Brazil's population is very diverse, comprising many races and ethnic groups. In general, Brazilians trace their origins from four sources: Amerindians, Europeans, Africans and Asians.

Brazil has conducted a periodical population census since 1872. Since 1940, this census has been carried out decennially. Scanned versions of the forms for each census distributed in Brazil since 1960 are available on-line from IPUMS International.[1]

Historically, Brazil has experienced large degrees of ethnic and racial miscegenation, assimilation of cultures and syncretism.
Contents

1 Population 1.1 UN estimates 2 Vital statistics 2.1 Total fertility rate 3 Largest cities 4 Migrations 4.1 Immigration 4.2 History of immigration 4.3 IBGE's 1998 PME 4.4 Emigration 5 Racial composition 5.1 Aboriginal Brazilians 5.2 Black Brazilians 5.3 Asian Brazilians 5.4 Pardo Brazilians 5.5 White Brazilians 6 Composition of Brazil, genetic studies 7 Races and ethnicities by region 7.1 South 7.2 Southeast 7.3 Northeast 7.4 North 7.5 Central-West 8 Education and health 9 Religion 10 Languages 11 CIA World Factbook demographic statistics 11.1 Population growth rate 11.2 Sex ratio 11.3 Ethnic groups 11.4 Literacy 12 See also 13 References 14 External links

Population
Demographics of Brazil, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

According to the 2008 PNAD (National Household Sample Survey), conducted by the IBGE, the Brazilian Statistics bureau, there were about 189,953,000 inhabitants in 2008.[2] As of the latest (2010) census, the Brazilian government estimates its population at 190.8 mn.

The population of Brazil is estimated based on various sources from 1550 to 1850. The first official census took place in 1872. From that year, every 10 years (with some exceptions) the population is counted.

Brazil is the fifth most populated country in the world.
Population of Brazil, 1550–2005

1550 – 15,000 1600 – 100,000 1660 – 184,000 1700 – 300,000 1766 – 1,500,000 1800 – 3,250,000 1820 – 4,717,000 1850 – 7,256,000 1872 – 9,930,478 1890 – 14,333,915 1900 – 17,438,434 1920 – 30,635,605 1940 – 41,236,315 1950 – 51,944,397 1960 – 70,119,071 1970 – 93,139,037 1980 – 119,070,865 1991 – 146,917,459 1996 – 157,079,573 2000 – 169,544,443 2010 – 192,755,799[3] 2030 – 208,000,000[4] 2040 – 205,600,000[5]

Map of Brazilian states by population.
Map of Brazilian states by population density.

Population distribution in Brazil is very uneven. The majority of Brazilians live within 300 kilometers of the coast, while the interior in the Amazon Basin is almost empty. Therefore, the densely populated areas are on the coast and the sparsely populated areas are in the interior. This historical pattern is little changed by recent movements into the interior.
UN estimates

According to the 2010 revison of the World Population Prospects the total population was 194,946,000 in 2010, compared to only 53,975,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 25.5%, 67.5% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 7% was 65 years or older .[6] Total population (x 1000) Population aged 0–14 (%) Population aged 15–64 (%) Population aged 65+ (%)
1950 53 975 41.6 55.5 3.0
1955 62 880 42.0 55.0 3.0
1960 72 759 43.1 53.7 3.1
1965 84 389 43.6 53.0 3.4
1970 96 078 42.3 54.2 3.5
1975 108 224 40.2 56.0 3.8
1980 121 712 38.0 58.0 4.0
1985 136 247 36.9 59.0 4.1
1990 149 650 35.2 60.4 4.5
1995 161 848 32.4 62.6 5.0
2000 174 425 29.5 64.9 5.6
2005 185 987 27.5 66.2 6.3
2010 194 946 25.5 67.5 7.0
Vital