Brazilian Community in Birmingham

Where they come from

Brazil is the largest country in South America, home to the Amazon rainforest and cities such as Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Portuguese is the official language. Brazilians in Birmingham include workers, students, professionals and families, many of whom have come in the last two decades.

The community in numbers

At the 2021 Census, out of a city population of 1,144,919, 280 Birmingham residents described their ethnic group as Brazilian; and 2,281 people living in the city had been born in South America, a group that includes Brazil. Many Brazilians hold Portuguese or Italian passports and record their ethnic group in other ways, so the community is larger than these figures suggest.

Working for Birmingham

Brazilian residents work in hospitality, cleaning, construction, care, logistics and beauty, and Brazilian professionals work in engineering, IT, healthcare and education. Brazilian cafes, churches and shops have opened in the city, and Brazilian students study at its universities.

Birmingham grew rich as the city of a thousand trades, and that spirit of making and doing is still strong. Today the trades sit alongside healthcare, education, finance, law, logistics and technology. The Brazilian community brings energy to that mix, from people starting small businesses to those caring for patients, teaching in classrooms and keeping homes and workplaces in good repair.

Culture and community life

Carnival, samba and capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian martial art recognised by UNESCO, are proud parts of Brazilian culture, and capoeira classes are popular in Birmingham. Feijoada, pao de queijo and brigadeiros are much-loved foods, and football is a national passion.

Like so many of the communities that make up modern Birmingham, the Brazilian community shows how a city can be home to many cultures at once. Its members are proud of where they come from, and just as proud to be Brummies.