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'White Brazilians' make up 49.9% of Brazil's population, or around 93 million people. Whites are found in the entire territory of Brazil, although the main concentrations are found in the South and Southeastern parts of the country. White Brazilians are all people who descend from White immigrants.

Contents

History

Portuguese

Italians

Spaniards

Germans

Poles

Arabs

History

Until 1800, close to 1 million Europeans left for Brazil. The boom of the immigration occurred in the 19th and 20th centuries, when about 6 million Europeans immigrated to Brazil. Nowadays, Whites make up the majority of the country's population. Until the mid-19th century, the vast majority of Brazil's White population was of Portuguese origin, but in the large immigration period in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, people from several European countries immigrated.
Although White Brazilians make up the majority of the population, a large number of them have some Amerindian and/or African ancestry (similar admixture are found in White Americans[1] and White Argentines[2]).
Nowadays, White Brazilians come from a very diverse background, which includes:

Portuguese

Main articles: Portuguese Brazilian

Most Brazilians are full or partly of Portuguese ancestry. They started arriving in 1500, the immigration grew in the 18th century and the boom occurred in the late 19th and ealy 20th centuries.

Italians

Main articles: Italian Brazilian

Italians started arriving in Brazil in 1875. First they settled in rural communities across Southern Brazil. In the early 20th century, they mostly settled in the coffee plantations in the Southeast. 25 million Brazilians are of Italian origin, the largest numbers outside of Italy itself, most of them descended from Northern Italians.

Spaniards

Main articles: Spanish Brazilian

Spaniards came in large numbers to Brazil, starting in the late 19th century. Most of them were attracted to work in the coffee plantations in the State of São Paulo. Today, there is an estimated 15 million Brazilians of direct Spanish descent[3].

Germans

Main articles: German-Brazilian

The first Germans arrived in Brazil in 1824. They were the first non-Portuguese immigrants to settle in the country. Most of them established themselves in rural communities across Southern Brazil, such as São Leopoldo, Novo Hamburgo, Blumenau and Pomerode. In states of the south, such as Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, they may represent as much as 35% of the population.

Poles

Main articles: Polish Brazilian

Poles came in significant numbers to Brazil after 1870. Most of them settled in the State of Paraná, working as small farmers.

Arabs

Main articles: Arab Brazilian

Besides the Europeans, many Brazilians descend from Caucasoid Arabs, mostly Syrians and Lebanese people. The Arab Brazilian population is estimated at about 10 million people. The Lebanese population in Brazil is about 6 million people while Lebanon has a population of over 3 million people.