Brazil’s Population
While many of us know Brazil as one of the premier vacation destinations in the world because of its beautiful beaches and sunny resorts, you may not realize how culturally diverse or just how large the country is. In terms of the population size, you might be surprised to find out that Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world. Its people have come from all corners of the globe and the result is a land that is rich in the different influences that have come with those people.
Much of the population of Brazil originally came from Portugal. The Portuguese have also left their mark of influence on Brazil in a major way. Brazil was actually a colony of Portugal for over 300 years, and during that time the Portuguese language became dominant and today is the official language of Brazil. It is also a little know fact about Brazil that for seven years it was the seat of government for Portugal; that is how connected the two countries have been.
A large proportion of Brazil’s population is white, just under half. The next largest group is brown, making up just over forty percent. There are just over seven percent black and other ethnicities come in smaller proportions including Asian and Amerindian. The first people thought to arrive in Brazil did so from Siberia via the Bering land bridge about 11,000 years ago. Here they thrived and likely did not see anyone else there until the arrival of the Portuguese in 1500. After the arrival of the Portuguese, the language and customs began to change as the Portuguese endeavored to “civilize” the indigenous people. Portuguese language really took hold when the European settlers began to bring slaves from Africa. Because the slaves were from different areas in Africa, they could often not communicate with one another and in time almost all of them learned to speak Portuguese.
Later in Brazil’s history came settlers from different countries. There are large contingents of people that have come from Germany, Italy and Spain to name a few. There are also many people that have come from Asian countries that further add to the multicultural mix. The result is a culture that is unique to Brazil, with influences on cuisine, music, architecture and the arts that come from all over the world.
The majority of Brazilians identify themselves as Roman Catholic. Because of its size, it is the largest Roman Catholic country on the planet. There are other religions; Protestants, other Christian denominations as well as African religions and those of the original Amerindians all can still be found in different areas.
Partly because of its size as well, there are more people in Brazil that do not have contact with the civilized world than any other country in the world. Many of them are semi-nomadic peoples that live in the rainforest areas. This might seem amazing for a country that boasts the largest city and commercial center in the Southern Hemisphere but it will give you an idea of just how vast and immense a country this is.