DEMOGRAPHICS

General Information

As of today, the population of the FRB is more than 223 mil. people (according to UN counter data).

The male population of the country is 49% of the total population (more than 109 mil.), and the female population – 51% (more than 113 mil.). The median age in the republic is 31 years, with approximately 67% of the population being in the age group from 15 to 65 years. The percentage of people under 15 years old is 26,3%. The smallest group is the population over 65 years old – 6,7%.

The sex ratio indicator – 0,97 men per one woman.

The overall life expectancy for 2025 is 72 years, with male life expectancy being approximately 69 years, while female life expectancy is 76 and higher.

Ethnic and Confessional Composition

Ethnic Composition

The main population of the country is Brazilians - one of the most numerous and mixed groups in the world. Usually, Brazilian censuses distinguish the following categories of Brazilians, defined by self-identification:

White Brazilians (from Portuguese Brasileiros brancos, or simply Brancos) - Brazilians with characteristic Caucasian features, or Brazilians of European origin - the most numerous group, constituting almost 54% of the total population;
Afro-Brazilians (from Portuguese Pretos, Negros, Africanos, rarely Afro-Brasileiros) - Brazilians of African origin, whose number does not exceed 6,2% of the total population;
"Yellow" Brazilians (from Portuguese Amarelos) - Brazilians of Asian origin, whose number is no more than 0,5%;
"Brown" Brazilians or Pardo (from Portuguese Pardos) - Brazilians of mixed origin, whose exact number is unknown;
Indigenous peoples - (from Portuguese Índios) - the indigenous population of Brazil, who lived on its territory even before European conquests, constituting no more than 0,5% of the total population.

Data from the census shows that people distinguish a large number of transitional categories (mulattoes, mestizos, caboclos, etc.) and an extensive variation in skin color (more than 200 different shades).

Indigenous peoples are the native population of Brazil, but the gene pool of modern Brazilians is only 13% of Indigenous origin. About 44% of the gene pool – African genes. No more than 1% of people from the country's total population consider themselves Indigenous.

Confessional Composition

Brazil is a secular state, and the country's constitution guarantees freedom of conscience and religious beliefs to the population. At the same time, the majority of believers profess Christianity (88,9%). Christians in Brazil are mainly parishioners of the Roman Catholic Church (123 mil.). More than 560 thousand believing Christians are parishioners of the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church, which broke ties with Rome and operates autonomously.

The second most popular religion is Buddhism, professed by about 244 thousand residents of Brazil. The reason for this is the presence of a large Japanese diaspora in the country.

In addition to Japanese schools of Buddhism, such as Soto-shu, Nichiren-shu, Honmon Butsuryu, Soka Gakkai, Jodo Shinshu and Zen, Chinese and Tibetan schools are gaining popularity. Furthermore, followers of neo-Buddhist movements, such as the Church of Perfect Liberty, also live in Brazil.

The number of Muslim believers, according to the latest census, does not exceed 35 thousand people. However, Muslims themselves disagree with this figure and report more than 1 mil. people professing Islam. Independent institutes believe that the number of Muslims in Brazil cannot be less than 204 thousand people. The population mainly professes Sunni Islam.

Judaism is professed by no more than 0,1% of the population. The majority of Brazilian Jews are of European origin (Germany, Poland, and Israel). Since 1948, many Jewish families have begun immigrating to Israel.

Indigenous peoples, with some exceptions, profess local traditional beliefs (2,8%). Such peoples include the Apurinã, Baniwa, Bororo, Jamamadi, Kanela, Kambiwá, Kanamari, Kapinawá, etc.

The percentage of atheists in Brazil is 7,9%.

State Language

The official language of Brazil is Portuguese (Brazilian variant). It is spoken by almost the entire population of the country (more than 190 mil. people), with the exception of uncontacted aboriginal and Indigenous tribes.

The majority of Indigenous languages are considered extinct. Currently, about 145 Indigenous languages are known, used by tribes living near the Amazon. The largest Indigenous languages are Ticuna (33 thousand), Macushi (19 thousand), Kaiwa (18 thousand), Tenetehára (15 thousand), Terena (15 thousand), Munduruku and Shavante (10 thousand each), Yanomami (9 thousand), Mawé-Sateré and Kayapó (7 thousand each) and Wapishana (6,5 thousand).

Languages of immigrants are common in Brazil, the most numerous of which are German, Talian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian.