Page last modified 19 August 2023
Brazil
Community
Area 8,515,770 square kilometres (land area 8,358,140 square kilometres)
Population,
3,300,000 (1800)(1)
7,677,800 (1850)
9,930,478 (1872) (2)
14,333,915 (1890)(3)
17,318,556 (1908)
30,635,605 (1920)
33,500,000 (1930) +9.3%
41,570,341 (1940) +24.1%
51,976,357 (1950) +25.0%
72,200,000 (1960) +38.9%
95,300,000 (1970) +32.0%
121,200,000 (1980) +27.2%
149,300,000 (1990) +23.2%
175,300,000 (2000) +17.4%
196,800,000 (2010) +12.3%
212,560,000 (2020) +8.0%
(1) 1,900,000 of these, 58%, were slaves.
(2) 1,510,836 of these, 15.2%, were slaves
(3) 2,000,000 of these, 14.6%, were Black; most had been slaves until 1888.
Ethnicity Between 1526 and 1870 , a total of 3,647,000 slaves were shipped from Africa to Brazil.
|
Ethnicity % |
Amer- Indian |
Asian |
Black |
Mixed Black-White |
White |
|
1872 |
3.9* |
|
19.7 |
38.3 |
38.1 |
|
1890 |
9.0 |
|
14.6 |
32.4 |
44.0 |
|
1920 |
2.0 |
|
12.0 |
25.0 |
60.0 |
|
1940 |
|
|
14.6 |
21.1 |
63.5 |
|
1950 |
|
0.5 |
11.0 |
26.0 |
62.0 |
|
1970 |
|
|
|
|
53.0 |
|
2000 |
|
|
5.0 |
40.0 |
54.0 |
|
2010 |
0.4 |
1.1 |
7.6 |
43.1 |
47.7 |
*This is the official census figure; it is an underestimate, as many Amerindians in the remoter regions were uncounted.
Religion, %
|
|
Christian Protestant |
Christian R C |
Jewish |
Voodoo |
None |
|
1900 |
0.9 |
99.0 |
0.0 |
|
0.1 |
|
1908 (1) |
1.1 |
93.7 |
|
|
|
|
1940 |
|
94.4 |
0.2 |
|
|
|
1975 |
8.1 |
93.0 |
0.2 |
|
0.8 |
|
1990 |
7.0 |
87.0 |
|
6.0 |
|
|
2000 |
15.4 |
73.6 |
0.1 |
0.3 |
7.4 |
|
2010 |
22.2 |
64.6 |
0.0 |
2.0 |
8.0 |
(1) The 1908 figures exclude Rio de Janiero.
Birth and death rates Below replacement rate = 2.1
|
|
Fertility Rate |
Birth Rate |
Infant Mortality |
Death Rate |
% Aged Under 15 |
% Aged Over 65 |
% Urban |
|
1890 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
9.0 |
|
1920 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
13.0 |
|
1930 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
23.0 |
|
1952 |
|
45.0 (+30.0) |
135.0 |
15.0 |
42.0 |
1.9 |
36.2 |
|
1960 |
6.3 |
42.0 (+28.7) |
128.8 |
13.3 |
43.1 |
3.2 |
46.1 |
|
1970 |
5.8 |
34.0 (+24.0) |
95.0 |
10.0 |
42.2 |
3.4 |
55.9 |
|
1980 |
4.4 |
32.0 (+23.3) |
71.0 |
8.7 |
38.3 |
3.8 |
65.5 |
|
1990 |
2.8 |
24.0 (+16.8) |
49.0 |
7.2 |
35.5 |
4.0 |
73.9 |
|
2000 |
2.4 |
21.0 (+15.0) |
30.4 |
6.0 |
30.1 |
5.1 |
81.2 |
|
2010 |
1.8 |
15.0 (+9.1) |
16.7 |
5.9 |
24.9 |
6.7 |
84.3 |
|
2015 |
1.8 |
14.4 (+8.3) |
14.0 |
6.1 |
22.5 |
8.0 |
85.7 |
|
2017 |
1.8 |
14.1 (+7.9) |
13.2 |
6.2 |
21.7 |
|
|
|
2018 |
|
|
12.8 |
|
21.3 |
8.9 |
86.6 |
Life expectancy,
42.4 (1945); 39.3 (M), 45.5 (F)
51.0 (1952); 49.0 (M), 53.0 (F)
54.2 (1960); 52.4 (M), 56.1 (F)
59.2 (1970); 56.4 (M), 62.1 (F)
62.0(1980); 58.9 (M), 65.3 (F)
65.3 (1990); 61.7 (M), 69.2 (F)
70.0 (2000)�; 66.3 (M), 74.0 (F)
73.8 (2010); 70.1 (M), 77.6 (F)
76.0 (2020); 72.3 (M), 79.6 (F)
Population of principal cities, 1,000s MA = Metropolitan Area
|
|
Belem1 |
Belo Horizonte2 |
BRASILIA3 |
Manaus4 |
Recife5 |
|
1890 |
50 |
|
|
|
|
|
1900 |
100 |
|
|
40 |
180 |
|
1936 |
|
168 |
|
|
473 |
|
1950 |
225 |
339 |
|
90 |
693 |
|
1960 |
402 |
781 |
142 |
175 |
1,115 |
|
1970 |
634 |
1,228 |
503 |
284 |
1,794 |
|
1980 |
758 |
1,442 |
1,100 |
613 |
|
|
1990 |
1,334 |
3,462 |
1,596 |
990 |
2,859 MA |
|
2000 |
1,795 |
4,882 |
2,051 |
1,406 |
3,336 MA |
|
2010 |
|
|
2,476 |
1,793 |
|
|
2012 |
|
|
|
|
3,744 MA |
|
2015 |
2,249 MA |
5,200 MA |
2,900 MA |
|
|
|
2017 |
|
|
|
2,613 MA |
|
|
|
Rio de Janeiro6 |
Salvador7 |
Sao Paulo8 |
MA |
|
1872 |
275 |
|
31 |
|
|
1880 |
|
|
35 |
|
|
1890 |
523 |
|
65 |
|
|
1900 |
|
|
240 |
|
|
1910 |
690 |
|
420 |
|
|
1920 |
1,050 |
|
|
|
|
1936 |
|
364 |
1,120 |
|
|
1940 |
1,760 |
|
1,254 |
|
|
1950 |
3,052 |
389 |
2,017 |
|
|
1960 |
4,692 |
417 |
4,538 |
|
|
1970 |
|
656 |
6,200 |
|
|
1980 |
7,213 |
1,497 |
7,054 |
|
|
1990 |
9,600 |
2,472 |
9,646 |
15,200 |
|
2000 |
10,873 MA |
3,018 |
10,434 |
17,835 |
|
2010 |
11,900 MA |
|
11,125 |
19,990 |
|
2015 |
12,281 MA |
4,000 MA |
12,000 |
21,000 |
1Belem was founded in 1516 by the Portuguese, to defend the lower Amazon.
2Belo Horizonte was built in 1895 to a plan copied from Washington DC, USA, Belo Horizonte replaced Ouro Preto as capital of Minais Gerais State.
3Brasilia, built 1956-1960, became the capital 1961.� Total planned population, 500,000.�
4Manaus, once the centre of the Brazilian rubber industry, is now a major tourist destination.
5Recife was settled by the Portuguese in the 1530s, and occupied by the Dutch in 1630. Recife was the main Brazilian port for sugar exports.� The city�s name derives from the Portuguese word for �reef�.� It was recaptured by the Portuguese in 1654.
6Rio de Janeiro: the Portuguese explorer Goncalo Coelho discovered Guanabara Bay in January 1502, upon which Rio stands, and assumed it was a river estuary; he named the location Rio de Janeiro, or �River of January�.� The city of Rio de Janeiro was founded by the Portuguese in 1556; its earliest function was as a port tom export the gold from the Minas Gerais (�general mines�).� Rio de Janeiro became the capital of the Viceroyalty of Brazil in 1763, replacing Bahia; it was replaced as capital by Brasilia in 1961.
7Salvador was founded in 1510; it was the capital of Brazil between 1549 and 1763.� The Portuguese established sugar plantations here in the 1500s, worked by African slaves.
8Sao Paulo was founded in 1554 by the Jesuits.� The city remained small until the 1880s, when
the development of the coffee trade caused rapid growth.
Wealth; Gross Domestic Product (nominal values)
|
|
GDP, US$ million |
Total GDP, % of USA |
GDP per capita, US$ |
GDP per capita % of USA |
|
1948 |
5,530 |
2.47 |
112 |
7.34 |
|
1955 |
10,000 |
2.79 |
|
|
|
1960 |
15,166 |
2.79 |
210 |
6.98 |
|
1965 |
21,790 |
2.93 |
261 |
6.82 |
|
1970 |
42,327 |
4.07 |
444 |
8.46 |
|
1975 |
123,700 |
7.56 |
1,146 |
14.65 |
|
1980 |
235,000 |
8.41 |
1,939 |
15.39 |
|
1985 |
231,760 |
5.50 |
1,709 |
9.35 |
|
1990 |
465,000 |
8.01 |
3,092 |
12.91 |
|
1995 |
579,787 |
7.83 |
3,640 |
12.11 |
|
2000 |
588,130 |
5.90 |
3,604 |
9.89 |
|
2005 |
794,100 |
6.07 |
4,600 |
10.38 |
|
2010 |
2,188,000 |
14.62 |
11,224 |
23.20 |
|
2015 |
1,803,650 |
10.00 |
8,757 |
15.58 |
|
2016 |
1,799,000 |
9.69 |
8,650 |
15.05 |
GDP by primary sector
|
|
Agriculture % GDP |
Agriculture % employed |
Industry % GDP |
Industry % employed |
Services % GDP |
Services % employed |
|
1960 |
|
52.0 |
|
15.0 |
|
33.0 |
|
1970 |
|
45.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
1980 |
12.0 |
33.0 |
27.0 |
24.0 |
51.0 |
46.0 |
|
1990 |
10.0 |
24.0 |
36.0 |
24.0 |
55.0 |
53.0 |
|
2000 |
9.0 |
22.0 |
32.0 |
21.0 |
|
|
|
2010 |
5.8 |
20.0 |
28.9 |
14.0 |
67.3 |
66.0 |
|
2016 |
5.8 |
10.0 |
20.9 |
39.8 |
73.3 |
50.2 |
Communications
Language Official; Portuguese
Literacy
16.0% (1900)
25.0% (1930)
43.0% (1947)
49.0% (1950)
61.0%(1960)
66.0% (1970)
76.0% (1980)
78.4% (1990); 78.4% (M), 78.3% (F)
87.3% (2000); 87.4% (M), 87.2% (F)
90.5% (2010); 90.1% (M), 90.9% (F)
92.6% (2015); 92.2% (M), 92.9% (F)
Physical communications � roads
|
|
Roads (km) |
Surfaced (km) |
Motor vehicles |
Cars |
Commercial Vehicles |
|
1938 |
205,578 |
|
|
|
|
|
1948 |
|
|
290,000 |
|
|
|
1951 |
210,700 |
|
|
262,529 |
226,388 |
|
1958 |
450,000 |
|
800,000 |
420,000 |
250,183 |
|
1961 |
499,550 |
|
|
674,885 |
633,838 |
|
1962 |
|
10,826 |
|
|
|
|
1968 |
800,000 |
|
3,100,000 |
1,600,000 |
|
|
1976 |
1,489,064 |
|
|
|
|
|
1978 |
1,550,000 |
|
8,961,315 |
4,800,000 |
3,780,000 |
|
1988 |
1,600,000 |
100,000 |
12,682,199 |
10,300,000 |
|
|
1998 |
1,700,000 |
|
28,000,000 |
17,000,000 |
|
|
2004 |
1,751,868 |
|
|
24,937,000 |
|
|
2010 |
|
212,800 |
|
|
|
|
2013 |
|
|
81,600,000 |
|
|
|
2016 |
|
|
90,000,000 |
|
|
Railways; First railway in Brazil opened in 1854 (14 kilometres)
|
|
Length km |
% electrified |
|
1860 |
209 |
|
|
1870 |
744 |
|
|
1880 |
3,397 |
|
|
1890 |
9,977 |
|
|
1900 |
15,322 |
|
|
1910 |
21,333 |
|
|
1920 |
28,545 |
|
|
1930 |
32,490 |
|
|
1940 |
34,266 |
|
|
1950 |
36,695 |
|
|
1958 |
37,967 |
|
|
1963 |
35,349 |
|
|
1966 |
31,961 |
|
|
1976 |
30,300 |
|
|
1988 |
29,901 |
|
|
2000 |
29,283 |
|
|
2010 |
28,538 |
|
|
2014 |
29,850 |
1.7 |
Urban metro systems, kilometres (year opened)
|
|
Belo Horizonte (1986) |
Brasilia (2001) |
Porto Alegre (1985) |
Recife (1985) |
Rio de Janeiro (1979) |
Sao Paulo (1974) |
Teresina (1989) |
|
2000 |
14.0 |
29.0 |
28.0 |
25.0 |
23.0 |
44.0 |
|
|
2005 |
|
40.0 |
31.0 |
39.5 |
46.0 |
57.0 |
|
|
2010 |
|
|
|
|
|
69.0 |
13.5 |
|
2015 |
28.1 |
42.4 |
33.8 |
39.5 |
58.0 |
81.2 |
13.5 |
Electronic communications, �TV
broadcasts began 1950 (colour from 1972)
|
|
Telephones (landlines) |
Mobile Telephones |
Radios |
Televisions |
PCs |
Internet Users |
|
1938 |
241,565 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1940 |
|
|
500,000 |
|
|
|
|
1950 |
|
|
2,500,000 |
|
|
|
|
1951 |
|
|
|
3,500 |
|
|
|
1955 |
|
|
|
141,000 |
|
|
|
1957 |
|
|
4,000,000 |
350,000 |
|
|
|
1959 |
|
|
|
434,000 |
|
|
|
1960 |
960,000 |
|
4,570,000 |
1,200,000 |
|
|
|
1961 |
|
|
4,700,000 |
1,621,000 |
|
|
|
1962 |
1,046,621 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1965 |
|
|
|
2,200,000 |
|
|
|
1970 |
1,700,000 |
|
|
4,300,000 |
|
|
|
1975 |
|
|
16,980,000 |
|
|
|
|
1971 |
|
|
|
6,500,000 |
|
|
|
1977 |
4,708,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1980 |
4,950,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1982 |
|
|
45,000,000 |
15,500,000 |
|
|
|
1988 |
|
|
|
|
250,000 |
|
|
1990 |
9,409,000 |
667 |
57,000,000 |
30,800,000 |
450,000 |
|
|
1995 |
|
1,286,000 |
63,500,000 |
35,000,000 |
2,700,000 |
|
|
1998 |
|
|
|
|
|
1,300,000 |
|
1999 |
|
|
|
|
|
3,100.000 |
|
2000 |
30,926,000 |
23,190,000 |
74,000,000 |
55,000,000 |
8,500,000 |
|
|
2002 |
|
|
|
|
|
13,980,000 |
|
2005 |
|
86,200,000 |
|
|
30,000,000 |
22,500,000 |
|
2010 |
42,141,000 |
202,944,000 |
|
|
|
77,500,000 |
|
2012 |
44,300,000 |
|
|
58,000,000 |
99,000,000 |
85,000,000 |
|
2015 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2016 |
41,846,846 |
244,067,000 |
|
|
|
122,800,000 |
Tourism: Visitors to Brazil,
480,267 (1974)
764,152 (1978)
1,271,500 (1984)
1,717,659 (1986)
1,929,000 (1987)
1,991,000 (1995)
5,313,000 (2000)
5,358,000 (2005)
5.161,000 (2010)
6,306,000 (2015)