The following is a list of the nine sovereign states and one territory where Portuguese is an official language. Nations with Portuguese as an official language Sovereign states (see Brazilian Portuguese) (co-official with Tetum. 51,800 L1 speakers since 2007) (co-official with Spanish, and French) Territory Sortable list Spread of Portuguese During a period of Portuguese discoveries and through a large colonial empire, the language was spread to areas in Africa, Asia and the Americas, beyond Macau and East Timor in the Pacific Ocean. Portuguese-based creole languages also developed during this era. Today, Portuguese continues to thrive outside the Lusophone world through the presence of large expat communities of Brazilians, Portuguese, Cape Verdeans, Angolans and Timorese found throughout the world. Europe Portugal Portuguese is spoken as a first language in Portugal (the language's namesake) by nearly all of the nation's 10.6 million people. The ancestor of modern Portuguese, Galician-Portuguese, began developing in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in an area encompassing present-day northern-Portugal and Galicia, at around the 9th century. Modern Portuguese started developing in the early 16th century. Rest of Europe The Galician language, spoken natively in Galicia, Spain, is a dialect of Portuguese, according to many linguists, which makes northwestern Spain a lusophone region. Portuguese-speaking immigrants from Portugal, Brazil, Portuguese-speaking Africa and Macau have also settled in Andorra (around 15 000 speakers), Belgium, France (around 500 000 speakers), Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. In Luxembourg, 19% of the population speaks Portuguese as mother tongue, making it the largest minority language by percentage in a Western European country. Africa Angola Portuguese is the sole official language of Angola, and 85% of the population profess fluency in the language. Additionally, 75% of Angolan households speak Portuguese as their primary language, and native Bantu languages have been influenced by Portuguese through loanwords. Mozambique Portuguese is the sole official language of Mozambique and serves as a lingua franca between the various ethnic groups in the country. Slightly over 30% of the population are native speakers of Portuguese, while 65% profess fluency. Most of Mozambican media is available solely in Portuguese, and the country receives several Portuguese and Brazilian television stations. Guinea-Bissau Despite being the sole official language, only 50% of the population professes fluency in Portuguese. However, a Portuguese-based creole called Guinea-Bissau Creole (Kriol) is spoken by nearly the whole population. Cape Verde Similar to Guinea-Bissau, although Portuguese is