Syrian Brazilians () are Brazilian citizens of full, partial, or predominantly
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
n ancestry, or Syrian-born immigrants in
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
.
History
Syrians have immigrated to Brazil from the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
beginning in the 19th century, the population of Brazil of either full or partial Syrian descent is estimated by the Brazilian government to be around 3 or 4 million people. Syrians, along with Lebanese and East Asian descendants, make up the majority of the
Asian Brazilian
Asian Brazilians () refers to Brazilian citizens or residents of Asian ancestry. The vast majority trace their origins to Western Asia, particularly Lebanon, or East Asia, namely Japan. The Brazilian census does not use "Asian" as a racial catego ...
community in the country.
According to research conducted by
IBGE
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (; IBGE) is the agency responsible for official collection of statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information in Brazil. IBGE performs a decennial national cen ...
in 2008, 0.9% of White Brazilian respondents said they had familial origins from the
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
, which equals less than 1 million people. They are mostly of Lebanese and Syrian descent.
Notable people
*
Joseph Safra, banker who was Brazil’s richest man and the richest banker in the world.
*
Moise Safra, billionaire businessman; co-founder of
Banco Safra.
*
Edmond Safra, billionaire banker
*
Alberto J. Safra, billionaire businessman
*
Eli Horn, billionaire businessman; founder of
Cyrela Brazil Realty, the largest homebuilder and real estate company by revenue and market value in Brazil.
*
Alexandre Kalil
Alexandre Kalil (Belo Horizonte; March 25, 1959) is a Brazilian politician and sports administrator. He served as mayor of Belo Horizonte from 2017 to 2022. He served as president of Clube Atlético Mineiro, a football club based in Belo Horizo ...
, politician; he served as mayor of
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...
, and as president of the football club
Clube Atlético Mineiro
The Clube Atlético Mineiro (), commonly known as Atlético Mineiro and colloquially as the Galo (, "Rooster"), is a professional association football club in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Minas ...
.
*
Romeu Tuma
Romeu Tuma (October 4, 1931 – October 26, 2010) was a Brazilian politician and a former director of the Federal Police.
Tuma was born on October 4, 1931, in São Paulo, Brazil, to a family of Syrian descent. He died on October 26, 2010, of mult ...
, former director of the
Federal Police
A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for law enforcement within a specific jurisdiction through the employment and deployment of law enforcement officers and their resources. The most common type of law enforcement ...
of Brazil.
*
Tirone E. David, cardiac surgeon, known for his 2007 development of the "
David Operation".
See also
*
Immigration to Brazil
Immigration to Brazil is the movement to Brazil of foreign peoples to reside permanently. It should not be confused with the forcible bringing of people from Africa as slaves. Latin Europe accounted for four-fifths of the arrivals (1.8 mill ...
*
Lebanese Brazilians
Lebanese Brazilians (; ) are Brazilians of full or partial Lebanese people, Lebanese ancestry, including Lebanese-born immigrants to Brazil. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, they form some of the largest Asian co ...
References
Arab diaspora in Brazil
Ethnic groups in Brazil
Syrian diaspora in South America
{{Brazil-ethno-group-stub