Portuguese-speaking countries

List of the 9 countries where Portuguese is an official language

Official languages

Portuguese-speaking countries

Country Capital Capital Continent Population Continent Official languages
Angola Angola Luanda Luanda Africa 37,885,849Africa Portugais
Brazil Brazil Brasilia Brasilia America 211,998,573America Portugais
Cape Verde Cape Verde Praia Praia Africa 524,877Africa Portugais
East Timor East Timor Dili Dili Oceania 1,400,638Oceania Tétoum, Portugais
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea Malabo Malabo Africa 1,892,516Africa Espagnol, Français, Portugais
Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau Bissau Bissau Africa 2,201,352Africa Portugais
Mozambique Mozambique Maputo Maputo Africa 34,631,766Africa Portugais
Portugal Portugal Lisbon Lisbon Europe 10,701,636Europe Portugais
São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé São Tomé Africa 235,536Africa Portugais

Frequently asked questions

How many Portuguese-speaking countries are there in the world?

There are 9 countries where Portuguese is an official language, across 4 continents: Europe (Portugal), South America (Brazil), Africa (Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Guinea-Bissau) and Asia (East Timor).

What is the largest Portuguese-speaking country?

Brazil is by far the largest Lusophone country, both in area (8.5 million km², 5th globally) and population (~215 million). It accounts for about 80% of native Portuguese speakers worldwide.

Are Brazilian and European Portuguese very different?

There are notable differences in pronunciation, vocabulary and sometimes grammar between the two varieties — comparable to American vs British English. Speakers understand each other perfectly in both spoken and written form.

Is Portuguese an important world language?

Yes: with around 260 million native speakers, Portuguese is the 6th most spoken native language. It is also the official language of the CPLP (Community of Portuguese Language Countries) and one of the EU's official languages.