GEO Brasil - UNEP

There were later relatively stable
periods and the growth rate declined
This state of affairs is paralleled to the
economic and social development
process itself in Brazil, where the
population experienced a more than
tenfold growth
The modalities of spatial organisation
have also changed In this century, a
significant change in the location of
the Brazilian population takes place:
the most part of the population, who
lived in rural areas, flows rapidly to the
cities and becomes essentially urban
towards the end of the century Indeed,
during the period 1940-2000, the
Brazilian population undergoes a
fourfold growth, while the urban
population grew eleven-fold during the
same period (Table 4)
21 Growth Dynamics
With regard to the dynamics of
demographic growth, its components
change dramatically, ie, infant
mortality (Graph 3 and Table 5), life
expectancy and birth rates (Graph 4
and Table 6) are modified, as well as
their mutual relations Hence, even as
mortality and life expectancy at birth
rates have improved over the course
of the past 50 years, the Brazilian
population’s birth rates reported a
greater reduction and the average
annual growth rates started to decline
in the 1960’s
Table 4 - Evolution of the Brazilian population - 1940/2000
Years Total Urban Urbanisation rate
1940 41,236,315 12,880,182 31.23%
1950 51,944,397 18,782,891 36.15%
1960 70,070,457 31,303,034 44.67%
1970 93,139,037 52,084,984 55.92%
1980 119,002,706 80,436,409 67.59%
1991 146,825,475 110,990,990 75.59%
2000 169,544,443 137,697,439 81.21%
Source: Tabulation made fromCensuses Historical Data - IBGE
the state of the environment in Brazil
An analysis of demographic growth
patterns shows that Brazil is in an
advanced stage of demographic
transition, leaving behind an old
standard of high birth and mortality
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