"Describe and account for the inequalities in population distribution in Brazil" (25)

Teacher: Mr Butler, Human Geography, Joshua Malina 01/10/04

“Describe and account for the inequalities in population distribution in Brazil” (25)

Brazil in terms of population distribution is exceedingly varied and uneven. It has the sixth largest population in the world has 175 million inhabitants. The people of Brazil have 8,511,965 square kilometres that they could potentially occupy. However 90% of people are living within 500 km of the coastline (of the Atlantic) and 80% live within 320 km of the coast. When people live along the coastline this becomes known as a coastal shelf. The most densely populated areas are; the south, south east and the north east. In the south there is an average of 43.64 people per km2 (.64 is irrelevant)

and the north east has an average population density of 30.68 people per km2.

On average the south east has 78.35 people per km2, and Rio de Janeiro has the highest population density of 329.67 people per km2.

Cities like Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro have up to and over 85 people per square kilometre. (Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro make up two parts of three of the ‘golden triangle’). Population densities increase on proximity to the Atlantic.

However there are two exceptions to this. Firstly Brasilia has a high population of more than 100 people per km2 and this is a city that is in the centre-west of Brazil. The second anomaly is Manaus that has a moderate population in comparison with the rest of Brazil of between 10 – 50 people per km2 and is in an area surrounded by low population densities.

The north and north west of Brazil is extremely sparsely populated which in many places has less than 1 person per km2. The highest population in the north is in Belem and has between 10 – 49 people per km2. This city borders with the north east of Brazil.

The Lorenz curve is an illustration used to show how much of a country’s population occupies a certain amount of a country’s land.

Idealistically speaking, 10% of the population would occupy 10% of that country’s land. However this is almost unheard of due to factors that affect settlement.

The diagonal line on the Lorenz curve shows that there would be an even distribution of people across the land in the country. However Brazil’s curves both highly deviate from Lorenz’s curve making it clear that Brazils population is unevenly distributed. For example 20% of Brazil’s land is only occupied by approximately 3% of it’s population. The 1980’s curve has only changed slightly in 20 years. Now the curve is moving more towards Lorenz’s curve, which implies that slowly more people are spreading out of the densely populated areas.

There are a vast number of reasons regarding why the population distribution of Brazil is so varied. To begin with Brazil is largely made up of immigrants. This was during the colonisation period from 1500. European migrants who were mainly of Portuguese origin arrived in Brazil up until 1850 and during the period between 1871- 1960 around 4 million Germans, Poles and also Japanese arrived. (Even though the Japanese are not European). About 3.6 million African migrants were forced into Brazil up until about 1870 in order to serve as slaves. The first place these migrants would have arrived to is some point along the coast and hence these areas got built up first. Once an area has been built up it is unlikely that people would leave because there would be no pull factors coming from any other part of Brazil. There is also the fact that these migrants feel a sense of belonging and tend to stick together in large groups.

An exception to this is a search for precious raw materials. The south east became populated because it was found to be plentiful in raw materials such as coffee beans, minerals in (Minas Gerais which is also in the south east). These raw materials created large urban and well-developed areas that acted and still act today as pull factors for migrants. The east also has much of Brazils industry and also agriculture which is why there is such high population densities of up to and over (in some places) 100 people per km2.

Other raw materials found ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Other raw materials found in the south east include gold and diamonds which is obviously of a high value and as such creates jobs. This has a knock on effect know as the multiplier effect.. By this it is meant that firstly you need people to extract it from the land, then you need it to be purified and then this needs to be sold. Hence there is a chain of employment opening up.

These migrants are attracted to the densely populated areas such as Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Natal, Salvador, Fortaleza (and many more) because from these coastal areas it is easy to import and export good. For instance Brazilian coffee beans are world-renowned and are a key source of income for the country. These migrants want to be a part of that income and flock in large numbers to these core regions, especially the golden triangle which is: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte which is where the key industry and employment industries are. In fact 66% of Brazils total industry is based in the south east. It is also where entertainment and amusement can be enjoyed due to there being activities such as shopping, cinema, ice-skating and eating. There are also better education opportunities, more transport links and also more efficient transport links. Another reason for the south east to be so populated is to do with Government policy. For example the Brazilian government heavily influenced coca-cola to set-up there because they knew this would create a boom in the economy, hence people moved to this area. The same also applies regarding car manufacturers, mainly from the western world. This is because the country benefits by there being jobs created and the companies get benefits such as lower land costs, lower labour costs, lower costs of raw materials and also there are less restrictions on what they can and cannot do. However this has led to an over crowded south east Brazil. The capital of Brazil was Rio de Janeiro, but through the government policy it made Brasilia the capital which is in the centre west of Brazil. This was done under the Programme for National Integration (PIN). The rational behind this was to try and get a more evenly populated concentration across Brazil. However this has only given an increase in the size of population in Brasilia and has not get stimulated population growth in other areas away from the coastal region on south east Brazil.

This is why Brasilia seems to be an anomaly because it is the only city within inner Brazil with a comparable population density to the coastal cities. A key reason for this is partly due to physical factors (discussed further on) and also due to its inaccessibility and insufficient transport links. Whereas the coastal regions of Brazil boast a far higher standard of transportation links at a far higher standard. Due to these areas being so well developed, it has enabled a market for tourism to open up. The Carnival parade that takes place is a key event that many come to be a part of.

The Amazonas region is sparsely populated because it lacked primary industry due to physical factors (discussed later). Yet there have been some settlers since the 1960’s and 70’s due to the minerals in the areas for example the Trombetas and Carajas mines. When the big groups of migrants first arrived they would not have been arriving in Amazonia because it is not near the coast which would be where migrants would enter from. Also it would not have been easy to get that far because especially in the 19th and 18th centuries there would have been no way of getting there due to transport not being as advanced as it is today. The anomaly mentioned before; Manaus developed during a rubber boom in the 1900’s. It has also grown as a tourist industry and its new status as a free port. These factors have led to Manaus gaining a moderate population density in recent times of up to 49 people per km2, which is surprising because of its proximity to the Amazon Basin. Another reason for the increase in population density is federal investment consisting of new roads (e.g. Transamazonic Highway). This has made the region more reachable and therefore accessible.

The north east is lacking in the ability to yield crops or rear animals. Hence this has meant that no other industries have been able to develop as most industries stem from the primary one. The north east also has no real mineral resources, however recently substantial sized oil fields have been found and this could mean population density could increase in the future because it is well known there is many to be made in the oil industry. Due to there being no prospering industries in the north east many who live there have carried out rural to urban migration in the seek for employment and an overall higher standard of living. People have mainly fled to the south east and coastal cities. This increases the population density in the already highly populated areas and makes the sparse areas less populated. The only industry in the north east is the sugar industry but since the 1700’s this has failed to grow further. Therefore less money has been invested into the area meaning there is little chance of it growing.

Of course, it is not just human, social and political factors that affect population distribution and densities it is also physical factors. The east and south east of Brazil of course have an excellent water supply because it has the Atlantic Ocean as a source region. (This is also applicable to the north east of Brazil). Fertile soils are also apparent in the East coast zone and the south east. The south easterly fertile soils of the terra rossa are in the south east and are rich in minerals from weathered volcanic rock below it. The south east also has a temperate climate which means it is cooler than the interior in the summer, and warmer than the interior of Brazil in winter.

In January temperatures vary between temperatures between 15 °C - 25 °C in the south east and in along the east coast temperatures are normally above 25°C. In July time the south east’s temperatures tend to be between 10°C and 20°C. The east coast can be the same except for it is common for temperatures to reach or exceed 25°C. Rainfall in January can vary between 50 – 200mm in the south east and the east. In the same regions in July time, rainfall is not as common because in most of the south and south east there is only a maximum of 50 mm. In the bottom of the south east there is up to 200mm of rainfall in July however this is not over a large area. People are attracted to temperate climates firstly because they are comfortable and secondly because they allow crops to grow. These crops can then be used to be traded with (commercial) or less frequently in the south east for the farmers and their families (subsistence). Along the coastal shelves of the east and south east the land height is approximately up to 200 m above sea level. This subdued relief enables things to be built easily, quickly and at a relatively low cost. The raw materials that are there allow human factors to take over. These factors allow a high carrying capacity. Therefore the areas with many people in are extremely densely populated with in many places over 100 people per km2.

A less populated region is Amazonia. Here there is high humidity and high temperatures. Humidity is caused both by the amount of precipitation and also the temperature. Both in January and July the temperatures in this region are mainly above 25°C. Precipitation is higher in January with there being up to and over 300 mm and in July there being up to 300mm also, but not over such a large area. This increases the likelihood of the spread of disease because mosquitoes are very active in such climates. This reduces the carrying capacity and also the agricultural productivity. The area has a high flood risk due to the high levels of precipitation and also because this makes the soils saturated and hence the water table rises. This leaves no where for the water to go to. The dense tropical rain forest is hard to clear and hard to farm sustainably because of the swiftly eroding thin and nutrient lacking soils. Therefore this leaves a low carrying capacity but other areas (in Indonesia) manage to have a higher carrying capacity with similar environments. The suggested reason why the population here is different is due to the original migrants settling on coastal areas.

Manaus is an anomaly because it has a moderate population size in comparison with its surrounding areas that are sparsely populated. Manaus is not only moderately populated (between 1 –9 people per km2) because of its new status as a free port (described earlier) but also because it was explored by people for rubber trees and there was a progress boom which lasted between 1895 until 1911.

The north eastern area has high temperatures of between 20°C up to 25°C and above the year round. This combined with little precipitation (especially in July) creates droughts. Soils tend to be poor because the water is evaporated and there is increased surface run-off on harder land which have been created by long dry spells. This with the few minerals and natural resources creates a low carrying capacity in the north east. As a result of underdevelopment in this region there is therefore high infant morality and low life expectancy. Most of this area apart from that, which is on the coast, is of high relief. This is up to 2000m. These areas are undeveloped because they are expensive and difficult to build on.

The centre-west area is mainly hot with a lack of rainfall. Temperatures reach over 25°C in January and in July they can reach over 20°C. The rainfall in July is very low with there only being up 50mm. Soils here are acidic and are deficient nutrients. This area also has high relief of up to 2000m making it hard to build on and also expensive. These properties give it a low carrying capacity.

In this essay I have described and explained the population distribution and densities across Brazil. The explanation has been in the form of human, physical, economic, biological and social contexts. Anomalies have been identified and also explained. All in all Brazil have an uneven population distribution hugely affected by different factors.