“There are estimates that by the 2060 the Portuguese language could be spoken by 380 million people and by the end of the century the number will increase to 500 million Portuguese speakers worldwide,” said José Luís Carneiro.

According to the Secretary of State “there are very clear indicators of growth in all regions of the world”.

“As an example, three years ago in China there were only three Universities that offered the Portuguese language course. Currently there are more than 40. In South Africa the demand and supply to learn the Portuguese language is around 40%”, said the minister.

The Secretary of State has added that on the West Coast of Africa, from the Ivory Coast to Namibia, “there is a growing demand for the Portuguese language.” In South Africa the phenomenon is identical in countries such as Argentina.

“The Portuguese language is very relevant to the culture but also for the economy, especially in the Latin America and in Southern Africa, reasons why the indicators show a growth of Portuguese, via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Camões Institute” said José Luís Carneiro.

“It is in Latin America where Portuguese is most spoken, but numbers have shown that by the end of the century Portuguese will be more widely spoken on the African continent due to the expected demographic growth of countries such as Angola and Mozambique,” he added.