Brazil’s birth rate began falling in the mid-1960s, dropped steadily for over two decades and is now more or less stable.
The 2004 Household Survey by the government statistical bureau (IBGE) found that the rate has been 2.1 children per woman for the last two years.
As for age groups, there have been significant changes in the last 20 years as the population gets older. In 1981, 58.2% of the population were 24 years of age of less. That number dropped steadily: in 1993 it was 52.4%; in 1999 it was 49%; and in 2004, it was 46%.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale, there are more older people. In 1981, the population over 60 years of age was 6.4% of the total; in 1993 it was 8%; and in 2004, it was 9.8%.
In Brazil 51.3% of the total population is female. But in the over-60-age group, females make up 56% of the population.
The survey also found that there have been changes in the number of people in households. In 1993, the average was 4 people per home; in 2004, it fell to 3.5. And between 1999 and 2004, the number of households with one inhabitant rose from 8.9% to 10.5%.
Agência Brasil
