The countries that speak Portuguese are the ones that have the Portuguese language as official language. Due to colonization, the Portuguese language is already present in more than one continent. Its origin is the same of other Romance languages, all belonging to the trunk of Proto-Indo-European. For being a Romance language (group that groups the descending languages of Latin), it has similarities with others of the same origin,such as Spanish, Italian, Romanian and French.

Portuguese is the ninth most spoken language in the world, with more than 230 million speakers, most of them in Brazil. Its origin is medieval, descending from Galician-Portuguese, in the region of Galicia, which today is part of Spain, and in Portugal. Today, it is present in the Asian, American and African continents.

Besides being the official language of Brazil, it is also one of the languages of the European Union, the African Union, Mercosur, among other groups.

Portuguese speaking countries

There are nine countries that speak Portuguese, that is, that adopt it as their official language. Six of them are in Africa, one in Asia and one in America.

Angola

Angola is located in Africa, and was one of the countries affected by the Portuguese explorations, from the fifteenth century, being part of the colonization. Its independence occurred in 1975, but Portuguese remained the official language of the nation. There are still other languages in the country considered as national, among them the kimbundo.

Brazil

Brazil belongs to South America, being the largest country in South America, and the only one where Portuguese became the official language, once Spanish had spread to the others. Brazil was a colony of Portugal, gaining its independence in 1822. There are over 200 different ethnic languages in Brazil, but Portuguese is the dominant one.

Cape Verde

Cape Verde is located in an archipelago, situated in the Atlantic Ocean. The country was also part of the colonization, and gained its independence in 1975. Other languages are present in the country, such as French, English and Cape Verdean Creole, but the official one is Portuguese.

Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau is also in Africa, and was once called Portuguese Guinea when it was under the control of Portugal. Its independence occurred in 1973, and about 27.1% of the inhabitants speak Portuguese, which is the official language of the nation. The other language is Kriol.

Equatorial Guinea

Belonging to Africa, Equatorial Guinea was also the target of Portuguese exploration, being later ceded to Spain in 1778. Besides Portuguese, French and Spanish are also official languages.

Mozambique

It is located in Africa, and was part of the Portuguese Empire from 1505, conquering independence in 1975. Besides Portuguese, which is the official language, there are other languages present in the country, such as Tsonga, Sena and Macua.

Portugal

The only country on this list that is located in Europe. Portugal's territory was once occupied by different peoples, such as the Lusitanians, Galicians and Celts. During the time of the Great Navigations, it explored various parts of the world, such as Brazil. Since 1290, Portuguese has been the official language of the country.

Sao Tome and Principe

It is located in Africa, and is an island, which became one of the colonies of the Portuguese during the 16th century. Its independence was won in 1975. Portuguese is the official language of the nation, but there are other languages present, such as Angolan and Forro.

East Timor

The only country of the Asian continent, whose colonization occurred in the XVI century. Before, its name was Timor Portuguese. The independence also happened in 1975. In this country, besides Portuguese as the official language, there is also Tetum. 31 other languages are present in Timor-Leste, such as Mambai, Baiqueno, Fataluco, among others.