An 'Asian Brazilian' is a
Brazilian-born person of
Asian descent. Brazil received many immigrants from Asia, both from
Middle East and
East Asia. The first Asian immigrants to arrive in Brazil were a small number of
Chinese people (3,000) during the colonial period. However, significant immigration from Asia to Brazil started in the late
19th century, when immigration from
Lebanon and
Syria became important.
Most Asian Brazilians have roots in East Asia, most of them
Japanese. The first Japanese immigrants arrived in Brazil in
1908. Until the
1950s, more than 250 thousand Japanese immigrated to Brazil. Nowadays, the
Japanese-Brazilian population is estimated at 1.5 million people. It is, by far, the largest
ethnic Japanese population outside
Japan. Other East Asian groups are also significant in Brazil. The
Korean-Brazilian population is estimated to be 250,000, and the
Chinese Brazilian population around 400,000. Over 70% of Asian Brazilians are concentrated in the state of
São Paulo. There are significant populations in
Paraná,
Pará,
Mato Grosso do Sul and other parts of Brazil.
'Japanese immigration to Brazil' Source: (IBGE)[1] |
|
'Period' |
'Ethnic group' |
1904-1913 |
1914-1923 |
1924-1933 |
1945-1949 |
1950-1954 |
1955-1959 |
Japanese |
11,868 |
20,398 |
110,191 |
12 |
5,447 |
28,819 |
See also
Japanese-Brazilian