Portuguese sets its sights on global power status at the United Nations
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The proposal is in the government's plans until 2030. What does it take to make the Portuguese language official at the UN?
Today is World Portuguese Language Day, established in 2009 by the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) and officially recognised by UNESCO on 25 November 2019. It is the only non-official UN language to have received this recognition.
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Portuguese is the official language of nine countries: Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and Timor-Leste, and is also an official language in the Macao Special Administrative Region.
According to United Nations estimates, it is a language spoken by more than 265 million people on five continents, with projections suggesting that by 2050 this number will be close to 400 million and will exceed 500 million by 2100.
These figures make Portuguese the fourth most spoken language in the world. However, the number of speakers alone is not enough to make it an official UN language.
In an interview with Euronews, Florbela Paraíba, chair of the board of Camões – Institute for Cooperation and Language, said that official-language status would be “a kind of seal of recognition” and would put the language “on an equal footing with the other six official languages”.
The UN’s current official languages are English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese.
Such recognition could also translate into greater interest in Portuguese-speaking countries, which would thus stand to benefit.
Portuguese is an official and/or working language in 32 international organisations, including Mercosur, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the African Union, the European Union (EU), the CPLP and the World Health Organization (WHO). For the president of Camões – Institute for Cooperation and Language, this recognition would be the “culmination of this journey”.
The issue is not new, and the ambition to make Portuguese an official UN language has been gaining ground for at least a decade.
On 1 November 2016, in Brasília, during the 11th CPLP Summit, a proposal was approved for Portuguese to be considered an official language of the United Nations.
The following year, in New York, at the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, the then Portuguese prime minister, António Costa, addressing the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, said that “by the middle of this century, Portuguese should have almost 400 million speakers, which has already justified its elevation to official-language status in various international organisations”.
“The adoption of Portuguese as an official language of the United Nations remains a shared goal of the CPLP member states,” António Costa said at the same assembly.
The current government’s programme also includes, among the goals of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, support for drawing up and implementing a strategy coordinated with the CPLP so that Portuguese is recognised as an official UN language by 2030.
“I believe it is a worthwhile goal and I think we will all work to make it possible,” says Florbela Paraíba.
However, she stresses that it does not depend only on Portugal or on Portuguese-speaking countries. “This goal should be an incentive for us, in a coordinated and convergent way, all Portuguese-speaking countries and everyone who loves Portuguese and values Portuguese, to work together,” she says, adding that the partnerships being forged are therefore important in achieving this objective.
Growing global interest in Portuguese language and culture
Beyond political will, there are also diplomatic, logistical and financial questions to resolve before Portuguese can become an official language of the United Nations.
Translating all UN official documents into Portuguese, as well as the need for new human resources, would represent a significant effort, not officially quantified but frequently estimated at millions of euros per year.
Even so, Florbela Paraíba believes that Portuguese has the advantage of being “a language on the rise”.
“We have very strong demographic prospects. It is a language that is expanding, both because of the number of speakers and the growing interest among non-speakers, and also because of its presence on social networks,” she explains.
According to United Nations data, Portuguese is the fifth most used language on the internet, with a growth rate of almost 2,000% between 2000 and 2017, and it ranks between the third and fourth most used on Facebook, according to figures provided by Camões – Institute for Cooperation and Language.
Among other missions, the institute seeks to ensure the presence of Portuguese worldwide, not only among Portuguese communities but also in universities and international organisations, through in-person and online teaching. This work covers all levels of education and includes academic research.
“We have 325 posts in the official network, that is, 325 teachers, and 651 in the supported network,” the president explains.
“In Germany, in this academic year, we have 35; in France, 107; in Switzerland, 66; in the United Kingdom, where numbers have been growing, 30; in Spain, 22; in Andorra, 3; in Belgium, 5; in the Netherlands, 3; and in Luxembourg, 29,” she lists.
Florbela Paraíba points out that there is a concentration in Europe, but also a focus on Africa, with a network of 25 teachers in countries that are not part of the CPLP. “In South Africa we have 19, in Namibia 3, in Eswatini 1 and in Zimbabwe 2.”
In Venezuela, the United States, Canada and Australia there are also hundreds of Portuguese courses, with tens of thousands of students, reflecting the growing global interest in Portuguese language and culture.
“The motivation is not always family ties. Very often it is related to professional advancement. There is growing demand in Chinese universities, probably also for economic reasons. People who are going to work in Portuguese-speaking countries (diplomats, doctors or staff of international organisations) are seeking to learn Portuguese,” she explains.
Thus, although the number of speakers is not decisive, it is a relevant factor for the language’s recognition at the UN. “I think it is also very important for us to have facts that consolidate our case. And being able to show these numbers demonstrates how committed Portugal is to this objective,” says the president of the Camões Institute.
More than just language: the CPLP as a global player
Beyond language and culture, the economic factor is also crucial in strengthening this ambition.
According to IMF data, the CPLP economies account for around 3.6% of global wealth, totalling approximately 2.7 trillion euros. Taken together, they would represent one of the three largest economies in the world.
“There are countless areas in which we are an important actor: for example, all CPLP countries have extensive coastlines, which are strategically important for international trade,” says Florbela.
Portuguese-speaking countries make up a significant share of the world’s maritime zones, as well as important freshwater reserves and vast territories.
“Portugal stands out in renewable energies, but there are also major oil producers, such as Brazil and Angola, and gas producers, such as Mozambique,” she underlines.
Although the economic pillar is still being developed, there is a “common objective of boosting trade and investment between CPLP countries”, promoting greater integration.
Each country has strategic regional links, which are an asset, with the language serving as a connecting element that facilitates economic, political and diplomatic relations.
“It is a highly valuable asset for bringing countries closer together and also a motivation to learn Portuguese, often for professional reasons linked to business,” she concludes.
For now, the goal remains open, sustained by a language that is expanding and by a community that seeks to assert its place in an international context that is growing and changing ever more rapidly.
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