About Brazil: Population

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Brazil is the largest country in Latin America, the region largest economy and the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas. Without Alaska and Hawaii, the United States would be slightly smaller than Brazil.

The word Brasil (written with “s” in Portuguese) was originally an adjective used to describe the color of the brazilwood, a reddish wood resembling glowing embers (brasa in Portuguese). The demonym brasileiro (Brazilian) is quite particular because it contains the suffix “-eiro” (roughly equivalent to "-er” in English, as in writer, engineer or teacher) that usually refers to an occupation or activity. When translated into English and other languages this suffix is replaced by forms more commonly used for nationalities (brésilien, brasiliano, brasileño, Brasilianisch). Originally, brasileiros were the people involved in the extraction and trade of brazilwood. Although the term initially had a somewhat pejorative connotation, it eventually became the name of a nation and its people.

Brazil's population exceeds 210 million people and is highly diverse. During the early colonial period, the population consisted mainly of Portuguese settlers and Indigenous people. Later, due to labor shortages on plantations, large numbers of enslaved Africans were brought to Brazil. By the time independence was declared, people of African descent constituted a significant portion of the population.

During the colonial era, Dutch established settlements, mainly in the Northeast. Even today, it’s not uncommon to find Brazilians with names such as “Vanderlei” or other names beginning with “Vander”. Although such names may sound unusual to Portuguese speakers, they reflect the influence of the Dutch presence in Brazil, deriving from Dutchth expression van der.

In the late 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century, following the abolition of slavery, the government strongly encouraged immigration from Europe and Asia as part of a policy aimed at "whitening" the population. German, Italian, Japanese and Syrian-Lebanese immigrants were among the largest immigrant groups.

Since the late 20th century, immigration from Bolivia, Cuba and Haiti has also become significant. To a lesser extent immigration from African countries has contributed to the country's demografic diversity as well.

There are more distinct national and ethnic groups in the United States than in Brazil. Nevertheless, the Brazilian population is generally more ethnically mixed than the American population. The integration of immigrants throughout the 20th century was largely successful, as can be seen in the names of several former presidents, such as Jair Bolsonaro, Michel Temer, Dilma Roussef, Fernando Collor (derived from Köhler), and Ernesto Geisel.

The distribution of Brazil's population is highly uneven. Some areas are heavily populated , while others remain sparsely inhabited. The occupation of the country's interior has been closely linked to the expansion of the agricultural frontier and the production of export commodities such as soybeans.

Almost 90% of Brazil's population lives in urban areas.The colored areas on the map represent the most densely populated regions of the Brazilian territory.