There are about 1.3 million people who self-report as Portuguese descendants and immigrants in the United States, a community with increasinglevels of education, in which the number of Portuguese descendants who speak Portuguese is growing, and which has been settling in less traditional states for Portuguese immigration, such as Florida, Texas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

The conclusions are part of a study on the demographic and socioeconomic profile of the Portuguese-American community in the United States, developed, at the request of FLAD, by a group of researchers, led by Alda Botelho Azevedo, from the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon.

The Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) today announces the study “Portuguese immigrants and descendants in the USA in the 21st Century’, a report on the current demographic and socioeconomic profile of the Portuguese-American community in the United States, promoted by FLAD and developed by a group of researchers under the coordination of Alda Botelho Azevedo, from the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon. This research, the result of which is now published, covers the years between 2006 and 2020.

“We often say that the Portuguese community in the United States has a new profile. We also affirm the importance of the language and how it is present in the new generations. But this had not, until now, been properly documented with data that went beyond the early years of the 21st century. With this study, we open doors for a deeper knowledge of the Portuguese-American community.” – Rita Faden, President of FLAD

The way the country and institutions, including FLAD, relate to the community – and the way the members of that community relate to each other – depends not only on being close to one another, but also on the knowledge we have of the group as a whole and its features.

The commitment to carry out this research arises precisely from the need to have more information and knowledge about the Portuguese-American community, and thus – both for FLAD and for other institutions and groups – it is possible to develop and promote targeted initiatives that strengthen the community, encouraging the associative movement, civic participation and training, as well as political representation. This is crucial for the community to make its voice heard in the United States and enhance the connection between the two countries.

“We cannot act for and with the community without knowing how many members it has, who they are, in what conditions they live, and in what states and cities we can find them.” – Rita Faden, President of FLAD

With this research, we open the door to the increasingly deeper knowledge of this population, mostly made up of Portuguese descendants, speakers or not of the Portuguese language, and, to a lesser extent, by Portuguese immigrants, with or without American citizenship. This shows their greater geographical dispersion, higher qualifications, as well as the activities in which they work, the access they have to health, the conditions they live in, among other indicators. With this research, we also highlight the importance of encouraging the Portuguese descendant population to identify their Portuguese origin and get closer to this heritage.

This report is the product of the work of six researchers, under the coordination of Alda Botelho Azevedo, to whom FLAD thanks for the enthusiasm shown from day one, as well as the dedication with which they developed the work until the date of its publication.

Highlights:

  • About 1.3 million people over the age of 5 identify as immigrants and Portuguese descendants in the United States;
  • Portuguese language and the continuity and increase of the identification of Portuguese origin: the number of Portuguese descendants who speak Portuguese is growing;
  • Of the community made up of immigrants and Portuguese descendants, 22.49% speak Portuguese at home, in addition to English;
  • This group is mainly concentrated in the states of Massachusetts, California, Florida, New Jersey and Rhode Island;
  • Trend towards greater geographical dispersion of the descendants of Portuguese who speak Portuguese, which appears associated with a growth in the establishment of residences in states of the South and Southeast. This group is increasing in states such as Florida, Texas, Georgia, and New York;
  • Between 2016-2020, four out of ten Portuguese descendants who speak Portuguese have higher education;

The full study can be found here. To access the brochure, with the main results of this study, see here.

For more information, please contact Leonor Barroso (FLAD) – Leonor.barroso@flad.pt or Alda Botelho de Azevedo – alda.azevedo@ics.ulisboa.pt