Faial is the most intercultural island in the Azores, with foreign residents accounting for 5.8% of its population.
According to figures provided by the Regional Director for Communities, José Andrade, in a post published on Facebook, the municipality of Horta is officially home to 833 foreign citizens from 49 countries, led by Brazil, with 145 people.
This is followed by Germany with 101 citizens, the United Kingdom with 100, the United States of America with 66, Spain with 57, Cape Verde with 47, and the Netherlands with 44.
The list continues with Italy (41), France (33), China (25), Switzerland (20), Belgium and Canada (17), South Africa (15), Poland (9), Ukraine (8), Angola (7) and Denmark and Hungary (6).
Similarly, Georgia, Indonesia, and Ireland are each represented by five citizens, while four citizens represent Austria and Slovakia.
India has three people, a number shared by Mozambique, Nigeria, São Tomé e Príncipe, and Sweden.
The island of Faial is also home to two Australians, two Colombians, two Cubans, two Slovenians, two Filipinos, two Greeks, two Norwegians, two Romanians, two Russians, two Serbs, and two Thais.
The list includes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, Latvia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Senegal, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, and Venezuela, with just one resident national.
In the same post, José Andrade notes, “There will be many others who were not born in Portugal but have already acquired Portuguese nationality.”
Faial is one of the region’s most sought-after and cosmopolitan islands, and its port and marina are famous among sailors crossing the North Atlantic.
article by Paulo Faustino, in Açoriano Oreintal, Paulo Simões-director
Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno.
Novidades - The Islands and the Diaspora 