Islam in Portugal

Islam in Europe
by percentage of country population[1]
  90–100%
  70–90%
  50–70%
Bosnia and Herzegovina
  30–40%
North Macedonia
  10–20%
  5–10%
  4–5%
  2–4%
  1–2%
  < 1%

Portugal is an overwhelmingly Christian majority country, with adherents of Islam being a small minority. According to the 2021 census, Muslims represent around 0.4% of the total population of the country.[2] However, many centuries back Islam was a major religion in the territory of modern-day Portugal, beginning with the Muslim conquest of Spain. Today, due to secular nature of the Constitution of Portugal, Muslims are free to convert, practice their religion, and build mosques.

According to the 1991 census recorded by Instituto Nacional de Estatística (the National Statistical Institute of Portugal), there were 9,134 Muslims in Portugal, about 0.09% of the total population.[3] The Muslim population in 2019 was approximately 65,000 people.[4] The majority of Muslims in the country are Sunni, followed by approximately 20,000 to 22,000 Shia Muslims, 65% of them are Ismaili.[5] Most of the Muslim population in the 1990s originated from the former Portuguese overseas provinces of Portuguese Guinea and Portuguese Mozambique with most of the latter having their origin in former Portuguese Goa and Damao (India). Most of the Muslims currently living in Portugal are from the Middle East (including Syria), the Maghreb, Mozambique and Bangladesh.[6]

  1. ^ "Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050". Pew Research Center. 12 April 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  2. ^ "Indicador".
  3. ^ "Statistics Portugal - Web Portal". www.ine.pt. Archived from the original on 2017-01-09. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  4. ^ "Muslim Population By Country 2020". World Population Review.
  5. ^ Shireen Hunter (2002). Islam, Europe's Second Religion: The New Social, Cultural, and Political Landscapes. Praeger Publishers. p. 193. ISBN 0-275-97608-4. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  6. ^ "President for opening new missions in potentials countries". Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.

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