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| Brazil: Demographics |
| Brazil has a population of 180 Million people concentrated on its two hundred miles of east coast. It was forecasted that the population would reach approximately 190 million by the year 2010. Brazil is the most populous country in Latin America and the fifth most populous country in the world. Over 90 percent of the people live on 10 percent of the land, and over 15 Million live in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. |
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Brazil’s ethnic composition is 55 percent European descent (primarily Portuguese), 38 percent a mixture of cultures (African, German, Japanese, Amerindian, and so forth), 6 percent African, and only 1 percent Amerindian. Approximately 29 percent of the population is between 0-14 years old, 66 percent is between 15-64 years old, and only 5 percent is over 65 years old. |
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| Immigration was a major determinant of the population structure in Brazil. During colonial times, Portuguese and Africans immigrated to the northeastern region of Brazil. During the period between 1821-1945, approximately 5.2 million Europeans immigrated to Brazil, settling in the southern agricultural regions. After World War I, the Japanese community in Brazil grew to become the largest expatriate Japanese group of the world, with more than 1 million immigrants. |