luso-alemães) are the citizens or residents of Germany whose ethnic origins lie in Portugal.
Portuguese Germans are Portuguese-born citizens with German citizenship or German-born citizens of Portuguese ancestry or citizenship.
There are about 245,000 Portuguese people living in Germany as of 2021. They represent 0.29% of the country's population. [2] [3]
Portuguese in Germany have been known since the 16th century. They are now part of the Portuguese diaspora scattered around the world and are generally considered low profile and well integrated. [4]
The initial larger Portuguese community in Germany emerged during the 16th century in the Hanseatic city of Hamburg, when Sephardic Jews sought refuge here from the Inquisition. [5]
During the First World War, approximately 5,000 Portuguese prisoners of war were temporarily held in Germany, primarily at the specially constructed prisoner of war camp in Breesen, and occasionally in other camps like Soltau-Ahften. [6] [7]
In the final three years of World War II, some Portuguese individuals were deported to German concentration camps, mainly from occupied France. Recent estimates suggest that around 1,000 Portuguese, mainly members of the Luso-French community, were used by Nazi Germany. [8] Sadly, a few dozen of them lost their lives there. In 1941, about 150 Portuguese volunteers joined the Spanish Blue Division to support Nazi Germany. They were primarily ex-Legion Viriatos members and fought on the Eastern Front. [9] [10] [11]
n the post-war period, Hundreds of thousands of Portuguese settled as guest workers in other European countries, especially in Western Europe.
Following a recruitment agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and Portugal, tens of thousands of Portuguese guest workers arrived since 17 March 1964.
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. [12]
After the Carnation Revolution in 1974 and Portugal's EU accession in 1986, the country experienced significant economic growth and a decline in emigration.
In Germany, the demand for foreign labor was extremely high during the "Golden Years" (Wirtschaftswunder) of the 1960s. Following the 1973 oil crisis, the German government curtailed immigration and, until 1983, implemented a policy to promote and encourage return migration. [13] [14] [15]
Due to growing xenophobia and an increase in unemployment among foreign workers, the German government passed a law in October 1983 to finance the voluntary return of foreign workers to their countries of origin. Foreign workers who were legally recruited and residing in the country individually received a reimbursement of 10,500 Deutsche Marks – approximately the amount they had contributed to the German social security system (retirement fund). [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]
This program was only applicable to foreigners leaving Germany before 30 June 1984. According to Zimmermann et al. (1998: 1–7), 20 thousand Portuguese workers participated in the program. As a result, the Portuguese population in Germany decreased to 69 thousand by 1987. [21] [22] [23] [24] [25]
However, with the economic crisis in Portugal after the 2007 financial crisis, emigration from Portugal to Germany increased once again.
Nowadays, the immigrants are mostly well-educated, often holding academic qualifications. In recent years, Berlin has become particularly attractive to Portuguese academics, specialists, and students, even surpassing Hamburg as the city with the largest Portuguese community. [26] [27]
The largest Portuguese community is located in Hamburg, where about 25,000 people with Portuguese heritage live. 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. [28] [29] [30] [31] In Germany there are 145 Portuguese associations. [32] The Portuguese associations are found all over Germany and are often related to sports centers, language centers or community centers. [33] [34] Despite the widespread presence of Portuguese centers, there is a higher concentration in Nordrhein-Westphalen (North Rhine-Westphalia), Baden-Württemberg and Hessen: despite hosting around 42% of Germany's population, these states ( Länder ) host around 60% of the Portuguese community. [35]
The Portuguese community, despite being highly integrated, retains distinctive features of Portuguese religious culture such as Catholic Christmas and devotion to Our Lady of Fátima. [36] [37]
Portuguese in Germany tend to have settled long time ago, and they have generally spent more than 20 years in the country. [38]
The two countries enjoy friendly relationships and mutual trust, witnessing increasing trade as well. [32] [39] [40] [41]
The Portuguese community in Germany retains strong ties with its homeland and, between 2000 and 2021, it has sent approximately 4.5 billion euros (€) to Portugal in remittances. In the same timeframe, Germans in Portugal (numbering around 20,500 individuals) [42] have sent approximately 136.4 million euros (€) to Germany. [43]
In several German cities, one can find associations dedicated to Portuguese culture, parishes where Portuguese is spoken, and classes specifically tailored for native Portuguese speakers, which are also available in mainstream schools. For instance, at the Max Planck High School in Dortmund, Portuguese is offered up to the Abitur level. [44]
The Portuguese cultural associations are predominantly organized under the Federal Association FAPA (Federal Association of Portuguese Associations in Germany). Additionally, the Portuguese cultural institute, Instituto Camões, operates a language center in Hamburg and a cultural center in Berlin, along with various partnerships and lectureships. [45] [46]
Portugal Post, a Portuguese-language newspaper, has been published throughout Germany since 1993, with its headquarters located in Dortmund. Since 2018, its base of operations has shifted to Berlin. [47]
Nowadays, Portuguese is not only a heritage language for migrants coming from countries such as Portugal or Brazil, but it is also studied by German people with interest towards Lusophone culture. [48] [49] [50] [51]
Demographic features of the population of Gibraltar include ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects.
Demographic features of the population of Portugal include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
The Portuguese Football Federation is the governing body of football in Portugal. The federation was formed in 1914 as Portuguese Football Union by the three existing regional associations of Lisbon, Portalegre and Porto, before adopting its current name in 1926, and is based in the city of Oeiras. The (FPF) joined FIFA in 1923 and is also a founding member of UEFA.
The Portuguese people are a Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation indigenous to Portugal, a country in the west of the Iberian Peninsula in the south-west of Europe, who share a common culture, ancestry and language.
Portuguese Luxembourgers, also known as Luso-Luxembourgers, are citizens or residents of Luxembourg whose ethnic origins lie in Portugal, including both Portuguese-born citizens with Luxembourg citizenship and Luxembourg-born citizens of Portuguese ancestry or citizenship.
Portuguese Africans are Portuguese people born or permanently settled in Africa. The largest Portuguese African population lives in Portugal numbering over 1 million with large and important minorities living in South Africa, Namibia and the Portuguese-speaking African countries .The descendants of the Portuguese settlers who were born and "raised" locally since Portuguese colonial time were called crioulos. Much of the original population is unnumbered having been assimilated into Portugal, Brazil, and other countries.
Afro-Portuguese(Afro portugueses or Lusoafricanos), African-Portuguese(Portugueses com ascendência africana), or Black Portuguese are Portuguese people with total or partial ancestry from any of the Sub-Saharan ethnic groups of Africa.
Domingos Alexandre Martins da Costa, commonly known as Alex, is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played mainly as a right-back, currently a manager.
As of December 2022, Portugal had 1,733,067 inhabitants that were born in a foreign country, out of 10,516,621 inhabitants, accounting for 16.48% of its total population. This figure also includes all Portuguese nationals born outside of Portugal. This applies whether they are children of Portuguese citizens living abroad at the time of their birth or foreign-born individuals who have acquired Portuguese citizenship through naturalization. Dealing with foreign nationals, in 2023 around 1,044,606 foreign citizens lived in Portugal, accounting for 9.82% of Portugal's population. Among foreign nationals, about 35.3% were from Brazil.
Portuguese in the Netherlands, also Portuguese Dutch, Dutch Portuguese or Luso-Dutch, are the citizens or residents of the Netherlands whose ethnic origins lie in Portugal.
Portuguese in France, also referred to as Luso-French, refers to people from Portugal who immigrated to or reside in France or French citizens of Portuguese descent. A common nickname among Portuguese people for their diaspora in France is aveques, from the French: avec, lit. 'with', though the term may be used in the reverse, that is, for Francophones living in Portugal, or for French people in general.
Higor Inácio Platiny de Oliveira Rodrigues, known as Platiny, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga Portugal 2 club Chaves.
Germany–Portugal relations are the diplomatic relations between Germany and Portugal. Both countries are members of the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the OECD, NATO, the European Space Agency, the European Union, the Eurozone and the Schengen area, among others.
Luccas Paraizo Feitosa, known as Luccas Paraizo or just Paraizo, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a forward for Torreense on loan from Guarani.
Portuguese in Belgium are the citizens or residents of Belgium whose ethnic origins lie in Portugal.
Portuguese in Croatia are citizens and residents of Croatia who are of Portuguese descent.
Portuguese in Slovenia are citizens and residents of Slovenia who are of Portuguese descent.
Portuguese in the Czech Republic are citizens and residents of the Czech Republic who are of Portuguese descent.
Portuguese in Liechtenstein are citizens and residents of Liechtenstein who are of Portuguese descent.
Portuguese in Austria are citizens and residents of Austria who are of Portuguese descent.