Population growth in Brazil

Population development in Brazil since 1960

(Data in millions of inhabitants) Brazil is not only the largest country in South America, but also one of the most populous countries on earth. Since the beginning of the colonial era at the end of the 15th century, the population has been increasing at a striking rate compared to other countries. Since 1950 alone, the population has tripled from around 70 million to 214.33 million. Although the country has an enormous surface area, it also has large virgin forests and uninhabited regions. About 86 percent of the population lives in cities. About one-third of the population lives in the country's 10 largest metropolitan regions alone.

However, the growth curve has been flattening noticeably since about 1980. From over 2.3 percent growth per year at that time, the increase has been falling steadily to below 0.8 percent annually in recent years. The main reason for this is the declining birth rate of 12.9 per 1,000 inhabitants. Each woman gives birth to around 1.64 children. 70 years ago, this figure was still over six children.

Compared to the declining birth rate, the number of immigrants is increasing only moderately. About 1.08 million immigrants live in Brazil.

Future problems of old-age provision

Based on the age pyramid, future challenges are similarly evident here, as they are in many other industrialized nations. There are few elderly people today, and the largest share of the population is between 20 and 40 years old. Due to the declining birth rate, the younger cohorts have low birth rates and are thus underrepresented in terms of numbers.

Brazil is considered an emerging country and, from today's perspective, has great opportunities for economic advancement precisely because of this age distribution. There is a large working population compared to only a few elderly people, whose care must be ensured. However, the country must make provisions today and keep an eye on its own future. In 25-35 years, the current 30-40 year-olds will retire. The following generations will then be faced with the task of providing for their parents. The same situation exists in many wealthy European countries, where the social system is usually even more developed. The Brazilian government is already taking numerous measures in this regard, but it is still at the beginning of a long development. The still prevailing social inequality in terms of wealth, health and education is one of the most difficult situations in Brazil.

Birth and death rate in Brazil

Population growth is the result of the birth rate, the mortality rate and the migration rate. For example, the year 2021 in the graph: The population in Brazil increased by about 1,130,000 inhabitants. In the same year, the death rate was 8.3 per 1,000 people (~ 1,775,000 deaths) and the birth rate was 12.9 per 1,000 people (~ 2,747,000 births). As a result, around 158,000 inhabitants have to be added by migration from other countries.

Over the past 10 years, the number of average deaths per year was 1,387,828 in Brazil. The number of births was 2,922,391 annually.

The changes in births and deaths is displayed in the following graph. All data refer to births or deaths per 1,000 inhabitants.





Birth rate       Death rate