Population
The population density in Brazil is 24 residents per km2.
Demographic trends have been the same as in other Latin
America: high and slowly declining birth rates, relatively
rapidly declining death rates, resulting in declining
natural population growth. More than 85 percent of the
population lives in cities. According to
Countryaah, a large part of the population
of big cities lives in slums (favelas). Immigration to
Brazil ceased largely in the 1930s and was replaced by
internal relocation, mainly from the poor and often
drought-stricken northeastern to the rich southeastern and
southern parts, but also to the Amazon region. The latter
has been actively accelerated with the Transamazonian roads.
In 2016, the largest cities were São Paulo (12 million
residents), Rio de Janeiro (6.5 million) and Salvador (2.9
million).

Brazil's indigenous indigenous population, which, before
the European colonization of America, should have reached
several millions, today constitutes a minority of only about
0.01 percent of the country's population, which is thus
wholly dominated by immigrants and descendants of various
immigrant groups. Portuguese immigrated from the early 16th
century and started introducing slaves from West Africa as
early as 1538 to fill the need for labor in the sugar
plantations. The hard work of the plantations meant that
most slaves died after only a few years, and a total of 3-4
million African slaves were introduced until 1870. Slavery
was abolished in 1888.
In the latter half of the 19th century, Portuguese
immigration was supplemented by families from Germany and
Eastern Europe. For over 10 years at the turn of the
century, large-scale labor recruitment from Italy to the
coffee plantations took place (the city and state of São
Paulo are Italian-dominated). It was followed by immigration
from Japan but also from Syria and Lebanon. The population
mix is extensive, and although the official statistics
indicate that the population consists of about 55 percent
white, 39 percent mixed, 5 percent black and 1 percent
Asian, the vast majority of the population is actually mixed
Portuguese and Native American (caboclo), of African,
European and Native American origin.
Language
The official language and mother tongue of more than 99%
of the population are Portuguese. Of the 180 still living
indigenous languages in the country, the majority belong
to one of the four language families arawak, macro-ge, carib
and tupí-guaraní.
Religion
The Portuguese church of the colonial era became
co-responsible for the suffering of the indigenous people in
the 16th century. As a countermeasure, until the expulsion
of 1759, the Jesuits built collective villages,
reducciones. Through the slave import to Brazil came
African religions, which include belief in an ancestor god,
cosmic unity, shamanism and totem culture. The colonial
church legitimized the forced Christianization of slaves,
economic and sexual exploitation. The Inquisition persecuted
Jews, Muslims and political-religious groups. After
independence in 1822, during the empire, but most after the
establishment of the republic in 1889, a strong immigration
of European Protestants occurred. During the 20th century
several Messianic political movements emerged. Under the
influence of the Latin American Episcopal Conferences (CELAM),
a renewal process was initiated in the Catholic Church, with
special emphasis on social work among the poor and
marginalized.
From the 1950s, Archbishop Hélder Câmara and the educator
Paulo Freire became pioneers of consciousness-raising (conscientização)
and the struggle for human rights in favelas and society.
The Catholic Church is polarized between a conservative
hierarchy, affiliated with the rich and middle class
oligarchy, and the broad liberation theological movement in
approximately 100,000 Christian base churches. In these, the
struggle of the poor for justice and human rights is
ongoing. The base assemblies cooperate with the progressive
part of the Brazilian bishopric CCBB and with liberation
theologians, e.g. Cardinal Paulo Arns, Bishop Pedro
Casadaliga, theologians Frei Betto, Leonardo Boff, Maria
Clara Bingemer and Ivone Gebara. The CNBB Mission Council
suppresses repression and murder by Native American people
in the Amazon.
About 82% of Brazil's population today are Catholics.
Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists and
Pentecostals amount to 10%, while about 0.1% are Orthodox
Christians. There are small groups of Muslims, Jews and
Japanese Buddhists. Evangelical and charismatic movements
from the United States are strongly moving forward.
Ecumenical cooperation exists on social issues, human rights
and education among poor and street children. Native
American and African religious traditions, with roots in the
religious heritage from, among others. West Sudan and
Angola, practiced in temple cults (terreiros), i.a. umbanda,
which about 20% of the population participates in. In the
middle-class of the big cities, spiritualist traditions
dominate, mainly cardecism. The interreligious dialogue is
increasingly devoted to the connection between Christian
faith and Afro-Indian religious traditions.
Administrative division
Brazil is a federal republic consisting of 26 states as
well as a federal district, Distrito Federal, which forms
its own administrative unit. The states have great autonomy
and are led by directly elected governors and their own
parliaments.
Administrative division
State government |
Area in km2 |
Residents 2016 |
Capital |
Acre |
153 000 |
816 700 |
Rio Branco |
Alagoas |
28 000 |
3 359 000 |
Maceio |
Amapá |
140 000 |
782 300 |
Macapa |
Amazon |
1 600 000 |
4 001 700 |
Manaus |
Bahia |
561 000 |
15 276 600 |
Salvador |
Ceará |
150 000 |
8 963 700 |
Fortaleza |
Espírito Santo |
46 000 |
3 973 700 |
Vitória |
Goiás |
340 000 |
6 695 800 |
Goiania |
Maranhão |
329 000 |
6 954 000 |
São Luís |
Mato Grosso |
900 000 |
3 305 500 |
Cuiaba |
Mato Grosso do Sul |
351 000 |
2 682 400 |
Campo Grande |
Minas Gerais |
587 000 |
20 998 000 |
Belo Horizonte |
Pará |
1 250 000 |
8 272 700 |
Belém |
Paraíba |
56 000 |
3 999 400 |
João Pessoa |
Paraná |
200 000 |
11 242 700 |
Curitiba |
Pernambuco |
101 000 |
9 410 300 |
Recife |
Piauí |
251 000 |
3 212 200 |
Teresina |
Rio de Janeiro |
44 000 |
16 636 000 |
Rio de Janeiro |
Rio Grande do Norte |
53 000 |
3 475 000 |
Natal |
Rio Grande do Sul |
281 000 |
11 286 500 |
Porto Alegre |
Rondônia |
240 000 |
1 787 300 |
Porto Velho |
Roraima |
225 000 |
514 200 |
Boa Vista |
Santa Catarina |
96 000 |
6 910 600 |
Florianópolis |
Sao Paulo |
248 000 |
44 749 700 |
Sao Paulo |
Sergipe |
22 000 |
2 265 800 |
Aracaju |
Tocantins |
280 000 |
1 532 900 |
Palmas |
|
|
|
|
Federal District |
|
|
|
Distrito Federal |
5 800 |
2 977 200 |
Brasilia |
|