Brazil’s Federal District has a per capita income 33% higher than São Paulo State

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brasília celebrates another anniversary as the wealthiest region in the country in average per capita household income. According to the most updated data, the Federal District reached R$2,384 (US$515) in 2020. The value is 260% higher than the poorest state, Maranhão (R$662).

The data are from IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).

The per capita income of Brasília is also 33% higher than the second place in the ranking, the State of São Paulo (R$1,787).

The difference is so significant that, even with one of the biggest drops in per capita income in 2020, Brasília is still in the first position with ease. The capital city had the third-largest drop in value in the first year of the covid-19 pandemic. It dropped 5.1%, ahead only of Espírito Santo (-5.4%) and Roraima (-6.7%).

RICH AND UNEQUAL

The numbers disguise the social inequality that exists in the city. There are regions so rich that the standard of living is comparable to Nordic countries, such as Lago Sul.

The noble region of Brasilia has a per capita income of R$7,655, according to 2018 data -the latest available- from Codeplan (Planning Company of the Federal District). The company said it is still working to present the data for 2021. The disclosure should be made in the first half of this year.

The poorest region, Estrutural, has a per capita income similar to Myanmar, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. The per capita household income of Lago Sul is 1,475% higher than that of Estrutural.

According to Clarissa Schlabitz, director of Studies and Socioeconomic Research of Codeplan, the characteristic of Brasília’s economic hub favors income inequality. She said that the capital attracts people from all income classes seeking opportunities for a better future.

“Brasilia has a double characteristic compared to other states or other municipalities. Compared to other federation units, the Federal District appears in first place in per capita income, being well above the Brazilian average. Part of this result is derived from the high participation of the public sector in the local GDP,” said the analyst.

Brasilia has a substantial weight in the civil service as the federal capital. “They have higher remuneration compared to occupations in the private sector. However, when Brasília is compared to other municipalities, the city appears in position 95 in the ranking with the highest income per capita. It shows that there are still other richer municipalities,” she said.

The analyst said that the first step to reducing inequality is to know the reality of the population and the territory. She said Codeplan has been working on formatting statistics about the Federal District’s population, besides building socioeconomic indicators that help managers make decisions.