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Population Migration and Urbanization of Brazil
Migration and Urbanization
Immigration from Europe and the African slave trade, which were
the prime sources of population growth during much of
Brazil's history, became demographically insignificant by the
1930s. Subsequently, there were massive transfers of internal migrants
from the Northeast
and Minas
Gerais to the growing urban centers of São
Paulo and Rio
de Janeiro. Over time, there were successive waves of significant
but less voluminous counterflows to frontier areas in Paraná,
the Center-West, and finally the Amazon. The government's colonization
plans, which included settlement along the Trans-Amazonian Highway,
stimulated internal migration. However, the last cycle of frontier
expansion came to a close, at least temporarily, in the late 1980s.
During the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, some 20 million people moved
from rural to urban areas in Brazil. This population movement constitutes
one of the largest of its kind in history. Brazil's urban population
(by the official definition) grew at rates of about 5 percent per
year and accounted for 56 percent of the total population in 1970,
68 percent in 1980, and 75 percent in 1991. During most of the post-World
War II period, the largest cities grew fastest as a result of gradual
migration to progressively larger cities. In the 1980s, however,
the proportion of Brazil's population living in metropolitan areas
dropped from 29 percent to 28 percent. 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.
Numerous efforts have been made at the policy level to stimulate
settlement in the interior, including colonization in the Amazon,
and to limit the growth of the largest cities while strengthening
middle-sized cities. Despite these efforts, however, most public
policies have continued to favor population concentration in the
Southeast and in large cities by promoting industry at the cost
of agriculture and by providing services and benefits primarily
to urban residents.
During the 1980s, as a result of economic crisis and improved transportation
services, emigration
from Brazil increased to other countries, including the United
States, Canada, Portugal, and Japan. For the first time ever, Brazil
became a net exporter of population and thus entered a new stage
in its demographic history. Some of the emigrants sought employment
in menial jobs in developed
countries; others were skilled personnel, including scientists
and engineers. However, a noteworthy reverse brain drain also took
place, with skilled workers from other Latin American countries
and Europe constituting a significant proportion of new immigrants.
Immigration increased from neighboring countries, especially members
of the Common Market of the South (Mercado Comum do Sul--Mercosul;
see Glossary), including Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, as well
as from some countries in Africa and Asia.
Data as of April 1997
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