Preventive Resettlement of Populations at Risk of Disaster - GFDRR

Chapter 4: Brazil
Changes in the Quality of Life
for People in High Risk Areas
By Ronaldo Marques and Marilia Scombatti
A. Country Context
Brazil covers an area of 8,514,877 km 2 on the eastern
side of South America. Its territory is divided into five
regions: the north, northeast, south, southeast and central-west.
It includes 26 states that are divided into 5,556
municipalities and one federal district, where Brazil’s
capital is located (Map 4.1).
Map 4.1. Regions and States
Economic growth and development have generated
highly unequal geographical and social conditions in
different ways in the five regions: 86 percent of municipalities
with the highest social exclusion indices are in
the north and northeast (see the Social Exclusion Atlas
of the Campinas State University and the Catholic University
of São Paulo, 2006).
Figure 4.1. Percentage of Urban and Rural Population
100
Source: Instituto Geográfico Militar (IGM) y Dirección Nacional de
Protección Civil.
Percentage
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Urban population
Rural population
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050
Year
Source: Department of Economics and Social Affairs. Population
Division Home-page. http//esa.un.org/wup2009/unup
1. Urbanization and Regional
Disparities
According to the latest census by Brazil’s Geography
and Statistics Institute (Instituto Brazileiro de Geografia
e Estatística, IBGE), the population was 183,987,291 in
2007, almost double the 93 million in 1970; of these, 84
percent were urban, due to strong urbanization trends
in all regions (Figure 4.1).
The southeast, central west and south regions have the
highest urbanization rates (with 92 percent, 86 percent
and 82 percent of inhabitants in urban areas, respectively);
in the north and northeast, the rates are 73.5 percent
and 71.5 percent.
2. Socio-natural Disasters
The three types of phenomena that trigger natural disasters
in Brazil are storms— which lead to floods and
mudslides—drought, and earthquakes. These phenomena
differ greatly from one region to another, in type,
frequency and intensity.
Chapter 4 Changes in the Quality of Life for People in High Risk Areas | Brazil |
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