The population that calls itself Mestizos have outnumbered the white population in Brazil for the first time in census records. solidifying itself as the largest ethno-racial group in the South American country. According to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) at the end of December last year The “Browns” now number 92.1 million inhabitants, This represents 45.3% of the country’s total population.
The census study revealed that whites, once the largest group, now make up 43.5% of the population, which corresponds to 88.2 million people. This transition represents a significant change in the ethnic profile of the Brazilian population, with an increase in self-identification as mixed race and black.
These have been around since 2000 a steady increase in the proportion of people who identify as black and mixed race. In the 2010 census, these two groups combined exceeded the self-reported white population for the first time, marking a turning point. At the last census, the upward trend continued: in 2010, brown people made up 43.1% and blacks 7.6% of the population. Currently, 10.2% of the population is considered black, which equates to approximately 20.6 million people.
The IBGE found that this increase in self-identification as Black increased by 42.3% This is the second highest figure in the last decade, exceeded only by the increase in the indigenous population. which grew by 89% between 2010 and 2022. There are currently more than 1.6 million indigenous people in Brazil, representing 0.8% of the population, almost double the number in 2010.
Márcio Pochmann, President of IBGE, remphasized the importance of the census for the scientific and technical understanding of the profile of the Brazilian population. For his part, João Jorge Rodrigues, President of the Palmares Foundation, explained that these data will be fundamental for the development of actions aimed at the black population in municipalities, states and at the national level.
With regard to ethno-racial self-identification The Asian population experienced the largest decline from one census to the next. In 2022, around 850,000 people reported being of Oriental origin, representing 0.4% of the Brazilian population, compared to 1.1% in 2010. This decrease is attributed to an improvement in research methodology, These included additional questions to check whether the person had a specific oriental origin. such as Chinese, Japanese or Korean.
The ethno-racial classification process is carried out using a questionnaire administered by census takers who visit Brazilian homes to conduct interviews. One of the key questions concerns the person’s skin color or race, with five options available: white, black, yellow (for people of Eastern descent), brown (including people identified by their color or a mixture of colors), and indigenous.
It is important to note that these classifications They are based on people’s self-identification and are not rules imposed by third parties. Interpretation may vary depending on individual perceptions regarding family background, skin color, physical characteristics and ethnicity.
Another relevant aspect that the 2022 census reveals is the ethno-racial distribution in the Brazilian territory. The southern and southeastern regions of the country are predominantly white, while the central-western, northern and northeastern regions have greater mestizo diversity. and black.
The south is the whitest region of Brazil. 72.6% of the population identifies as such. The states with the highest percentage of white populations are Rio Grande do Sul (78.4%), Santa Catarina (76.3%) and Paraná (64.3%). The Northeast, on the other hand, is at the top with a black population of 13%.
The north concentrates the highest proportion of mestizos and indigenous people in the country, at 67.2% and 3.1%, respectively. Bahia, Rio de Janeiro and Tocantins are the states with the highest percentage of black population, while Pará, Amazonas and Maranhão lead the way in brown population.
When it comes to indigenous population, Roraima leads with 14.1%, followed by Amazonas (7.7%) and Acre (3.5%). Communities of Eastern origin are more concentrated in São Paulo (1.2%), Paraná (0.9%) and Mato Grosso do Sul (0.7%).
The census also provided data on ethno-racial distribution in Brazilian communities. Of the total 5,568 cities, 58.3% are predominantly brown, while 41% has a majority white population. Indigenous people make up the majority in 33 municipalities, with places such as Uiramutã (Rondônia) and Santa Isabel do Rio Negro (Amazonas) being highlighted.
In nine cities alone, Afro-Brazilians make up more than half of the population, as in the case of Serrano do Maranhão (MA) and Antonio Cardoso (BA). Despite the decline in the white population in all Brazilian regions This is still the majority in all age groups, especially in the over 60s segment. In terms of gender, the black population, with a proportion of 103.9 men, is the only one in which there are more men than women.
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