Social inequality is at its lowest level since the 1960 Census. This is one of the major findings of a new study released today, June 8, by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV).
The study, which is based on the National Household Sample Survey from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (PNAD-IBGE), with data from 2004, indicates that, since the beginning of the present decade, the country has been making progress in reducing the inequalities between rich and poor.
The study also shows that while average income in Brazil rose 3.6% in 2004, the income received by the poorest part of the population grew 14.1%.
The study, entitled "Growth for the Poor: The Brazilian Paradox," was conducted by the FGV, together with researchers from the United Nations (UN) International Poverty Center, and will be presented by professor Marcelo Nero, head of the FGV’s Center for Social Policies.
In an interview with the Agência Brasil, Neri affirms that the study demonstrates that the decline in inequality that occurred in 2004 continues a trend that began in 2001 in the direction of an improvement in the distribution of income.
"The most recent PNAD shows that the pie was better distributed. Over the last ten years, however, income growth was a deception for Brazilians in general.
"The situation is somewhat paradoxical: Over this period the average income of the Brazilian population as a whole declined 0.63% annually, while the income earned by the poorest segments grew 0.73% in per capita terms, that is, discounting population growth."
Agência Brasil