Brazil Population and Ethnic Groups Explained

BRAZIL · POPULATION

Brazil is mostly urban, mostly of mixed or African descent and mostly Christian, and its population is projected to peak in 2041.

Brazil population figures from IBGE, the national statistics office, put the country at 214.2 million people on 1 July 2026. That is about 63% of the US population and the largest in Latin America.

The 2022 census, the most recent full count, shows a nation that is overwhelmingly urban, largely of mixed ancestry and ageing fast.

How Big Is the Brazil Population?

IBGE, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, estimates the population at 214,211,951 on 1 July 2026. That is 790,914 more than a year earlier, growth of 0.37%.

Growth is easing. The rate was 0.42% between 2023 and 2024 and 0.39% between 2024 and 2025, IBGE’s figures show.

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For scale, the US Census Bureau estimated 341.8 million US residents in July 2025. Mexico, the next-largest country in Latin America, had about 131.9 million people in 2025, World Bank data show.

The 2022 census counted 203,080,756 residents. IBGE’s estimates run higher because they correct for people the census missed.

To make that correction, IBGE used a follow-up survey that measured how complete the census was. On that adjusted basis, it puts the mid-2022 population at 210.9 million.

Even the raw census shows a sharp slowdown. The count rose by 12.3 million between 2010 and 2022, an average of 0.52% a year.

IBGE’s projections, revised in 2024, show the total peaking at about 220.4 million in 2041. After that it falls, reaching 199.2 million by 2070.

People are unevenly spread across Brazil’s five regions. IBGE’s estimates for 1 July 2026 break down as follows:

• Southeast, including São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais: 89.0 million (41.6%)
• Northeast, including Bahia, Pernambuco and Ceará: 57.4 million (26.8%)
• South, including Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul: 31.5 million (14.7%)
• North, mostly Amazon states such as Amazonas and Pará: 18.9 million (8.8%)
• Centre-West, including Brasília and the farm states of Mato Grosso and Goiás: 17.4 million (8.1%)

The fastest-growing state between 2025 and 2026 was Roraima, on the borders with Venezuela and Guyana, at 3.01%. Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro and Alagoas barely grew at all.

A shorter take on the latest estimate is in Brazil’s Population Reaches 214.2 Million in 2026.

Cities, Countryside and Favelas

Brazil is overwhelmingly urban. In the 2022 census, 87.4% of people lived in urban areas and 12.6%, or 25.6 million, in rural ones.

São Paulo is the largest city, with an estimated 11.9 million residents in 2026. Rio de Janeiro follows with 6.7 million, then Brasília, the capital, with 3.0 million.

Fortaleza and Salvador, both on the north-eastern coast, each have about 2.6 million people. Fifteen municipalities have more than a million residents, together holding about 20% of the population.

São Paulo state alone had an estimated 46.2 million people in 2026. That is more than California, the most populous US state, with 39.4 million in July 2025.

At the other end, Serra da Saudade in Minas Gerais had just 857 residents, IBGE estimates. Some 2,467 municipalities, 44% of the total, have 10,000 people or fewer.

Some 16.4 million people, 8.1% of the population, lived in what IBGE calls favelas and urban communities in 2022. The term covers informal neighbourhoods such as the hillside communities of Rio de Janeiro.

An Ageing Population

The median Brazilian was 35 years old at the 2022 census. Children under 15 made up 19.8% of the population, while 10.9%, or 22.2 million people, were 65 or older.

There were 55 people aged 65 and over for every 100 children under 15. Women outnumbered men by about 6 million and made up 51.5% of residents.

IBGE’s projections assume about 1.5 children per woman in 2026, well below the 2.1 usually needed to replace each generation. Projected life expectancy at birth for 2026 is 77.0 years.

Under the same projections, people aged 65 and over will outnumber children under 15 from 2036. Deaths are projected to exceed births from 2042.

The median age is projected to rise from about 36 in 2026 to 51 by 2070. In plain terms, half of all Brazilians would then be over 50.

Ethnic Groups and How Brazil Counts Them

The census asks each person to choose one of five colour or race categories. These are white (branca), black (preta), pardo or mixed (parda), Asian (amarela) and indigenous (indígena).

In the 2022 census the results were:

• Pardo: 92.1 million (45.3%)
• White: 88.3 million (43.5%)
• Black: 20.7 million (10.2%)
• Indigenous by colour or race: 1.2 million (0.6%)
• Asian: 850,130 (0.4%)

The balance has shifted. In 2010 whites were the largest group, at 47.7%, and only 7.6% of people identified as black.

The share describing themselves as Asian fell from 1.1% in 2010 to 0.4% in 2022. Answers are self-declared, so shares can move as people change how they describe themselves.

IBGE’s quarterly household survey, known as PNAD Contínua, shows the same pattern. In the second quarter of 2026 it put pardos at 46.4%, whites at 42.2% and black Brazilians at 10.3%.

Brazil’s 2010 Racial Equality Statute counts black and pardo people together as the “black population”. On that definition, 112.7 million people, or 55.5%, belonged to it in 2022.

Geography matters. Whites made up 72.6% of the South in 2022, while pardos were 67.2% of the North and 59.6% of the Northeast.

The Southeast was 49.9% white, 38.7% pardo and 10.6% black. The Centre-West was 52.4% pardo.

Indigenous Peoples and Quilombolas

The census counted 1,694,836 indigenous people in 2022, or 0.83% of the population. The figure includes 467,194 people who chose another colour but said they considered themselves indigenous when asked a follow-up question.

About 622,800 of them, or 37%, lived in officially recognised indigenous lands. Amazonas state had the most indigenous residents, 490,935, followed by Bahia with 229,443.

The census identified 391 indigenous peoples and 295 indigenous languages, IBGE says. The largest people and the most widely spoken language are both Tikúna, with 74,061 members and 51,978 speakers.

In 2022, about 12% of indigenous people aged five and over did not speak Portuguese. On the colour or race question alone, the indigenous count rose by half, from 817,963 in 2010 to 1,227,642 in 2022.

For the first time, the 2022 census also counted quilombolas. A 2003 decree defines them as self-identified groups of presumed black ancestry linked to resistance against historical oppression.

The census found 1,330,186 quilombolas, 0.66% of the population. Only 12.6% of them lived inside officially recognised quilombola territories.

Languages and Religion

Portuguese is Brazil’s official language under Article 13 of the 1988 constitution. A 2002 law recognised Brazilian Sign Language, known as Libras, as a legal means of communication.

Religion is measured for people aged 10 and over. In 2022, 100.2 million, or 56.7%, were Catholic, and 47.4 million, or 26.9%, belonged to evangelical churches.

Catholics have been losing ground for at least two decades. Their share fell from 65.0% in 2010, while evangelicals rose from 21.7%, IBGE says.

Another 9.3% said they had no religion, and 1.8% were Spiritists. Followers of the Afro-Brazilian faiths Umbanda and Candomblé were 1.0%, up from 0.3% in 2010.

Indigenous traditional religions had 99,425 followers. The constitution guarantees freedom of belief and bars governments from establishing or funding a church.

Brazil’s cultural life, from music to football, is profiled in Brazil Culture, the Key Figures to Know in 2026.

Immigrants, History and the Diaspora

Indigenous peoples lived in Brazil long before Portuguese ships reached its coast in 1500. Colonial Portugal, and later independent Brazil, relied on enslaved Africans for more than three centuries.

A law of 13 May 1888 abolished slavery. In the same era Brazil drew mass immigration, with 3.96 million arrivals between 1884 and 1933, IBGE’s historical series shows:

• Italians: 1.40 million
• Portuguese: 1.15 million
• Spaniards: 587,114
• Germans: 154,397
• Japanese: 142,457
• People recorded as Syrians and Turks: 97,914

Today Brazil takes in relatively few immigrants. The 2022 census counted 793,000 foreign nationals and 216,341 naturalised Brazilians, together about 0.5% of residents.

Far more Brazilians live abroad. The foreign ministry, known as Itamaraty, estimated 4.6 million in 2022, up 4% from 2021.

About 1.9 million lived in the United States, followed by Portugal, Paraguay, Britain and Japan. The consular districts of New York, Boston and Miami alone held an estimated 1.19 million Brazilians.

The ministry compiles these estimates from reports by its embassies and consulates, so they are not a headcount. Brazilians abroad also vote, as the 2026 overseas results showed.

How the Groups Live Together

Mixed ancestry is the norm in Brazil, and the constitution makes racism a crime with no bail and no statute of limitations. Yet income still tracks colour closely.

In the 2022 census, white workers earned on average 78% more a month than black workers. They earned 67% more than pardo workers.

Asian Brazilians earned the most, about twice the national average. Indigenous workers earned the least, 41% below the average.

The gap persists in IBGE’s latest household survey. In the second quarter of 2026, white workers usually earned 4,800 reais (about US$961) a month from all jobs.

Black workers earned 2,754 reais (about US$552) and pardo workers 2,923 reais (about US$585). Conversions use the Central Bank of Brazil’s PTAX rate of 4.99 reais per US dollar on 7 October 2026.

Unemployment followed the same pattern in that quarter: 4.2% for white workers, 6.1% for pardo workers and 6.9% for black workers. Informal work reached 42.1% among pardo and 40.3% among black workers, against 31.9% for white workers.

The 2010 statute aims to guarantee the black population equal opportunities and to combat discrimination, its first article says. It ties policy to IBGE’s self-declared colour categories.

Region adds another layer, with a mostly white South and a mostly pardo North and Northeast. Who holds power in Brasília is covered in Brazil Politics Explained, Who Holds Power in 2026.

Brazil’s place among its neighbours is the subject of Brazil and Its Neighbours in South America.

What It Means for US Readers

For businesses, Brazil is a consumer market of 214 million people, more than 40% of them in the Southeast. São Paulo state alone has more residents than California.

For travellers, it is a country where most people are of mixed or African descent and speak Portuguese, not Spanish. For daily coverage, see the Rio Times Brazil page.

For investors, the ageing curve matters. IBGE projects 58 people under 15 or over 64 for every 100 of working age in 2050, up from 45 in 2026.

That shift will put more weight on pensions and health spending.

For US communities, the link is personal. About 1.9 million Brazilians lived in the United States in 2022, the foreign ministry estimates.

What Is Not Known

The exact size of the population depends on how many people the 2022 census missed. IBGE’s adjusted figure for mid-2022 is 210.9 million, about 7.8 million above the census count.

The projections to 2070 rest on assumptions about births, deaths and migration that may not hold. Foreign ministry estimates of Brazilians abroad for years after 2022 could not be confirmed from a primary source.

The income comparisons do not separate the effect of colour from education or region. Census colour categories are self-declared, so they measure identity rather than ancestry.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the population of Brazil in 2026?

IBGE estimates 214.2 million people on 1 July 2026. The 2022 census counted 203.1 million, before corrections for people it missed.

What does pardo mean in Brazil?

Pardo is the census category for people of mixed ancestry, chosen by each respondent. In 2022 it was the largest group, at 45.3% of the population.

Is Brazil a majority-black country?

Under Brazilian law, black and pardo people together form the black population, 55.5% of residents in 2022. Only 10.2% identified specifically as black, or preto.

What language do people speak in Brazil?

Portuguese is the official language under the constitution. Brazilian Sign Language has been legally recognised since 2002, and the 2022 census recorded 295 indigenous languages.

What is the main religion in Brazil?

Catholicism, followed by 56.7% of people aged 10 and over in 2022. Evangelical Protestants were 26.9% and 9.3% had no religion.

How many Brazilians live in the United States?

The foreign ministry estimated about 1.9 million in 2022, the largest Brazilian community abroad. The figure is compiled from reports by Brazil’s embassies and consulates and is not a headcount.

Is Brazil’s population still growing?

Yes, but slowly, by 0.37% between 2025 and 2026, IBGE estimates. Its projections show a peak of about 220.4 million in 2041, followed by decline.

Sources: IBGE, population estimates for 1 July 2026 (28 August 2026); IBGE, population estimates (table 6579); IBGE, Census 2022 population and growth (table 4709); IBGE, Census colour or race (table 9605); IBGE, urban and rural population (table 9923); IBGE, median age and ageing index (table 9515); IBGE, population by sex and age (table 9514); IBGE, favelas and urban communities (table 9888); IBGE, indigenous population (table 9718); IBGE Educa, indigenous peoples and languages; IBGE, quilombola population (table 9578); IBGE, religion (table 9537); IBGE, Census 2022 religion results, 2010 comparison; IBGE, population by nationality (table 10157); IBGE, Census work income by colour or race (table 10281); IBGE, PNAD Contínua population by colour or race (table 6403); IBGE, PNAD Contínua income by colour or race (table 6405); IBGE, PNAD Contínua unemployment and informality by colour or race (table 6402); IBGE, Population Projections, 2024 revision, and methodology report; IBGE, Brasil: 500 anos de povoamento, immigration 1884-1933; Constitution of Brazil, Articles 5, 13 and 19; Law 12,288 of 2010, Racial Equality Statute; Law 10,436 of 2002 on Libras; Decree 4,887 of 2003 on quilombola communities; Law 3,353 of 1888 abolishing slavery; Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Comunidades Brasileiras no Exterior, base year 2022 (August 2023); US Census Bureau, QuickFacts, July 2025 estimates; World Bank, population data; Central Bank of Brazil, PTAX exchange rate (all accessed 8 October 2026).