According to the latest census by the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), o IBGE, Brazil has a total population of 190,755,788. This makes Brazil the 5th most populous country in the world. The estimate is that the population will reach 228 million inhabitants by the year 2025.
Two factors that have contributed to the growth of the population are the birth rate and mortality rate. The birth rate has been decreasing over the last several years due to an increase in contraceptive methods, greater independence of women and their entrance into the job market. All this has contributed to a decrease in the number of children per couple. Today, the median number of children is less than two. This is a big difference from the 50s and 60s when the average number of children was between 4 and 6 per couple.
The mortality rate has also experienced a considerable decrease over the last few decades. With improvements in living conditions and advances in medicine, life expectancy in Brazil, according to the IBGE, increased from 66 years in the 1990s to 73.4 years in 2010. Another factor that influenced the population growth of Brazil was the migratory movement within the country itself.
Population Concentration
Due to the industrial era and, then, globalization, opportunities for employment and better living conditions attracted those in rural areas to urban centers. Some regions of the country such as the Central West started to be occupied as a consequence of the construction of the new national capital, Brasilia. The Southeast region on the other hand witnessed considerable growth in population as a result of large industries that were established there. These and other factors have contributed to some regions of Brazil being densely populated while others have a very disperse population.
The largest portion of Brazil's population is concentrated in the Southeast which has over 80.4 million inhabitants. The region with the second largest population is the Northeast with more than 53.1 million. Third on the list is the South with about 27.3 million. The North and Central-West regions are the least populated with 15.9 and 14 million inhabitants respectively.
Continuing with an analysis of data from the 2010 Census, Brazil's most populated states are: São Paulo (41.2 million), Minas Gerais (19.5 million), Rio de Janeiro (15.9 million), Bahia (14 million) and Rio Grande do Sul (10.6 million). The least populated states include Acre (732,700) and Roraima (451.200). Given that 160.8 million people live in urban centers, Brazil only has 29.8 million who live in rural areas.
Population Changes and Challenges
Examining the number of men and women, we discover that the Brazilian population has a slightly greater feminine population. Women make up 51.08% of the population while men make up 48.92%. Brazil experienced a decrease in the number of males from 0 to 4 years. In 2000, this group represented 4.9% of the population but only 3.6% in 2010.
There was an increase in the group of individuals over age 65 from 5.9% in 2000 to 7.4% in 2010. The decrease in birth rate and increase in life expectancy is changing the population of Brazil. In a few years, a significant percentage of Brazil's population will be composed of the elderly.
Not long ago, the relation between age groups in the Brazilian population was characterized by a pyramid where the tip represented the oldest and the base represented the youngest. Today, a larger number of adults and elderly in relation to children and young people no longer looks like a pyramid. The change in population is similar to what has occurred in the United States and many European countries. With these changes in the population of Brazil comes numerous challenges.
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