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. Most of those perceived as Afro-Portuguese trace their ancestry to former Portuguese overseas colonies in Africa. Black Brazilians living in Portugal, as well as other Black people (e.g. Black Caribbean, Black Europeans) are also sometimes included, although no statistics are available, as it is illegal for the Portuguese State to collect data on ethnicity and race (similarly to what happens in other European countries such as France, Italy or Spain but contrary to the norm in the American Census). Alternatively, Afro-Portuguese (Afro portugueses or Lusoafricanos) may also refer to various populations of Portuguese descent, to various degrees, living throughout Africa, often speaking Portuguese or Portuguese creole (see Luso-Africans or Portuguese Africans instead).

History

Early history

Although there may have been people of Black African descent living in Portugal since the Antiquity, they started arriving in significant numbers only after the Moorish conquest of the Iberian Peninsula (Saqaliba) and, more significantly, after the creation of the Portuguese Empire. For instance, there are early reports of Sudanese working in Portugal dating back to 1440 and of Ethiopian people living in Porto in 1466. The first slaves were brought to Portugal as early as 1444. There are also records of there being Black slaves in Lisbon in the Middle Ages. By the mid-16th century, there were approximately 10,000 Africans in Lisbon, around 10% of the city's population. By the end of the 16th century, the predominantly African neighborhood of Mocambo was established in the modern neighborhood of.

Modern period

20th century

Black Portuguese citizens are primarily descendants or migrants issuing from the five former Portuguese colonies in Africa: Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and São Tomé and Príncipe. The colonies were abolished in 1951, transformed into overseas provinces by the Estado Novo regime of António de Oliveira Salazar and became integral parts of Portugal. A minority also originate from other Sub-Saharan African countries. These communities arrived in continental Portugal after the independence of the African overseas provinces in the mid-1970s and after the Portuguese economic growth in the late 1980s. They should not be confused with the population – of overwhelming white European descent – that "returned" from the colonies immediately after their independence. This different ethnic group is the one formed by the so-called retornados (meaning "those who came back") — Portuguese settlers and descendants of Portuguese settlers born in former African colonies who relocated to continental Portugal after their independence and in the first half of the 1980s. One of the primary settlement areas for communities in Portugal, especially the Cape Verdean one, were the lands north of Lisbon, near the present-day parish of Benfica. Starting from the 1970s, numerous clandestine neighborhoods (bairros) emerged here, often lacking basic services and plagued by crime-related issues. From 1993 onwards, with Portugal's slum eradication program, many people have been provided with alternative public housing and, despite the initial discrimination, many have nowadays found success. For instance, in Amadora only around 10,000 people used to live in shanty towns such as: Despite initial difficulty during the resettlements, many Afro-Portuguese people have now access to enhanced opportunities and some popular neighbourhoods built for housing them, such as Outurela and Casal da Mira, have been praised for their succeeding in actually bettering the living conditions of citizens once neglected. Immigration to Portugal, historically low, soared after the country's accession to the EU in 1986 and increased significantly starting in the late 1990s, also under form of human trafficking.

21st century

After a hiatus due to the 2008 Global recession, immigration increased again starting in mid-2010s. African immigrants have always be an important fraction of the total immigrant population, especially those coming from former colonies. In 2015, Francisca Van Dunem (Angolan-Portuguese) became the first black Portuguese minister in the Portuguese government. Since the inauguration of Portuguese democracy, 6 Portuguese people of African descent have been elected MPs. As of today, the only MP of African descent is jurist and politician Romualda Fernandes. In recent years, a renewed interest towards immigration to Portugal has emerged, particularly in Portuguese-speaking African countries and for study purposes. For instance, the number of students coming from a Portuguese-speaking African country has increased by 170% from 2017 to 2022. Moreover, as Portugal started returning tuition fees to those who come to study and then stay in the country to work student visas are in high demand. In early 2023, Portugal regularized around 113,000 CPLP citizens residing illegally in the country, with PALOP citizens having their status legalized numbering around 20,000.

Immigrants from non-Lusophone countries in Africa

In recent years, Afro-Portuguese immigration has emerged from non-Lusophone African countries, such as Kenya, South Africa, The Gambia and Ghana/ Around 3,000 Nigerians are thought to be living in Portugal and they are generally well integrated apart from a recent problem of marriages of convenience aiming at legalizing immigrants seeking an EU residence permit. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine some Nigerians have also started arriving in Portugal from Eastern Europe. The small community from Mali is well integrated and characterized by their staying legally in the country, contrarily to what happens in other European nations. Other recently arrived immigrants include refugees (e.g. Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Nigeria and Somalia) as well as investors (e.g. Uganda, Namibia, Nigeria and Kenya).

Demographics

According to the Portuguese Foreigners and Borders Services, in December 2023, there were approximately 184,159 people holding the citizenship of a Sub-Saharan African country legally residing in Portugal, and thus accounting for 1.73% of the total population. In addition, only taking into account the period between 2008 and 2023, around 136,346 people hailing from Sub-Saharan Africa received the Portuguese citizenship, accounting for a further 1.28% of the Portuguese population. Bearing in mind that there were many naturalizations occurred before 2008 (as reported by Eurostat ), that Black people from former African colonies living in Portugal were considered Portuguese citizens until 1975 (and many retained their citizenship after 1976) and reminding that many Black Portuguese have settled permanently in Portugal for generations (thus their descendants are Portuguese nationals) this leads to an estimate of at least 323,515 people in Portugal of Sub-Saharan African descent. This estimate is done taking into account people with recent immigrant background only, as there are no statistics available indicating the number of Portuguese people of African descent. For instance, if a person holding a citizenship of a Sub-Saharan country marries a Portuguese national (regardless of their "ethnic origin"), the children of this union are not detected in official statistics. This means that, even if a person is of pure African descent (for example, a daughter of a Portuguese mother of Cape Verdean descent and a recently arrived Angolan father) they would not appear among the 323,515 people of "recent" Sub-Saharan background, as the Portuguese nationality law privileges jus sanguinis. Moreover, a person born in Portugal to non-citizens acquires citizenship at birth if at least one parent has been resident in the country for at least one year prior to the time of birth, or was born in Portugal and resident in the country at the time of birth, a fact that is quite common among long-established communities such as the African one: again, these Portuguese individuals, although of African descent, do not appear in official statistics as there are no data aiming at portraying the ethnic diversity of the country. This means that – as of December 2023 – at least 3.04% of the population of Portugal is of African descent (recent immigrant background only), although the percentage is likely much higher. For instance, the Cape Verdean government estimates that 260,000 people of Cape Verdean descent alone might be living in Portugal. To sum up, it is difficult to estimate the number of Portuguese people having African ancestry. In fact, the number of Afro-Portuguese with Portuguese nationality is not known, as there are no official statistics in Portugal regarding race or ethnicity.

Nationality

The Portuguese nationality law privileges Jus sanguinis and a sizable number of Black-Africans in Portugal maintained their respective nationality of origin. Even if the nationality law of 1959 was based on the principle of Jus soli, the changes made in 1975 and 1981 changed it to a Jus sanguinis law after the independence of the African provinces, which denied naturalization not only to first generation migrants, but also to their children and grandchildren. Still this legislation had special clauses: Portuguese nationality was granted to citizens proceeding from Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe and East Timor, as well as those born under Portuguese administration in Goa, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Macau if legally living in Portugal for six years. All other migrants need to live in the country for a period of ten years. A new 2006 law granted Portuguese nationality to the second generation, if living in Portugal for at least five years. It also removed differences between countries of origin, given the influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe, most notably Ukrainians. The law was announced in 2005 by Prime minister José Sócrates and granted Portuguese nationality to children born in Portugal of foreign parents, as he stated: "those children did not spoke another language other than Portuguese and only studied in Portuguese schools, but had nationality denied." In general, today is much easier for Black people living in Portugal to naturalise as Portuguese citizens via naturalisation: after residing in the country for at least five years and demonstrating proficiency in the Portuguese language (the overwhelming majority of the Black people in Portugal come from countries where Portuguese is an official language) they can, in fact, proceed to acquire Portuguese citizenship. If married to Portuguese citizens they may acquire citizenship by declaration after three years of residence. The arrival of these black Africans in Portugal, coupled with their difficulty in accessing full citizenship, enhanced, from the 1970s onwards, the processes of ethnic and racial discrimination. This is the result of multiple factors, from institutional and juridical, to socio-cultural (the construction of stereotypical ethno-racial differences), residential (with the concentration of black migrants in degraded ghettos in Lisbon area, although this does not occur elsewhere in the country) and economical (the poorly qualified professional and educational profile of the migrants). coupled with a parallel strengthening of black identity in African migrants, even surpassing national origins. In 2016, the UN committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination visited Portugal and recommended that Portugal implement specific measures for the Afro-descendent community, in as in cases where some black Portuguese, today full adults, are without citizenship even in cases where siblings can be full Portuguese citizens, such as those born before 1981 or after their parents become legal migrants.

Afro-Portuguese

• A • Aladje • Asumah Abubakar, footballer • Paulo Agostinho, footballer • Cláudio Aguiar, footballer • Germano Almeida, writer • João Carlos Almeida, hurdler • Bruno Alves, footballer • Francisco Amiel, basketball player • Jorge Andrade, footballer • Leandro Andrade • B • Yalany Baio, footballer • Ricardo Batista, footballer • Firmino Baptista, Paralympic athlete • Lorène Bazolo, sprinter • Bebé (futsal player), futsal player • Bebé, footballer • Beto, footballer • Aylton Boa Morte, footballer • Luís Boa Morte, footballer • Hernâni Borges, footballer • José Bosingwa, footballer • Nuno Borges • Bruma, footballer • C • David Carmo • Liliana Cá, discus thrower • Cafú, footballer • Carlitos, footballer • Ricardo Cardoso, footballer • Fábio Carvalho, footballer • Gil Carvalho, footballer • William Carvalho, footballer • Quevin Castro, footballer • Yorgan De Castro, mixed martial artist • Ivan Cavaleiro, footballer • Chiquinho, footballer • Mário Coluna, footballer • Paulo Conceição, high jumper • Félix Correia, footballer • Thierry Correia, footballer • Frederico Da Costa, footballer • Manuel Da Costa • Gilson Costa, footballer • Nuno da Costa, footballer • Susana Costa, triple jumper • Costinha, footballer • Oceano da Cruz, footballer • Youssef Chermiti • D • Olimpia Lopes DaVeiga, handball player • Nuno Delgado, judoka • Tasha de Vasconcelos, model and actress • Célio Dias, judoka • Marta Dias, singer • Jordão Diogo • Tiago Djaló, footballer • Mamadou Djikiné, footballer • Mesaque Djú, footballer • Auriol Dongmo, shot putter • Fábio Duarte, footballer • E • Eder, footballer • Edinho, footballer • Wilson Eduardo, footballer • Alain Ekwe, footballer • Guilherme Espírito Santo, footballer • Dário Essugo, footballer • Adérito Esteves, rugby player • Eliseu • Estrela, footballer • Eusébio, footballer • Nelson Évora, athlete • F • Gedson Fernandes, footballer • Ivanildo Fernandes, footballer • Manuel Fernandes, footballer • Márcio Fernandes, athlete • Nilton Fernandes, footballer • Rogério Fernandes, footballer • Vasco Fernandes, footballer • Ana Firmino, singer • Jorge Fonseca, judoka • Carlos Fortes, footballer • Fábio Fortes, footballer • Marco Fortes, shot putter • G • Gisvi, footballer • Érica Gomes, paralympic athlete • Estêvão Gomes, explorer and mutineer • João Gomes, basketball player • José Gomes, footballer • Naide Gomes, athlete • José Gonçalves, footballer • H • Boubacar Hanne, footballer • I • Tiago Ilori, footballer • Bruno Martins Indi, footballer • J • Lucrécia Jardim, sprinter • João Mário, footballer • Sido Jombati, footballer • Rui Jordão, footballer • K • Grada Kilomba, academic in race and colonial studies • L • Luís Leal, footballer • Rafael Leão, footballer • Maria de Lourdes Levy, physician • Filipe Lombá, sprinter • Ludgero Lopes, futsal player • Patrícia Lopes, athlete • Florentino Luis, footballer • Jucie Lupeta, footballer • Lura, singer • Vicente Lusitano, composer • Néné da Luz, footballer • M • Ariza Makukula, footballer • Nuno Malheiro, footballer • Patrícia Mamona, triple jumper • Carlos Mané, footballer • Mano, footballer • Nélson Marcos, footballer • Lope Martín, explorer • Gelson Martins, footballer • Sara Martins, actress • Nuno Mendes, footballer • Sandro Mendes, footballer • Inácio Miguel, footballer • Nílson Miguel, footballer • Roderick Miranda, footballer • José Monteiro, Paralympic athlete • Miguel Monteiro, footballer • Ricardo Monteiro, sprinter • João Moreira, footballer • Vítor Moreno, footballer • Valdemar Mota, footballer • N • Isaac Nader, middle-distance runner • Nani, footballer • Yazaldes Nascimento, sprinter • Jardel Nazaré, footballer • Flávio Nazinho, footballer • Almada Negreiros, artist • Aldair Neves, footballer • Adjeil Neves, footballer • Serif Nhaga, footballer • Nuno, football manager • O • Francis Obikwelu, sprinter • P • Viriato Pã, attorney general of Guinea–Bissau • João de Sá (Panasco), gentleman courtier of the Royal Household • Tito Paris, musician • Pauleta, futsal player • Jack Paulo, model • João Paulo, footballer • Bruno Paz, footballer • Pedro Pelé, footballer • Pelé (born 1973), footballer • Vitor Pelé, footballer • Danilo Pereira, footballer • Hildeberto Pereira, footballer • Ricardo Pereira, footballer • Tiago Pereira, triple jumper • Pedro Pichardo, triple jumper • Ferreira Pinto, footballer • Yoruba Pinto, footballer • Loick Pires, footballer • Q • Lecabela Quaresma, track and field athlete • Neemias Queta • R • Jony Ramos, footballer • Ré, futsal player • Jorge Reixa, footballer • Rolando, footballer • Ró-Ró, footballer • Hélder Rosário, footballer • Arnaldo Rozeira, botanist • Rudy, footballer • S • Cândido Sá, basketball player • Marcelino Sambé, ballet dancer • Manuel Estêvão Sanches, footballer • Renato Sanches, footballer • Eliseu Pereira dos Santos, footballer • Ricardo dos Santos, sprinter • Arlindo Gomes Semedo, footballer • Cícero Semedo, footballer • Filipe Semedo, footballer • José Semedo, footballer • Kelve Semedo, footballer • Nédia Semedo, middle-distance runner • Nélson Semedo, footballer • Rúben Semedo, footballer • Zé Carlos Semedo, footballer • Diana Silva, footballer • Edson Silva, footballer • Januário Silva, footballer • Jéssica Silva, footballer • Xande Silva, footballer • Elliot Simões, footballer • Ernesto da Conceição Soares, footballer • Marco Soares, footballer • Edson Rolando Silva Sousa, footballer • Ângela Maria Fonseca Spínola, Miss Portugal 2005 • David Sualehe, footballer • Serginho • Tiago Santos • T • Jessi Tati, footballer • Carmo Tavares, middle-distance runner • David Tavares, footballer • Heriberto Tavares, footballer • Nuno Tavares, footballer • Ronaldo Tavares, footballer • Sara Tavares, singer • Sandra Teixeira, middle-distance runner • Teka, futsal player • Tomás Tavares, footballer • Tiago Tomás, footballer • V • Francisca Van Dunem, Portuguese Minister of Justice from 2015 to 2022 • Bruno Varela, footballer • Carlos Mendes Varela, rugby league footballer • David Varela, canoeist • Edgar Varela, futsal player • Hélio Varela • Nilton Varela, footballer • Silvestre Varela, footballer • Ricardo Vaz Tê, footballer • Evelise Veiga, athlete • José Veiga, footballer • Nélson Veiga, footballer • Ruben Vezo, footballer • Rafael Victor, footballer • Eba Viegas, footballer • Nancy Vieira, singer • André Vidigal, footballer • José Luís Vidigal, footballer • X • Abel Xavier • Z • Zicky Té