Marriage patterns of Brazilian immigrants living in Portugal

Abstract

Over the past decades, the number of foreign residents in Portugal has increased significantly. In this context, the Brazilian community is of increasing importance, and was, in 2009, the most represented nationality, with a 25% share in the total of foreign residents in Portugal. As expected, this development reflects on other levels, particularly in the context of marriage. Contrary to the downward trend observed for total marriages occurring between 2001 and 2009, those in which at least one spouse was born in Brazil almost quadrupled during the period. For many authors, mixed marriages are a good indicator of immigrant community integration in the host society. Thus, given the prominence of the Brazilian community in Portugal, it is important to observe the relevance of mixed marriages in this community and to analyze marriage patterns. Statistical analysis of microdata from weddings provided by the National Statistics Institute led us to study and characterize the possible evolution of marriages registered in Portugal between 2001 and 2009 and involving Brazilians living in Portugal. During this period there was a high number of mixed marriages, especially with Portuguese nationals, suggesting an integration with the host community. There were also some differences in the patterns of marriage between the sexes, as well as a tendency to a decreasing importance of mixed marriages, especially among men.