Portuguese in Slovenia

Slovenian Portuguese
Luso-eslovenos (Portuguese)
Portugalci v Sloveniji (Slovene)
Slovenia Portugal
Football manager João Henriques, possibly the best known Portuguese expatriate in Slovenia
Total population
86[1]
Languages
Slovene, Portuguese
Religion
Predominantly Christianity (Roman Catholicism), Irreligion
Related ethnic groups
Other Portuguese people, Portuguese in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portuguese in Croatia, Portuguese in Montenegro, Portuguese in North Macedonia, Portuguese in Serbia

Portuguese in Slovenia (Slovene: Portugalci v Sloveniji) are citizens and residents of Slovenia who are of Portuguese descent.

Portuguese in Slovenia (also known as Portuguese Slovenes/ Slovenian-Portuguese Community or, in Portuguese, known as Portugueses na Eslovénia / Comunidade portuguesa na Eslovénia / Luso-eslovenos) are the citizens or residents of Slovenia whose ethnic origins lie in Portugal.

Portuguese Slovenes are Portuguese-born citizens with a Slovenian citizenship or Slovenian-born citizens of Portuguese ancestry or citizenship.

According to official Portuguese estimates, there were 86 Portuguese-born people residing in Slovenia in 2022.[2] The Portuguese constitute approximately 0.004% of the country's population.[3]

History

Portuguese embassy in Ljubljana

The history of the Portuguese community in Slovenia is very recent, since Portuguese-Yugoslavian interactions were limited.[4] Both countries are EU as well as NATO members. Since 2007, hey also share a common currency.[5][6]

The Portuguese community in Slovenia is relatively small compared to other immigrant communities in the country. Many Portuguese individuals moved to Slovenia for work or study opportunities, particularly in fields like tourism, language teaching, and business. Slovenia is quite popular amongst Erasmus+ students as well: in 2021 alone around 500 Portuguese nationals chose to study or carry out research in Slovenia under the Erasmus+ agreement (Higher education, Adult education, youth mobility, staff mobility).[7][8][9][10][11][12]

The Portuguese community in Slovenia has grown steadily over the years (almost 200 Portuguese have entered the country since 2008) but it still represents a relatively small percentage of the total foreign population in the country.[13]

Despite being small, the Portuguese community is very united and has created an intercultural Portuguese-Slovenian magazine called "Sardinha" (Portuguese for sardine). Portuguese are very well integrated into Slovenian society, and many of those living in Slovenia permanently live in mixed Luso-Slovenian couples. They are generally highly educated.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]

Footballers

In recent years some Portuguese international footballers have moved to Slovenia in order to play for Slovenian clubs. For instance, in 2023 footballers Rui Pedro (Olimpija Ljubljana), David Sualehe (Olimpija Ljubljana), Jorge Silva (Olimpija Ljubljana) and Gonçalo Paulino (Vitanest Bilje) [22] were playing in the country.

Remittances

The two countries enjoy friendly relationships and mutual trust, witnessing increasing trade as well.[23][24] The Portuguese community in Slovenia retains strong ties with its homeland and, between 2000 and 2021, it has sent approximately 2.21 million euros (€) to Portugal in remittances. In the same timeframe, Slovenes in Portugal (numbering around 300 individuals)[25] have sent approximately 6.13 million euros (€) to Slovenia.[26]

Portuguese language

Despite the Portuguese language not being widely spoken in Slovenia there is interest towards Portuguese culture, literature and products. The Portuguese language has a remarkable and projection in Slovenia, it is taught at the University of Ljubljana, and numerous works by great Portuguese-speaking writers and poets have been translated into Slovene in recent years. In 2021, two of the main works of exponents of Brazilian and Portuguese literature, Machado de Assis and Eça de Queirós, respectively "Quincas Borba" and "O Crime do Padre Amaro", were translated into Slovene. Other popular Lusophone authors include Saramago and Pessoa. In 2019 Portugal and Slovenia signed an agreement for enhancing cultural exchanges between the two nations and, since 2022, Slovenia is no longer the only Member State of the European Union without a university degree in Portuguese Language and Culture.[27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]

As of today, the Portuguese are part of a wider Portuguese-speaking community in Slovenia, comprising around 60 people from PALOP countries (the majority being from Guinea-Bissau), Timor-Leste or Macau and around 350 Brazilians.[35][36][37][38] People from CPLP countries thus number around 500 people, accounting for 0.02% of the population of Slovenia.

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ "Slovenia".
  2. ^ "Observatório da Emigração". observatorioemigracao.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  3. ^ "SURS". www.stat.si. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  4. ^ Carvalho, Jorge Santos (1 October 2012). As relações Jugoslavo-Portuguesas (in Portuguese). Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra / Coimbra University Press. ISBN 978-989-26-0146-5.
  5. ^ "Slovenia's NATO membership | GOV.SI". Portal GOV.SI. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Slovenia and the euro". economy-finance.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Factsheets and statistics on Erasmus+ | Erasmus+". erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  8. ^ "data.europa.eu". data.europa.eu. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  9. ^ "data.europa.eu". data.europa.eu. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  10. ^ Directorate-General for Education, Youth (2020). Erasmus+ annual report 2019: statistical annex. LU: Publications Office of the European Union. doi:10.2766/431386. ISBN 978-92-76-20313-1.
  11. ^ Directorate-General for Education, Youth (2021). Erasmus+ annual report 2020: statistical annex. LU: Publications Office of the European Union. doi:10.2766/038079. ISBN 978-92-76-45611-7.
  12. ^ Directorate-General for Education, Youth (2022). Erasmus+ annual report 2021: statistical annex. LU: Publications Office of the European Union. doi:10.2766/63555. ISBN 978-92-76-58692-0.
  13. ^ "Migration and migrant population statistics". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  14. ^ https://www.jn.pt. "A montanha, a revista Sardinha e os portugueses na Eslovénia". Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 31 July 2023. {{cite web}}: External link in |last= (help)
  15. ^ "Portugueses pelo Mundo Episódio 3 - de 10 mar 2017 - RTP Play - RTP". RTP Play (in Portuguese). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  16. ^ Portugal, Rádio e Televisão de (31 May 2021). "Portugueses na Eslovénia temem pelas mudanças no país". Portugueses na Eslovénia temem pelas mudanças no país (in Portuguese). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  17. ^ "A Eslovénia volta a ter representação diplomática portuguesa" (in European Portuguese). 30 November 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  18. ^ "SARDINHA - Em Outubro reabre a Embaixada de Portugal na Eslovénia". www.e-sardinha.eu. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  19. ^ DIA, BOM (25 March 2016). "Portugal e Eslovénia unidos por uma "sardinha"". BOM DIA Luxemburgo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  20. ^ "Visão | Trocas de Natal em tempos incertos". Visão (in European Portuguese). 10 December 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  21. ^ "Comunidade portuguesa na Eslovénia teme que forma livre de viver no país possa mudar". www.dn.pt (in European Portuguese). 30 May 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  22. ^ T (31 December 1998). "Gonçalo Paulino". ND BILJE (in Slovenian). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  23. ^ "Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa inicia domingo visita de três dias à Eslovénia". Dinheiro Vivo (in European Portuguese). 29 May 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  24. ^ Portuguesa, Presidência da República. "Encontro com representantes da Comunidade Portuguesa na Eslovénia". www.presidencia.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  25. ^ "Sefstat" (PDF).
  26. ^ "Observatório da Emigração". observatorioemigracao.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  27. ^ "A promoção da Língua e Cultura portuguesas na Eslovénia". Impala (in European Portuguese). 25 September 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  28. ^ "BÁRBARA, A ESLOVENA EMBAIXADORA DO PORTUGUÊS". www.cmjornal.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  29. ^ "Comemorações do Dia Mundial da Língua Portuguesa na Eslovénia - 5 de maio". Embaixada de Portugal na Áustria (in European Portuguese). 27 April 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  30. ^ Bastos, Daniel (25 September 2019). "A promoção da língua e cultura portuguesa na Eslovénia". TV Europa (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  31. ^ "Liubliana: "Machado e Eça em Esloveno" - Camões - Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua". www.instituto-camoes.pt. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  32. ^ "Língua Portuguesa na Europa Central | WorldCat.org". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  33. ^ "Eslovénia vai criar licenciatura em Língua e Literatura Portuguesas em 2022". www.dn.pt (in European Portuguese). 18 January 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  34. ^ "Visão | Festival da Portugalidade junta portugueses na Eslovénia". Visão (in European Portuguese). 25 May 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  35. ^ "All valid permits by reason, length of validity and citizenship on 31 December of each year". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  36. ^ "Acquisition of citizenship by age group, sex and former citizenship". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  37. ^ "Population on 1 January by age group, sex and country of birth". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  38. ^ "Brasileiros no exterior" (PDF).