Languages spoken in Brazil
South America · Capital: Brasília · Population 220.1 million
The official language of Brazil is Portuguese. A further one language holds official status at regional level: Venetian. An estimated 91% of the population speaks it as a first or additional language, or roughly 200.2 million people. After Portuguese, the most widely spoken are English at 8% and Spanish at 4%. Portuguese belongs to the Indo-European language family. Portuguese is not recorded in any of Brazil's nine neighbours. In total, five languages are recorded in Brazil, and their shares add up to 104.1% of the population, which implies the average resident speaks about 1.0 of them.
What languages are spoken in Brazil?
| Language | Share of population | Status | Estimated speakers |
|---|---|---|---|
| PortugueseIndo-European | 91% | Official | 200.2 million |
| EnglishIndo-European | 8% | Spoken | 17.6 million |
| SpanishIndo-European | 4% | Spoken | 8.8 million |
| GermanIndo-European | 0.8% | Spoken | 1.8 million |
| Venetian | 0.2% | Official (regional) | 528,125 |
Percentages are the share of the population that speaks each language, including as a second language, so they add up to well over 100% in multilingual countries. Speaker counts are estimates derived from the percentage and the country's population, not counted figures.
What is the official language of Brazil?
The official language of Brazil is Portuguese. A further one language is official at regional or state level: Venetian. Portuguese is spoken by an estimated 91% of the population, or roughly 200.2 million people, counting both first-language and additional speakers.
Official status comes from Unicode CLDR. It distinguishes languages that are official nationwide, those used as de facto official without being named in law, and those official only in particular regions or territories.
How many people speak Portuguese in Brazil?
An estimated 91% of Brazil's 220.1 million people speak Portuguese, which works out at roughly 200.2 million speakers. That figure is derived from the population and the reported share, and it counts second-language speakers, so it is an estimate rather than a census count.
Key facts about Brazil
- Capital
- Brasília
- Population
- 220.1 million
- Continent
- South America
- Area
- 8,515,767 km²
- Currency
- BRL
- Languages recorded
- 5
- Land borders
- 9
- ISO codes
- BR / BRA / 076
Which countries border Brazil?
Brazil shares a land border with nine countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Guyana, Peru, Paraguay, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela. None of them records Portuguese, the most widely spoken language in Brazil, so the land borders here are also language borders.
Explore more
Language shares, population, and official status: Unicode CLDR. Capital, area, borders, and currency: mledoze/countries (ODbL 1.0). Flag image: flagcdn.com. Speaker counts are estimates derived from population and reported share.