Demography concepts and applications

¶ … demographics of Brazil. There are six references used for this paper.

The countries around the world offer a wild variety of demographics which can include living conditions, traditions, and environments. It is interesting to look at Brazil and determine its demographic transitions in terms of mortality, fertility, migration, urbanization and age.

Most of the Brazilian citizens live in areas along the coastline, compared to the interior region of the country. This has resulted in the "inhabitants becoming very diverse with many races and cultures represented (http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Demographics-of-Brazil)." According to statistics from the United Nations, 10% of the population was undernourished from 1996-1998 (www.un.org).

In 2003, the population of the country was more than 177 million. The "population growth rate was 1.46% from 1990-2000, compared to the estimated 0.94% in 2000 (http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Demographics-of-Brazil)." By 2004, according to the CIA factbook, the population had grown to 184,101,109 and had a growth rate of 1.11% (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/br.html).

The birthrate in 2001 was "19.89 births/1,000 population, compared to the death rate of 6.68 deaths/1,000 population (http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Demographics-of-Brazil)."

In 2004, the CIA reported these figures had declined to a birth rate of "17.25 births/1,000 population and a death rate of 6.14 deaths/1,000 population (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/br.html)."

Age Structure

The age structure of the population in 2004 is as "follows:

0-14 years: 26.6% (male 24,915,902; female 23,966,713)

15-64 years: 67.6% (male 61,739,012; female 62,770,480)

65 years and over: 5.8% (male 4,389,659; female 6,319,343) (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/br.html)."

These figures are better illustrated by the "sex ratio of the population:

At birth: 1.05 male (s)/female

Under 15 years: 1.04 male (s)/female

15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female

Total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/br.html)."

In 2004, the total median age was "27.4 years, with males having a median age of 26.7 years and females having a median age of 28.2 years (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/br.html)." Today the population of children aged 0-14 years is 28% (www.un.org).

Fertility Rates

As the economy has changed recently, so have the demographics of Brazil. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company conducted research on fertility rates and found they "have fallen dramatically during the last century. In the early 1950s, the birth rate was 6.2 children per adult Brazilian woman, and by 1990 the rate had fallen to 3.2 per woman (D'allegro)."

By 2002, the birth rate of Brazilian women had dropped to 2.8 per woman (Synder).

In comparison, in 1990 the "United States birth rate was about 1.9 children per adult woman, and the worldwide rate was 3.4 (D'allegro)."

From 2000-2005, the United Nations reported that the total fertility rate was 2 births per woman (www.un.org)." In 2004, it was estimated that the "total fertility rate was 1.97 children born/woman (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/br.html)."

Life Expectancy

As the country has realized improvements in sanitation and healthcare, the life expectancy of its citizens has risen. The life expectancy "increased from 51 in the early 1950s to 65 in 1990. While the average life span in Brazil lags behind those in the United States and Mexico, the regions other powerhouses, it exceeds the worldwide average of 62 years (D'allegro)." In 2001, the "life expectancy at birth was:

Total population: 68.82 years

Male: 58.54 years

Female: 67.56 (http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Demographics-of-Brazil)."

As of 2004, the CIA estimated that the "life expectancy at birth to be:

Total population: 71.41 years

Male: 67.45 years

Female: 75.57 years (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/br.html)."

Infant Mortality

In 2001, the "infant mortality rate was 32.70 deaths/1,000 live births (http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Demographics-of-Brazil)."

The United Nations reported that the "infant mortality rate from 2000-2005 was 38 per 1,000 births (www.un.org)." However, the CIA estimated that in 2004 there were "30.66 deaths/1,000 live births, with 34.47 deaths/1,000 live births among males, and 26.65 deaths/1,000 live births among females (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/br.html)."

AIDS

AIDS plays a role in the demographics of the Brazilian population. In 2003, the CIA estimated that the "adult prevalence rate of HIV / AIDS was 0.7%, the number of people living with HIV / AIDS was 660,000 and the number of deaths that year from HIV / AIDS was 15,000 (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/br.html)."

One important point about the population data is that when Brazil performed its census in August 2000, it "reported a population of 169,799,170. That figure was about 3.3% lower than projections by the U.S. Census Bureau, and is close to the implied undernumeration of 4.6% for the 1991 census. Estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS, and this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/br.html)."

Migration

In 2000, the net migration rate was estimated at "0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 (http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Demographics-of-Brazil)." By 2004, the net migration rate was -0.03 migrant (s)/population (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/br.html).

Urbanization

Beginning in the 1950s, Brazil saw a huge increase of people moving from rural areas to the urban regions. By the 1970s, "Brazil's urban population grew at rates of about 5% per year and accounted for 56% of the total population in 1970, 68% in 1980, and 75% in 1991. The new pattern of population redistribution revealed by the 1991 census involved less interregional migration, with more people staying in their regions of origin or moving to large cities nearby rather than to megacities (www.mongabay.com/reference/country_studies/brazil/29.html)."