Immigration to Brazil

thumb|European and [[Levantine countries with significant emigration to Brazil, 1820 to 1980.]]

thumb|Monument to the immigrant in [[Caxias do Sul reading: "The Brazilian nation to the immigrant" ()]]

thumb|right|[[Portuguese people|Portuguese descendants in Santos.]]

thumb|right|[[Italian people|Italian descendants in São Paulo.]]

thumb|right|Italian regional immigration to Brazil, which has the most people of Italian origin outside Italy. Unlike other countries with Italian immigrants, Brazil prioritized [[Northern Italy which it considered more developed.]]

Immigration to Brazil is the movement to Brazil of foreign peoples to reside permanently. It should not be confused with the forcible bringing of people from Africa as slaves. Latin Europe accounted for four-fifths of the arrivals (1.8 million Portuguese, 1.7 million Italians, and 760,000 Spaniards).

This engendered a strikingly multicultural society. Yet over a few generations, Brazil absorbed these new populations in a manner that resembles the experience of the rest of the New World.

History

Throughout its history, Brazil has always been a recipient of settlers, but this began to gain importance in the late 19th century and throughout the 20th century when the country received massive immigration from Europe, the Middle East, and Japan, which left lasting marks on demography, culture, language and the economy of Brazil.

In general, it is considered that people who entered Brazil up to 1822, the year of independence, were wholly colonizers. Since then, some of those who entered the independent nation were immigrants, mainly Portuguese, Italians and Spaniards, but also Germans, Japanese, Poles, Lebanese, Syrians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians, Jews, Russians and many others.

Before 1871, the number of immigrants rarely exceeded two or three thousand people a year. Immigration increased pressure from the first end of the international slave trade to Brazil, after the expansion of the economy, especially in the period of large coffee plantations in the state of São Paulo.

Immigration has been a very important demographic factor in the composition, structure and history of human population in Brazil, with all its attending factors and consequences in culture, economy, education, racial issues. Brazil has received one of the largest numbers of immigrants in the Western Hemisphere, along with the United States, Argentina and Canada.

Counting from 1872 (year of the first census) by the year 2000, Brazil received about 6 million immigrants.

Timeline

[[File:Total Immigrants By Brazilian States.jpg|thumb|right|Total of foreign people authorized to work in Brazil by state in 2009. Rank by people.

]]

[[File:Origin of the people that work in Brazil.jpg|thumb|right|People authorized to work in Brazil by origin in 2009. Organized by largest ancestry.

]]

thumb|right|Arrival of the [[Portuguese people|Portuguese to Northeast Brazil in 1500.]]

thumb|right|A [[poster used in Japan to attract immigrants to Brazil. It says "Let's go to South America (Brazil) with the family."]]

thumb|right|[[Scottish people|Scottish immigrants in Brazil.]]

thumb|right|[[Italians|Italian immigrants in Brazil.]]

thumb|right|[[Japanese people|Japanese immigrants in Brazil.]]

thumb|right|[[Spaniards|Spaniard in Brazil.]]

[[File:North American workforce to Brazil (new).svg|thumb|right|People authorized to work in Brazil by North American countries in 2009. Organized by number of people.

]]

[[File:Origen of the European workers in Brazil.svg|thumb|People authorized to work in Brazil by European countries in 2009. Organized by number of people.

]]

[[File:Immigration of South America to Brazil.jpg|thumb|People authorized to work in Brazil by South American countries in 2009. Organized by number of people.

]]

thumb|right|[[Argentines voting in Brasília.]]

thumb|right|President [[Jair Bolsonaro ended tourist visa requirements for U.S. citizens, Canadians, Australians and Japanese.]]

thumb|right|Most foreigners enter in Brazil through the intercontinental airport in [[São Paulo.]]

Maria Stella Ferreira Levy suggests the following periodization of the process of immigration to Brazil:

1820–1876: small number of immigrants (about 6,000 per year), predominance of Portuguese (45.73%), with significant numbers of Germans (12.97%);
1877–1903: large number of immigrants (about 71,000 per year), predominance of Italians (58.49%);
1904–1930: large number of immigrants (about 79,000 per year), predominance of the Portuguese (36.97%);
1931–1963: declining number of immigrants (about 33,500 per year), predominance of the Portuguese (38.45%).

The Brazilian population before immigration

When Brazil was settled as a new land in the New World by the Portuguese in 1500, its native population was composed of about 2.4 million Amerindians.

During the three decades afterwards, the country remained sparsely inhabited by Europeans. Among those few, mainly Portuguese, most were renegades, criminals banished from Portugal, shipwreck survivors, or mutinous sailors. They integrated into the local tribes, using their superior technology to attain privileged positions among them.

After 1530, the Portuguese started to settle in Brazil in significant numbers. However, Portugal had a small population to develop the exploitation of Brazil. By 1550, the colonists started to bring African slaves. From 1500, when the Portuguese reached Brazil, until its independence in 1822, from 500,000 to 700,000 Portuguese settled in Brazil, 600,000 of whom arrived in the 18th century alone.

The Portuguese settled in the whole territory, initially remaining near the coast, except in the region of São Paulo, from where the bandeirantes would spread into the hinterland. In the 18th century, large waves of Portuguese settled the country, in the wake of the discovery of gold in the region of Minas Gerais, but the number of Portuguese who settled in Brazil in its colonial era was far lower than of African slaves: from 1550 to 1850, some 4 million slaves were brought to Brazil. implying extremely high mortality rates. Although children born to slave women inherited the slave condition, the Portuguese always relied on slaves purchased from slave traders to replace and increase the work force; the natural growth of the slave population was always very small.

In the early 19th century, Brazil was mainly composed of people of three different origins: the indigenous inhabitants, the Portuguese and their descendants, the Africans and descendants, and, naturally, people of varying degrees of "racial" mixture. In 1872, after the arrival of about 350,000 mostly European immigrants and about 1,150,000 Africans forcibly brought to Brazil as slaves, the first Brazilian Census counted 9,930,478 people in Brazil, of which 3,787,289 (38.14%) were Whites, 3,380,172 (34.04%) were "pardos", 1,954,452 (19.68%) were Blacks, and 386,955 (3.90%) were "caboclos".

First period: 1820–1871

Immigration properly started with the opening of the Brazilian ports, in 1808. The government began to stimulate the arrival of Europeans to occupy plots of land and become small farmers. In 1812, settlers from the Azores were brought to Espírito Santo and in 1819, Swiss to Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro. After independence from Portugal, the Brazilian Empire focused on the occupation of the provinces of Southern Brazil. It was mainly because Southern Brazil had a small population, vulnerable to attacks by Argentina and the Kaingang Indians.

From 1824, immigrants from Central Europe started to populate what is nowadays the region of São Leopoldo, in the province of Rio Grande do Sul. According to Leo Waibel, these German immigrants were mainly "oppressed peasants and former soldiers of the army of Napoleon". In 1830 a bill was passed forbidding the Imperial government from spending money with the settlement of immigrants, which stalled immigration until 1834, when the provincial governments were charged with promoting immigration.

Following the American Civil War, some 20,000 Confederates from the American South immigrated to the Empire of Brazil. Many of them settled in São Paulo, particularly in the vicinity of the present day city of Americana. The immigrants were the first to bring Baptism, as well as Methodism to Brazil. These American immigrants and their descendants brought numerous culinary products over, such as chess pie. Today, there are some 260,000 descendants of the Confederates living in Brazil.

In 1859, Prussia prohibited emigration to Brazil. This was mainly because of complaints that Germans were being exploited in the coffee plantations of São Paulo. Still, between 1820 and 1876, 350,117 immigrants entered Brazil. Of these, 45.72% were Portuguese, 35.74% of "other nationalities", 12.97% Germans, while Italians and Spanish together did not reach 6%. The total number of immigrants per year averaged 6,000. Many immigrants, particularly the Germans, were brought to settle in rural communities as small landowners. They received land, seed, livestock and other items to develop.

Second Period: 1872–1903

In the last quarter of the 19th century, the entry of immigrants in Brazil grew strongly. On one hand, Europe underwent a serious demographic crisis, which resulted in increased emigration; on the other hand, the final crisis of Brazilian slavery prompted Brazilian authorities to find solutions for the problem of work force. Consequently, while immigration until 1871 was focused on establishing communities of landowners, during this period, while this older process continued, immigrants were more and more attracted to the coffee plantations of São Paulo, where they became employees or were allowed to cultivate small tracts of land in exchange for their work in the coffee crop.

During this period, immigration was much more intense: large numbers of Europeans, especially Italians, started to be brought to the country to work in the harvest of coffee. From 1877 to 1903, almost two million immigrants arrived, at a rate of 71,000 per year.

Brazil's receiving structure, legislation and settlement policies for immigrants were much less organized than in Canada and the United States at the time. Nevertheless, an Immigrant's Hostel (Hospedaria dos Imigrantes) was built in 1886 in São Paulo, and quick admittance and recording routines for the throngs of immigrants arriving by ship at the seaports of Vitória, Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Paranaguá, Florianópolis and Porto Alegre were established. The São Paulo site alone processed more than 2.5 million immigrants in its almost 100 years of continuous operation. People of more than 70 different nationalities were recorded.

In 1850, Brazil declared the end of the slave trade. This had different impacts on the different regions of Brazil. At the time, the region of São Paulo was undergoing a process of economic boom, linked to the expansion of the cultivation of coffee, and consequently needed increased amounts of labour. Other regions, notedly the Northeast, on the contrary, faced economic retraction, and were, consequently, able to dispense workforce. This entailed the replacement of the international slave trade by an internal or interprovincial slave trade, in which Northeastern slaves were sold in large numbers to the Southeast.

This temporarily solved the workforce problem in São Paulo and other coffee plantation areas. However, by 1870 the paulista elite came to realise that the Northeastern slaveholders were in fact being able to obtain financial compensation for their slaves, or, in practice, an abolition with compensation.

Third period: 1904–1930

From 1904 to 1930, 2,142,781 immigrants came to Brazil—making an annual average of 79,000 people. In consequence of the Prinetti Decree of 1902, that forbade subsidised emigration to Brazil, Italian immigration had, at this stage, a drastic reduction: their average annual entries from 1887 to 1903 was 58,000. In this period they were only 19,000 annually. The Portuguese constituted 38% of entries, followed by Spaniards with 22%. From 1914 to 1918, due to World War I, the entry of immigrants of all nationalities decreased.

Immigrants continued working in coffee plantations. By 1934, over 40% of the coffee production in São Paulo was produced by the 14.5 percent foreign population of the state, showing their entrepreneurial spirit and ambition. In fact, 19th century immigrants usually exhibited a formal and informal education and training that was better than that of native Brazilians. The country benefitted from their arrival not only because of their workforce, but also because of the skills and knowledge they shared. Spillover effects led to increased levels of human capital, with the effect being most prominent in regions with the highest numbers of immigrants.

Fourth Period: 1931–1964

With the radicalization of the political situation in Europe, the end of the demographic crisis, the decadence of coffee culture, the Revolution of 1930 and the consequent rise of a nationalist government, immigration to Brazil was significantly reduced. The focus shifted to culturally assimilating immigrants and "whitening" the population. From 1931 to 1963, 1,106,404 immigrants entered Brazil. The annual arrival of immigrants fell to 33,500. The Portuguese remained the most significant group, with 39.35%, The participation of the Japanese continued to increase, becoming the second most important group, with 12.79%. Particularly from 1932 to 1935 immigrants from Japan constituted 30% of total admissions.

During the 1990s Brazil received small numbers of immigrants from the former republics of Yugoslavia, from Afghanistan and Angola. Recent immigration is mainly constituted by Chinese and Koreans and, in a smaller degree, by Argentines and other Latin American immigrants.

Because of political issues, people from Bolivia immigrate to Brazil. The majority of the Bolivians come from cities such as La Paz, Sucre, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and Cochabamba. Usually they enter Brazil through Cuiabá, in Mato Grosso, or San Mathias, in Bolivia, which borders Caceres, Mato Grosso and Corumbá, in Mato Grosso do Sul.

Between 1,200 and 1,500 Bolivian immigrants come to Brazil every month looking for a job. Most of them work in the illegal textile industry in the Greater São Paulo. There are an estimated 200,000 Bolivians living in the Greater São Paulo, the majority of which are undocumented immigrants.

In July 2019, President Jair Bolsonaro regulated the right of residence of Cuban doctors who participated in the Mais Médicos Program, or More Doctors. To be allowed to stay in Brazil for two years, the candidate must submit an application to the Federal Police of Brazil. Thereafter, immigrants can apply to live in the country indefinitely with permanent residence, submitting another application within ninety days prior to the end of the two-year residence period. Physicians requesting the right of residence must present several documents, such as identity or passport, as well as police records from the Brazilian states and countries where they resided, and finally, proof of participation in the Mais Médicos initiative, immigration documents and photos.

In 2020, Brazil approved 24,880 processes for requesting recognition of refugee status. The largest refugee ancestries were Venezuelan (24,030), Syrian (479), Cuban (114), Iraqi (35), and Afghan (28).

Due to the Venezuelan refugee crisis, in 2020, Venezuelans are the largest immigrant group living in Brazil. Argentines are the fifth largest immigrant group in Brazil due to factors such as proximity to Brazil, immigration agreements, linguistic similarity between Portuguese and Spanish, and economic growth in Brazil, facilitate this movement to the neighboring country.

Country of birth

Number of registered immigrants in Brazil. The 20 countries with the most registered immigrants are listed below.

{| class="wikitable"

! Place || Country || 2000-2024

|- bgcolor="#ffffff"

| 1 || || align=right| 526,148

|- bgcolor="#efefef"

| 2 || || align="right" | 181,404

|- bgcolor="#ffffff"

| 3 || || align="right" | 171,721

|- bgcolor="#efefef"

| 4 || || align="right" | 98,253

|- bgcolor="#ffffff"

| 5 || || align="right" | 95,294

|- bgcolor="#efefef"

| 6 || || align="right" | 91,977

|- bgcolor="#ffffff"

| 7 || || align=right| 71,479

|- bgcolor="#efefef"

| 8 || || align="right" | 61,042

|- bgcolor="#ffffff"

| 9 || || align=right| 56,745

|- bgcolor="#efefef"

| 10 || || align=right| 56,558

|- bgcolor="#ffffff"

| 11 || || align=right| 50,355

|- bgcolor="#efefef"

| 12 || || align=right| 49,920

|- bgcolor="#ffffff"

| 13 || || align=right| 48,545

|- bgcolor="#efefef"

| 14 || || align=right| 43,352

|- bgcolor="#ffffff"

| 15 || || align=right| 42,575

|- bgcolor="#efefef"

| 16 || || align=right| 34,499

|- bgcolor="#ffffff"

| 17 || || align=right| 31,870

|- bgcolor="#efefef"

| 18 || || align=right| 31,268

|- bgcolor="#ffffff"

| 19 || || align=right| 28,781

|- bgcolor="#efefef"

| 20 || || align=right| 26,093

|- bgcolor="#ffffff"

|colspan=2 style="background:#e9e9e9;" align=center|TOTAL|| align=right|2,213,884

|- bgcolor="#efefef"

Asylum seekers in Brazil in 2024

In 2024, Brazil received 68,159 asylum requests, an increase of 16.3% compared to the previous year.

{| class="wikitable"

!Place

!Country

!Total

|27,150

|22,288

|3,421

|2,144

|1,914

|1,437

|1,131

|598

|477

|10

|429

|11

|415

|12

|391

|13

|362

|14

|355

|15

|345

|16

|313

|17

|295

|18

|249

|19

|239

|20

|232

|Other countries

|3,974

Visa policy

[[File:Visa policy of Brazil.svg|thumb|right|Visa policy of Brazil

]]

Nationals of many countries may visit Brazil without a visa. Nationals of certain countries may apply for visitor visas electronically.

For longer stays, Brazil offers many categories of visas, such as for work, study, investment and family reunification. Some categories allow applying for permanent residency.

Nationals of nine countries in South America may enter Brazil using only their identity document, that is, a passport is not necessary for entry, although some may use a passport if desired.

By requesting a Mercosur temporary residency visa, if the immigrant is abroad and a national of a party to the Mercosur residency agreement; or
Without a visa, if already in Brazil, by applying to the Federal Police or Ministry of Justice, in accordance with the relevant articles of the agreement or unilateral ordinance.
Due to separate agreements, nationals of Argentina and Uruguay may apply for permanent residency immediately, while nationals of other South American countries may apply for it after two years of temporary residency.

Immigration law

thumb|right|International Airport Customs in [[Brasília.]]

thumb|right|[[Brazilian passport.]]

thumb|right|[[Immigration equality#LGBT immigration issues|LGBT immigration equality by country or territory

]]

A foreigner with a permanent resident visa has nearly all of the same rights as a Brazilian citizen, such as access to health and education services in Brazil, in addition to being able to open a business, bank account, obtain a driver's license, among others. The permanent resident cannot vote or be elected to political office, and can only exercise these two rights after Brazilian naturalization.

Federal Constitution

Article 5. Everyone is equal before the law, with no distinction whatsoever, guaranteeing to Brazilians and foreigners residing in the country the inviolability of the rights to life, liberty, equality, security and property.

No Brazilian shall be extradited, except for a naturalized Brazilian for a common crime committed prior to naturalization, or proven involvement in unlawful traffic in narcotics and similar drugs, as provided by law. No foreigner shall be extradited for a political or ideological offense.

Article 12. Brazilians are:

I - by birth:

a) those born in the Federative Republic of Brazil, even though of foreign parents, provided that they are not in the service of their country;

b) those born abroad of a Brazilian father or mother, so long as either is in the service of the Federative Republic of Brazil;

c) those born abroad of a Brazilian father or mother, so long as they are registered at a proper Brazilian governmental office, or come to reside

in the Federative Republic of Brazil and opt for Brazilian nationality at any time after reaching the age of majority;

II - by naturalization:

a) those who, as set forth by law, acquire Brazilian nationality, it being the only requirement for persons originating from Portuguese-speaking countries the residence for 1 (one) uninterrupted year and good moral repute;

b) foreigners of any nationality, resident in the Federative Republic of Brazil for over 15 (fifteen) uninterrupted years and without criminal conviction, provided that they apply for the Brazilian nationality.

Paragraph 1. The rights inherent to Brazilians shall be attributed to Portuguese citizens with permanent residence in Brazil, if there is reciprocity in favour of Brazilians, except in the cases stated in this Constitution.

Paragraph 2. The law may not establish any distinction between born and naturalized Brazilians, except in the cases stated in this Constitution.

Paragraph 3. The following positions are restricted to native born Brazilians:

I - President and Vice-President of the Republic;

II - President of the Chamber of Deputies;

III - President of the Federal Senate;

IV - Minister of the Supreme Federal Tribunal;

V - The diplomatic career;

VI - Officers of the Armed Forces;

VII - The Minister of Defense.

Paragraph 4. Loss of nationality shall be declared for a Brazilian:

I - Whose naturalization has been cancelled by judicial decision because of activity harmful to the national interest;

II - acquires another nationality, except in the cases:

a) of recognition of original nationality by foreign law;

b) of a foreign law imposing naturalization upon a Brazilian residing in a

foreign country as a condition for remaining in its territory or for

exercise of civil rights.

Article 22.

The Union has exclusive power to legislate with respect to:

XIII - nationality, citizenship and naturalization;

XV - emigration, immigration, entry, extradition and expulsion of foreigners;

Statute of Foreigner

Article 112. Are conditions for the granting of naturalization:

I - civilian capacity, according to Brazilian law;

II - to be registered as permanent resident in Brazil;

III - continuous residence in the territory for a minimum period of 4 (four) years immediately preceding the application for naturalization;

IV - read and write the Portuguese language, considering the conditions of naturalizing;

V - exercise of occupation or possession of sufficient assets to maintain itself and the family;

VI - proper procedure;

VII - no complaint, indictment in Brazil or abroad for a felony that is threatened in minimum sentence of imprisonment, abstractly considered, more than 1 (one) year;

VIII - good health.

Article 113.The period of residence prescribed in Article 112, item III, may be reduced if the naturalizing fill any of the following conditions:

I - have a child or spouse of Brazil;

(Including same-sex spouse, see also: Same-sex immigration policy in Brazil)

II - be son of a Brazilian;

III - have provided or can provide relevant services to Brazil, in the opinion of the Minister of Justice of Brazil;

IV - commend themselves by their professional, scientific or artistic; or

V - to be owner in Brazil, real estate, whose value is equal to at least a thousand times the greatest value of reference, or be provided with industrial funds of equal value, or hold quota shares or amount of paid-in least identical in commercial or civil society, aimed principally and permanently, the operation of industrial or agricultural activities.

Sole Paragraph. The residence will be at least 1 (one) year, in cases of items I, II, and III; 2 (two) years in Item IV; and 3 (three) years in Item V.

The result of immigration to Brazil

Immigration

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Immigration to Brazil, by national origin, periods from 1830 to 1959 Source: Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE)

! colspan="12" | Period

! Origin

! 1830–1855

! 1856–1883

! 1884–1893

! 1894–1903

! 1904–1913

! 1914–1923

! 1924–1933

! 1945–1949

! 1950–1954

! 1955–1959

! 1960–1969

! 1970–1972

|- align="center"

| Portuguese

| 16,737

| 116,000

| 170,621

| 155,542

| 384,672

| 201,252

| 233,650

| 26,268

| 123,082

| 96,811

| rowspan="7" | 197,587 immigrants; many nationalities

| rowspan="7" | 15,558 immigrants; majority from Portugal

|- align="center"

| Italians

|align="center"| —

| 100,000

| 510,533

| 537,784

| 196,521

| 86,320

| 70,177

| 15,312

| 59,785

| 31,263

|- align="center"

| Spaniards

|align="center"| —

| 113,116

| 102,142

| 224,672

| 94,779

| 52,400

| 4,092

| 53,357

| 38,819

|- align="center"

| Germans

| 2,008

| 30,000

| 22,778

| 6,698

| 33,859

| 29,339

| 61,723

| 5,188

| 12,204

| 4,633

|- align="center"

| Japanese

|align="center"| —

| 11,868

| 20,398

| 110,191

| 12

| 5,447

| 28,819

|- align="center"

| Lebanese and Syrians

|align="center"| —

| 96

| 7,124

| 45,803

| 20,400

| N/D

|- align="center"

| Others

|align="center"| —

| 66,524

| 42,820

| 109,222

| 51,493

| 164,586

| 29,552

| 84,851

| 47,599

thumb|right|Ukrainian immigrants in [[Curitiba, Paraná celebrating the Ukrainian Easter.]]

thumb|right|A [[Portuguese Brazilian|Portuguese immigrant in Rio de Janeiro, 1895.]]

thumb|right|[[Argentines voting in Brasília.]]

thumb|right|European immigrants and a Brazilian coffee [[plantation.]]

thumb|right|[[Swedish people|Swedish and Japanese descendants in São Paulo.]]

thumb|right|[[Gramado was colonized by Germans and Italians.]]

thumb|right|Finnish community in [[Itatiaia.]]

thumb|right|[[Nova Friburgo with a Swiss cheese factory.]]

thumb|right|[[Teresópolis with a Portuguese hotel.]]

thumb|right|[[Ouro Preto colonized by Portuguese immigrants.]]

thumb|right|[[Portuguese people|Portuguese immigrants arriving in Rio de Janeiro.]]

thumb|right|[[Ouro Preto colonized by Portuguese immigrants.]]

thumb|right|[[Congonhas with a Portuguese church.]]

thumb|right|[[Ouro Preto colonized by Portuguese immigrants.]]

thumb|right|[[Ouro Preto and a Portuguese church.]]

thumb|right|[[Portuguese people|Portuguese immigrants arriving in Rio de Janeiro.]]

Immigration has been a very important demographic factor in the formation, structure and history of the population in Brazil, influencing culture, economy, education, racial issues, etc. Brazil has received the third largest number of immigrants in the Western Hemisphere, after the United States.

European diaspora

In the 100 years from 1872 to 1972, at least 5.3 million immigrants came to Brazil, of whom 31% were Portuguese, 30% Italian, 13% Spanish, 5% Japanese, 4% German and 16% of other unspecified nationalities.

! State !! Immigrants !! Percentage within the state population

| São Paulo|| 839,135 || 18.2%

| Federal District (Rio de Janeiro) || 252,958 || 22.0%

| Espírito Santo || 20,532 || 4.5%

| Santa Catarina || 39,212 || 5.8%

| Rio Grande do Sul || 165,974|| 7.5%

| Mato Grosso || 25,556|| 10.3%

| Goiás || 1,814 || 0.3%

| Minas Gerais || 91,349 || 1.5%

| Rio de Janeiro || 53,261 || 3.4%

| Paraná || 66,387 || 9.6%

| Pernambuco || 12,010 || 0.5%

| Piauí || 344 || 0.0%

| Paraíba || 661 || 0.0%

| Pará || 22,824 || 2.3%

| Maranhão || 1,681 || 0.2%

| Ceará || 980 || 0.0%

| Bahia || 10,999 || 0.3%

| Amazonas || 17,525 || 4.8%

| Alagoas || 747 || 0.0%

| Sergipe || 422 || 0.0%

| Acre || 3,564 || 3.8%

In 1897, São Paulo had twice as many Italians as Brazilians in the city. In 1893, 55% of the city's population was composed by immigrants and in 1901 more than 80% of the children were born to a foreign-born parent. According to the 1920 census, 35% of São Paulo's inhabitants were foreign born, compared to 36% in New York City. São Paulo's multicultural population could be compared to any major American, Canadian or Australian city. About 75% of the immigrants were Latin Europeans, particularly from three major sources: Italy, Portugal and Spain. The rest came from different parts of Europe, the Middle East and Japan. Some areas of the city remained almost exclusively settled by Italians until the arrival of waves of migrants from other parts of Brazil, particularly from the Northeast, starting in the late 1920s.

According to historian Samuel H. Lowrie, in the early 20th century the society of São Paulo was divided in three classes:

! Ethnic origin!! Percentage

| Italians || 35%

| Brazilians || 16%

| Portuguese || 12%

| Germans || 10%

| Lebanese and Syrian || 9%

| Russians || 2.9%

| Austrians || 2.4%

| Swiss || 2.4%

| Other Europeans || 9%

| Others || 2%

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+City of São Paulo in 1886

! Immigrants !! Percentage of immigrants in foreign born population

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+City of Rio de Janeiro (Guanabara)

! Year !! Immigrants !! Percentage of the City

| 1872 || 84,283 || 30.65%

| 1890 || 124,352 / 155,202 || 23.79% / 29.69%

| 1900 || 195,894 || 24.14%

| 1906 || 210,515 || 25.94%

| 1920 || 239,129 || 20.65%

| 1940 || 228,633 || 12.96%

| 1950 || 210,454 || 8.85%

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+City of Rio de Janeiro (1890)

! Group !! Population !! Percentage of the City []

| Portuguese immigrants || 106,461 || 20.36%

| Brazilians who were born to a Portuguese father or mother || 161,203 || 30.84%

| Portuguese immigrants and descendants || 267,664 || 51.2%

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+Rio de Janeiro City in 1940 (Guanabara)

! Immigrants !! Population

In southern Brazil, the immigrants settled in colônias (colonies), which were rural areas, composed of many small farms, settled by the families. Some of these colonies had a great development and gave birth to major Brazilian cities, such as the former German community of Joinville (600,000 inhabitants—the largest city of the state of Santa Catarina) or the former Italian community of Caxias do Sul (500,000 inhabitants—the second largest city of Rio Grande do Sul). Other colonies did not have a great development and remained small and agrarian. In these places, it is possible to feel more intensely the impact of the immigration, as many of these towns are still predominantly settled by a single ethnic group.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+First settlers in Londrina (1930)

! Ethnic group !! Population

| 20px Brazilians || 1,823

| 20px Italians || 611

| 20px Japanese || 533

| 20px Germans || 510

| 20px Spanish || 303

| 20px Portuguese || 218

| 20px Polish || 193

| 20px Ukrainians || 172

| 20px Hungarians || 138

| 20px20px Czechoslovaks || 51

| 20px Russians || 44

| 20px Swiss || 34

| 20px Austrians || 29

| 20px Lithuanians || 21

| 20px Yugoslavs || 15

| 20px Romanians || 12

| 20px English || 7

| 20px Argentinians || 5

| 20px Syrians || 5

| 20px Danes || 3

| 20px Australians || 2

| 20px Belgians || 2

| 20px Bulgarians || 2

| 20px French || 2

| 20px Latvian || 2

| 20px Liechtensteiner || 2

| 20px U.S. citizens || 2

| 20px Swedes || 2

| 20px Estonians || 1

| Indian || 1

| 20px Norwegian || 1

| Total Foreign Born Population || 2.923( 61.6%)

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Some southern Brazilian towns with a notable main ancestry

! Town name

! State

! Main ancestry

! Percentage

|Nova Veneza

|Santa Catarina

| Italian

|95%

|Pomerode

|Santa Catarina

| German

|90%

|Dom Feliciano

|Rio Grande do Sul

| Polish

|90%

|Prudentópolis

|Paraná

| Ukrainian

|70%

|Treze Tílias

|Santa Catarina

| Austrian

|60%

Statistics

thumb|Cover of the magazine "O Immigrante", published by Italian immigrants in Brazil.

thumb|right|[[Europeans|European immigrants in São Paulo.]]

thumb|right|Session in honor of the visit of [[Prince Naruhito, heir to the throne of Japan, to the National Congress of Brazil, in Brasília. In the year that celebrated the centenary of Japanese immigration to Brazil.]]

thumb|right|[[German Brazilians|German community in Pomerode.]]

thumb|right|[[Spanish Brazilians|Spaniards in São Paulo.]]

thumb|right|[[Arab Brazilians|Arab community in Curitiba.]]

thumb|right|[[Italian Brazilians|Italian community in Caxias do Sul.]]

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+ Immigrants established in São Paulo state in 1940

! Immigrants !! Population

| Italians 20px || 694,489

| Spaniards 20px || 374,658

| Portuguese 20px || 362,156

| Japanese 20px || 85,103

| Germans 20px || 50,507

| Austrians 20px || 33,133

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+ Main groups of settlers/slaves and immigrants in Brazil,

according to Fernando L. B. Basto

! Origin !! Population

| Africans (1550–1850) 20px || 3,000,000

|Portuguese, pre-independence (1500–1822) 20px Portuguese, post-independence (1837–1968) 20px

| 800,000 1,766,771

| Italians (1836–1968) 20px || 1,620,344

| Spaniards (1841–1968) 20px || 719,555

| Germans (1836–1968) 20px || 257,457

| Japanese (1908–1968) 20px || 243,441

| Russians (1871–1968) 20px || 119,215

| Lebanese (1871–1968) 20px || 100,246

| Austrians (1868–1968) 20px || 98,457

| Poles (1892–1968) 20px || 54,078

| French (1842–1968) 20px || 50,341

| Romanians (1908–1968) 20px || 40,799

| Americans (1884–1968) 20px || 38,934

| English (1847–1968) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 || 38,080

| Lithuanians (1920–1963) 20px || 29,002

| Yugoslavs (1920–1968) 20px|| 27,726

| Argentines (1884–1968) 20px || 25,553

| Syrians (1892–1968) 20px || 24,394

| Swiss (1820–1968) 20px || 21,704

| Greeks (1893–1968) 20px || 16,684

| Dutch (1884–1968) 20px || 15,829

| Hungarians (1908–1968) 20px || 13,592

| Uruguayans (1884–1968) 20px || 10,836

| Belgians (1847–1968) 20px || 9,173

| Chinese (1895–1968) 20px20px || 7,996

| Swedes (1853–1968) 20px || 7,994

| Czechs and Slovaks (1920–1968) 20px20px || 6,538

| Danes (1886–1968) 20px || 4,029

| Jordanians (1953–1968) 20px || 3,567

| Estonians (1923–1961) 20px || 2,803

| Koreans (1956–1968) 20px || 2,500

| Latvians (1924–1961) 20px || 2,444

| Egyptians (1895–1968) 20px || 2,283

| Paraguayans (1886–1968) 20px || 2,271

| Canadians (1925–1968) 20px || 1,631

| Peruvians (1885–1968) 20px || 1,600

| Ukrainians (1920–1967) 20px || 1,415

| Norwegians (1888–1968) 20px || 1,136

| Venezuelans (1886–1968) 20px || 1,076

| Finns (1819–1968) 20px || 992

| Iranians (1922–1968) 20px || 735

| Bulgarians (1908–1968) 20px || 557

| Luxembourgers (1919–1968) 20px || 473

| Australians (1946–1968) 20px || 320

| Irish (1940–1968) 20px || 176

| Scottish (1945–1961) 20px || 6

Most of the Poles immigrated to Brazil with German, Russian or Austro-Hungarian passports, the Ukrainians with Austro-Hungarian passports and the Hungarians with Romanian passports.

{| class="wikitable"

|- align="middle"

|+ Arrival of settlers, slaves, and immigrants, by origin, periods from 1500 to 1933 Source: Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE)

|- align="middle"

! colspan="10" | Period

|- align="middle"

! Origin

! 1500–1700

! 1701–1760

! 1761–1829

! 1830–1855

! 1856–1883

! 1884–1893

! 1894–1903

! 1904–1913

! 1914–1923

! 1924–1933

|- align="middle"

| 20px Africans

| 510,000

| 958,000

| 1,720,000

| 618,000

|align="center"| —

|- align="middle"

| Portuguese

| 100,000

| 600,000

| 26,000

| 16,737

| 116,000

| 170,621

| 155,542

| 384,672

| 201,252

| 233,650

|- align="middle"

| Italians

|align="center"| —

| 100,000

| 510,533

| 537,784

| 196,521

| 86,320

| 70,177

|- align="middle"

| Spaniards

|align="center"| —

| 113,116

| 102,142

| 224,672

| 94,779

| 52,405

|- align="middle"

| Germans

|align="center"| —

| 5,003

| 2,008

| 30,000

| 22,778

| 6,698

| 33,859

| 29,339

| 61,723

|- align="middle"

| Japanese

|align="center"| —

| 11,868

| 20,398

| 110,191

|- align="middle"

| Lebanese & Syrians

|align="center"| —

| 96

| 7,124

| 45,803

| 20,400

|- align="middle"

| Slavs

|align="center"| —

| 66,524

| 42,820

| 109,222

| 51,493

|- align="middle"

thumb|right|[[Museu da Imigração in São Paulo.]]

thumb|right|[[Swiss Brazilians|Swiss immigrants moving to Brazil.]]

thumb|right|[[American Brazilians|American descendants in Santa Bárbara d'Oeste.]]

thumb|right|[[Europeans|European immigrants in São Paulo.]]

thumb|right|[[German Brazilians|German community in Curitiba.]]

thumb|right|[[History of the Jews in Brazil|Jewish community in São Paulo.]]

thumb|right|[[Polish Brazilians|Polish descendants in Brazil.]]

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+Farms with foreign ownership (1920)

! Immigrants !! Farms []

| 20px Italians || 35,984

| 20px Portuguese || 9,552

| 20px Germans || 6,887

| 20px Spanish || 4,725

| 20px Russians || 4,471

| 20px Austrians || 4,292

| 20px Japanese || 1,167

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+Hungarian Immigration to Brazil

! Passport !! Immigrants

| 20px Romanian || 30,437

| 20px Yugoslav || 16,518

| 20px Hungarian || 6,501

| 20px Austrian || 2,742

| 20px20px Czechoslovak || 518

| Total || 56,716

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+ Lebanese and Syrians Immigrants (1920) – French Consulate Estimation

! Location !! Immigrants []

| 20px20px São Paulo and Santos|| 130,000

| 20px20px Pará || 20,000

| 20px20px Rio de Janeiro || 15,000

| 20px20px Rio Grande do Sul || 14,000

| 20px20px Bahia || 12,000

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+ Main groups of settlers and immigrants in Brazil, from 1500 to 1972,

according to multiple sources

! Nationality/origin

! Number of settlers

| align="left"| 20px Africans

| 4,335,800

| align="left"| 20px Portuguese

| 2,714,314

| align="left"| 20px Italians

| 1,649,536

| align="left"|20px Spaniards

| 717,424

| align="left" |20px Germans

| 260,478

| align="left"|20px Japanese

| 248,007

| align="left"| 20px Poles

| 200,000

| align="left" |20px Lebanese/20px Syrians

| 140,464

| align="left"| 20px Russians

| 118,600

| align="left"| 20px French

| 100,000

| align="left"| 20px Ukrainians

| 61,000

| align="left"| 20px Lithuanians

| 57,620

| align="left"| 20px Hungarians

| 56,716

| align="left"| 20px Greeks

| 17,018

| align="left"| 20px Dutch

| 14,298

| align="left"| 20px20px20px Scandinavians

| 13,159

| align="left"| 20px Americans

| 10,000

:It includes all people who were brought from Sub-Saharan Africa.

:It does not include Germans who immigrated with Russian and Soviet passports (see Volga Germans).

:Many Poles immigrated to Brazil with German, Russian or Austro-Hungarian passports.

:It includes Greeks and Armenians who immigrated with Ottoman passports (see Ottoman Greeks and Ottoman Armenians) and other Middle Eastern peoples such as Palestinians and Egyptians.

:It includes a majority of Poles, Ukrainians, Balts, Germans, Ashkenazi Jews and other peoples who immigrated with Russian or Soviet passports.

Consequences

thumb|right|Passport of a [[Portuguese Brazilian|Portuguese immigrant, 1927.]]

thumb|right|[[Germans|German colonies in Southern Brazil.]]

thumb|right|[[Syrian Brazilians|Syrian descendants in São Paulo.]]

thumb|right|[[American Brazilians|American family in Americana.]]

thumb|right|[[Russian Brazilians|Russian descendants in São Paulo.]]

thumb|right|[[Italian Brazilian|Italian students in Campinas.]]

thumb|right|[[German Brazilians in 1874.]]

thumb|right|Italian disembarkment in [[Santos, São Paulo|Santos, São Paulo, 1907.]]

thumb|right|Ryo Mizuno (at center), who organized the first travel of [[Japanese Brazilian|Japanese immigrants to Brazil.]]

Brazilian demographers have long discussed the demographical impact of the wave of emigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. According to Judicael Clevelário, most studies about the impact of immigration have followed Giorgio Mortara's conclusions in the 1940s and 1950s. Mortara concluded that only about 15% of the demographic growth of Brazil, from 1840 and 1940 was due to immigration, and that the population of immigrant origin was of 16% of the total population of Brazil.

However, according to Clevelário, Mortara failed to properly take into account the full endogenous growth of the population of immigrant origin, due to the predominantly rural settlement of the immigrants (rural regions tend to have higher natal rates than cities). Clevelário, then, besides extending the calculations up to 1980, remade them, reaching somewhat different conclusions.

One of the problems of calculating the impact of immigration in Brazilian demography is that the return rates of immigrants are unknown. Clevelário, thence, supposed four different hypothesis concerning the return rates. The first, that he deems unrealistic high, is that 50% of the immigrants to Brazil returned to their countries of origin. The second is based on the work of Arthur Neiva, who supposes the return rate for Brazil was higher than that of the United States (30%) but lower than that of Argentina (47%). The third hypothesis is taken from Mortara, who postulates a rate of 20% for the 19th century, 35% for the first two decades of the 20th century, and 25% for 1920 on. Although Mortara himself considered this hypothesis underestimated, Clevelário thinks it is closest to reality. The last hypothesis, also admittedly unrealistic is that of a 0% rate of return, which is known to be false.

Clevelário's conclusions are as following: considering hypothesis 1 (unrealistically high), the Population of Immigrant Origin in 1980 would be of 14,730,710 people, or 12.38% of the total population. Considering hypothesis 2 (based on Neiva), it would be of 17,609,052 people, or 14.60% of the total population. Considering hypothesis 3 (based on Mortara, and considered most realistic), it would be of 22,088,829 people, or 18.56% of the total population. Considering hypothesis 4 (no return at all), the Population of Immigrant origin would be of 29,348,423 people, or 24.66% of the total population. Clevelário believes the most probable number to be close to 18%, higher than Mortara's previous estimate of 1947.

According to the Census of 1872, there were 9,930,478 people in Brazil, of which 3,787,289 (38.14%) Whites, 3,380,172 (34.04%) Pardos, 1.954.452 (19.68%) Blacks, and 386,955 (3.90%) Caboclos. The White population grew faster than the non-White population due to the subsidized immigration of Europeans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. By 1890, the non-White population was reduced to 47% and the Amerindian to 9%. During this period, most immigrants came from Italy (58.49%) followed by Portugal with 20%. To this day, it remains the only actual published survey about the immigrant origin of Brazilians.

Here are its results:

{| class="wikitable" align="center"

|+Brazilian Population, by ancestry, 1998

!Ancestry ||%

|-align="right"

| "Brazilian"||align="right"|86.09%

|-align="right"

| Portuguese||10.46%

|-align="right"

| Italian||10.41%

|-align="right"

|Indigenous||6.64%

|-align="right"

|Black||5.09%

|-align="right"

| Spanish||4.40%

|-align="right"

| German||3.54%

|-align="right"

|African||2.06%

|-align="right"

| Japanese||1.34%

|-align="right"

| Lebanese/Syrian||0.48%

|-align="right"

| Jewish||0.20%

|-align="right"

|Others ||2.81%

|-align="right"

|Total||133.52%

|-align="right"

Notice that the total is higher than 100% because of multiple answers. It is easy to see that the results of this research are widely incompatible with the claims made by embassies and commercial associations:

{| class="wikitable" align="center"

|+ Comparison between claims by embassies, commercial associations, etc., and actual data

|-align="right"

! Ancestry

! Number of immigrants

! Ancestry in Brazil (claims by embassies, etc.)

! Found by 1998 PME (%)

! Projection

|-align="right"

| Germans||240,000||5,000,000||3.54%||6,372,000

|-align="right"

| Italians||1,622,491||25,000,000||10.41%||18,738,000

|-align="right"

| Spaniards||716,052||15,000,000||4.40%||7,920,000

|-align="right"

| Lebanese/Syrians||100,000||10,000,000||0.48%||864,000

|-align="right"

| Japanese||248,007||1,600,000||1.34%||2,412,000

The embassy figures are also hardly compatible with the known data for immigration. Here is how they compare:

{| class="wikitable" style="float:left;" width=75%

|+ Number of immigrants and their purported descendants, by national origin

! Origin

! Immigrants

! Descendants

! Descendants per immigrant

| German||223,658||5,000,000||22.36

| Lebanese/Syrian||140,000||10,000,000||71.43

| Spanish||716,478||15,000,000||20.94

| Italian||1,623,931||25,000,000||15.39

| Japanese||248,007||1,400,000||5.65

The embassy figures for "Arab Brazilians" imply an impossible rate of childbirth. The process of inflation of the "Arab Brazilian" population is described by John Tofik Karam: Maintaining a privileged presence in business and political circles, Middle Easterners have overestimated themselves as a way to strengthen their place in the Brazilian nation.

Among the groups listed in the table, German immigrants arrived quite early in Brazil, starting in the 1820s. By 1883, 23.86% of them had already arrived. Italian immigrants only started to arrive in the 1870s, coming in enormous numbers until 1902, when Italian immigration declined sharply. By 1903, 70.33% of them had already arrived. Spaniards started arriving about the same time as the Italians, but came in more steady pace, which means that, in average, they represent a more recent immigration. Arabs only started to arrive in considerable numbers about 1890, making them the second most recent immigration, after the Japanese, who started to arrive in 1908. Evidently, the older the immigration, higher should be the descendant/immigrant relation—but, as the table shows, the embassy figures would place the Arab descendant/immigrant relation first—and, in fact, more than three times higher than that of the Germans.

When the number of immigrants is compared to the findings of the July 1998 PME, the results are different:

{| class="wikitable" style="float:left;" width=75%

|+ Number of immigrants and their descendants, projected from the 1998 PME, by national origin

! Origin

! Immigrants

! Descendants per immigrant

| German||223,658||4,709,857||21.06

| Lebanese/Syrian||140,000||641,200||4.58

| Spanish||716,478||5,856,417||8.17

| Italian||1,623,931||13,847,471||8.53

| Japanese||248,007||1,776,382||7.16

Here the correct order is reestablished, except for the Arabs appearing with a lower descendant/immigrant rate than the Japanese. This, however, is probably due to the concentration of Nikkeis in São Paulo, as opposed to a less concentrated distribution of "Arab Brazilians", who are present in considerable numbers in regions not counted by the PMEs—notably the Northern Region, the West of Paraná State, and Southern Rio Grande do Sul.

Nowadays, it's possible to find millions of descendants of Italians, from the southeastern state of Minas Gerais to the southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul, with the majority living in the state of São Paulo (15.9 million) and the highest percentage in the southeastern state of Espírito Santo (60–75%). Small southern Brazilian towns, such as Nova Veneza, have as much as 95% of their population of Italian descent.

Thousands of White Americans from the Southern United States (including relatives of former president Jimmy Carter), known as Confederados, fled to Brazil after the American Civil War, where they settled in the city of Santa Bárbara d'Oeste and founded a city nearby, Americana.

Opposition to immigration

Co-official languages in Brazil

thumb|right|Festa do Imigrante in [[São Paulo.]]

thumb|right|German children in [[Blumenau, 1866.]]

thumb|right|[[Syrians|Syrian refugees in Rio de Janeiro.]]

right|thumb|Municipalities where the Pomeranian language is co-official in [[Espírito Santo.]]

thumb|right|[[Europeans|European immigrants in Brazil.]]

thumb|right|[[Arabs|Arab immigrants in São Paulo.]]

thumb|right|[[Japan Square in Curitiba.]]

thumb|right|[[Hungarians|Hungarian immigrants in Brazil.]]

thumb|right|[[Italians|Italian family in Brusque.]]

thumb|right|[[Dutch people|Dutch descendants in Holambra.]]

thumb|right|[[Italians|Italian houses in Nova Veneza.]]

In this century has grown a recent trend of co-official languages in cities populated by immigrants (such as Italian and German) or indigenous in the north, both with support from the Ministry of Tourism, as was recently established in Santa Maria de Jetibá, Pomerode and Vila Pavão, where German also has co-official status.

The first municipality to adopt a co-official language in Brazil was São Gabriel da Cachoeira, in 2002. Since then, other municipalities attempt to co-officialise other languages.

The states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul have Talian officially approved as a heritage language in these states, and Espírito Santo has the East Pomeranian dialect, along with the German language, such as cultural heritage state.

Brazilian states with linguistic heritages officially approved statewide

Espírito Santo (Pomeranian and German)

Rio Grande do Sul (Talian and Riograndenser Hunsrückisch German)
Santa Catarina (Talian)

Municipalities that have co-official indigenous languages

Amazonas

São Gabriel da Cachoeira (Nheengatu, Tukano and Baniwa)

Mato Grosso do Sul

Tacuru (Guarani)
Paranhos (Guarani, under approval)

Roraima

Bonfim (macushi) and (wapishana)

Tocantins

Tocantínia (Akwê Xerente)

Municipalities that have co-official allochthonous languages

Municipalities that have co-official Talian language (or Venetian dialect)

Rio Grande do Sul

Serafina Corrêa
Flores da Cunha
Nova Roma do Sul
Itarana
Laranja da Terra
Santa Maria de Jetibá
Vila Pavão

Minas Gerais

Itueta (only in the district of Vila Nietzel)

Santa Catarina

Pomerode

Rio Grande do Sul

Canguçu (under approval)

Rondônia

Espigão d'Oeste (under approval)

Municipalities that have co-official Trentinian language (or Trentinian dialect)

Santa Catarina

Rodeio
Treze Tílias (language teaching is compulsory in schools, standing on stage in public official of the municipality)
Ipumirim
Barão

Municipalities in which the teaching of the Italian language is mandatory

Espírito Santo

Venda Nova do Imigrante

Paraná

Francisco Beltrão

Rio Grande do Sul

Antônio Prado

Santa Catarina

Brusque
Criciúma

Municipalities that have co-official Plattdüütsch language (or Plattdüütsch dialect)

Rio Grande do Sul

Westfália