The densely populated towns in Brazil are spread irregularly along the coast. The two towns with the highest population densities are São Paulo (see figure 2) and Belo Horizonte. Although the coastal climate is hot and wet, and flat land is limited due to mountains, which occasionally stretch down to the sea. The region has a good water supply and a large range of natural resources. São Paulo is the world’s second largest city and Belo Horizonte is a higher cooler healthier area of the eastern Brazilian highlands. São Paulo has a large amount of rich soil surrounding it, which makes it ideal for growing coffee. It also has a large supply of natural minerals close by, such as iron ore and it also has a steady energy supply. All these factors have allowed it to develop into a major industrial centre.
The South Eastern area has the best transport system and greatest number of service. This makes the southeastern area an increasingly popular place to migrate to from more rural areas. They migrate for a number of reasons firstly there a many more jobs in this area and the rate of pay is higher than in other rural areas. Rural areas such as the North East suffer from environmental difficulties such as extreme droughts, which make it difficult for them to farm. People in cities also tend to live longer due to the better conditions and medical care. However the quick growth of the cities has put enormous pressure on housing and on public services like water supply, sewerage, health care and education. The number of permanent houses is growing rapidly in urban areas. Even so, for many of the newcomers and young people growing up in the cities, it is difficult to find somewhere to live. They cannot afford to buy or rent permanent housing, so they often finish up living in shantytowns (see figure 3) called "favelas" in Brazil. Shantytowns are common in other industrialising countries of the world where people are moving to cities in search of better living. In 1995 there were nearly 3,500 favelas in Brazil. Two thirds of them were in and around Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The favelas in Rio and outskirts contained 235,000 homes; round São Paulo the figures was 207,000.
The population density gets less the further inland you get. The average population density in the North is 2.6 compared with density of 69.2 in the Southeast. This low population density is due to the lack of natural resources, unreliable water supply and poor transport links. This area is covered with the Amazon rainforest and river (see figure 4). The area is hot, wet and unhealthy. The soils are poor and lack most important natural minerals. Transport through the area is very limited due to the large amount of trees. Health care education and electricity are practically non-existent. Compared with the southeast the birth, death and infant mortality rates are high and life expectancy is short. There are however to anomalies in the area. The first is Manaus with a population of 1 million, which grew around its large rubber industry and its now large river port and growing tourism industry. The other area includes a number of small areas around the moth of the Amazon, which have benefited from the discovery of iron ore and bauxite and from the production of hydro electricity. Hydro electricity is an important industry in Brazil as 90% of its electricity is produced this way. Projects to set these sites up were funded with money borrowed from other countries in the 1970’s.
The population however in Brazil is steadily increasing in 1980 the total population was 119 million and in 1995 it was 155.82 million. There are a lot of young people in Brazil 62% of the population is under 29 and 44% under 19. This means that the population is likely to rise even more in the next 10 to 15 years as these women will reach child bearing age and the average women is Brazil bears an average of 2 children. However in the past this number was an average of 6 in the early 1990's, but as Brazil has become a more economically developed country this number has decreased with improved contraception and education. However before because of poor medical care it was unlikely that all 6 children would survive into their teens so it was necessary to give birth to a large number of children.
