The next factor is relief or the lay of the land. Brazil has mountains in the southeast and this is part of the golden triangle. This is an area between Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Goiaga. This is one of the most heavily populated areas of Brazil, as the climate is a lot cooler. The cities here are either on high mountainous land or close to the coast. Most people in Brazil live between 400 and 1000 metres above sea level.
The next factor is disease and pests. This is also another reason why very few people live in the Amazon. There are many diseases there such as Malaria, Yellow fever etc. The other area of Brazil where diseases and pests have much impact is in the shantytowns, but this still gives them a high population density. There is so much disease in the shantytowns as there is no drainage and people are using the same water to drink, to cook, to wash in as contains excrement.
The next factor is the soils. This is important as Brazil is well known for its coffee and so people tend to live where the good soils are so they can make a good living. The best soils for growing coffee are the Terra Rossa soils and these are found in the southeastern highlands. The Amazon has very poor soils due to leaching from the amount of rain it receives daily.
The next factor is water. Water affect where people live, as they need water to survive. This table shows the amount of rainfall per year of various areas/cities of Brazil.
The table shows that different areas of Brazil receive different amounts of rainfall per year. If a place receives, too little people cannot live there. Likewise, if a place receives too much rainfall, flood, mudslides and soils become leached of nutrients.
The next factor is communications. People need to live in contact with other places. This means that many of the towns and cities of Brazil are on the coast so that they can trade via ports and the sea. This is also true for why people live near the rivers in Brazil. Another reason why people do not live in the Amazon stems from communications. There are very poor transport links into the Amazon, meaning people cannot access it or leave it.
The next factor is natural resources. The are several natural resources in Brazil, such as Iron Ore – used to make iron and Bauxite – used to make aluminium. These resources are situated in the Carajas where there are many mines. There is also hydro-electricity or HEP in Brazil.
The next factor is economics. This refers to the amount of industry in the country. Most of Brazil wants to attract more industry, but Manaus controls the levels of industry in the north of Brazil. The example below shows how industry affects the population.
The final factor is political reasons. These are reasons such as the capital being moved from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia. In addition, an extreme example of political intervention in the distribution of the population is Transmigration. This is where the government deliberately move groups of people from one place to another. This happened in Brazil by people being sold cheap train tickets and being told that if they moved to the Amazon Basin the would have a successful farm where as the soil in the Amazon is very poor. Due to this, some of the countries poorest people are stuck in the Amazon trying to save up enough again to get the train home.
The population of Brazil is very uneven because of several main factors, which have been highlighted in this essay. Theses were:
Most people in Brazil live near the coast or river, in areas of not very dense vegetation, places that have good links with trade and transport, that have good resources, that is not too humid and that is between 400 and 1000 metres above sea level. In the future maybe the government may try to even it out again but the people of Brazil have picked good areas to settle in and to thrive in.