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This article provides information about the Population: Historical Background of Demography of Brazil !
The fifth largest country in the world, Brazil is the largest country in South America. Brazil occupies nearly one-half of the area of South America and borders on nine of the continent’s eleven nations. With 80% of the population living in cities and towns, Brazil is one of the most urbanised and industrialised countries in Latin America. Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are among the ten largest cities in the world. Yet, parts of Brazil’s Amazon region, which has some of the world’s most extensive wilderness areas, are sparsely inhabited by indigenous people still in the process of coming into contact with the modern world.
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Brazil is marked by profound contrasts and diversity. Some of these are geographic or climatic in nature, others are racial or ethnic. Brazil’s population mainly draws on Native American, African and European roots and successive waves of immigrants, principally from Asia and Europe, have added to the mix. Yet other contrasts are social in nature. Living conditions for Brazil’s 170 million people vary dramatically and income disparities are significant not only across regions but also between metropolitan centres, non- metropolitan urban centres and rural areas.
With an estimated 156 million inhabitants, Brazil has the largest population in Latin America and ranks sixth in the world. The majority live in the south-central area, which includes the industrial cities of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte. Urban growth has been rapid: by 1991, 75% of the total population was living in urban areas. Rapid growth has aided economic development but has also created serious social, environmental, and political problems for major cities.
Four major groups make up the Brazilian population: the Portuguese, who colonised the area in the 16th century; Africans brought to Brazil as slaves; various other European, Middle Eastern, and Asian immigrant groups who have settled in Brazil since the mid- 19th century; and indigenous people of Tupi and Guarani language stock. Intermarriage between the Portuguese and indigenous people or slaves was common. Although the major European ethnic stock of Brazil was once Portuguese, subsequent waves of immigration have contributed to a diverse ethnic and cultural heritage.
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From 1875 until 1960, about 5 million Europeans immigrated to Brazil, settling mainly in the four southern states of Sao Paulo, Parana, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul. Immigrants have come mainly from Italy, Germany, Spain, Japan, Poland, and the Middle East. The largest Japanese community outside Japan is in Sao Paulo. Despite class distinctions, national identity is strong, and racial friction is a relatively new phenomenon. Indigenous full-blooded Indians, located mainly in the northern and western border regions and in the upper Amazon Basin, constitute less than one per cent of the population.
Their numbers are declining as contact with the outside world and commercial expansion into the interior increase. Brazilian Government programmes to establish reservations and to provide other forms of assistance have existed for years but are controversial and often ineffective. Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in America. Approximately 80% of all Brazilians belong to the Roman Catholic Church; most others are Protestant or follow practices derived from African religions. Brazil was claimed for Portugal in 1500 by Pedro Alvares Cabral.
It was ruled from Lisbon as a colony until 1808, when the royal family, having fled from Napoleon’s army, established the seat of Portuguese government in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil became a kingdom under Dom Joao VI, who returned to Portugal in 1821. His son declared Brazil’s independence on September 7, 1822, and became emperor with the title of Dom Pedro I. His son, Dom Pedro II, ruled from 1831 to 1889, when a federal republic was established. Slavery had been abolished a year earlier by the Regent Princess Isabel while Dom Pedro II was in Europe.
From 1889 to 1930, the government was a constitutional democracy, with the presidency alternating between the dominant states of Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais. This period ended with a military coup and the successive Presidents thereon were from the army. Brazil completed its transition to a popularly elected government in 1989, when Fernando Collor de Mello won 53% of the vote in the first direct presidential election in 29 years.
In 1992 a major corruption scandal led to the impeachment and ultimate resignation of President Collor. Vice- President Itamar Franco took his place and governed for the remainder of Collor’s term culminating in the October 3, 1994 presidential elections, when Fernando Henrique Cardoso was elected President with 54% of the vote. He took office on January 1, 1995.
President Cardoso has sought to establish the basis for long-term stability and growth and to reduce Brazil’s extreme socio-economic imbalances. His proposals to Congress include constitutional amendments to open the Brazilian economy to greater foreign participation and to implement sweeping reforms – including social security, government administration, and taxation to reduce excessive public sector spending and improve government efficiency.