Friday, August 16, 2019
Demographics and Culture of Brazil Essay
Brazil is currently enjoying the number 5 spot as far as big populations in the world are concerned with 190,010,647 people recorded as of August 16, 2007 (C.I.A., 2007, par. 7). Documents show that the population has grown steadily in the years with only 85,240,000 Brazilians in 1967 to 141,452,000 in 1987 (Lahmeyer, 2003, p. 1). This clearly illustrates that in just forty years, the population of Brazil has already doubled its number of natives. With a land area of 8,456,510 square kilometers, Brazil has around 58.2 people per square mile. It was estimated by the Population Reference Bureau that 81% of the population lived in urban areas in 2001, up from 66% in 1980 (Brazil Population, 2007, par. 2). The following are more details on the current population of Brazil: Population growth rate:       1.008% (2007 est.) Birth rate:                             16.3 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Death rate:                           6.19 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Sex ratio:      at birth: 1                   .05 male(s)/female under 15 years:         1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years:              0.983 male(s)/female 65 years and over:     0.697 male(s)/female total population:        0.976 male(s)/female (2007 est.) Age structure:  0-14 years:              25.3% (male 24,554,254/female 23,613,027) 15-64 years:              68.4% (male 64,437,140/female 65,523,447) 65 years and over:     6.3% (male 4,880,562/female 7,002,217) (2007 est.) Median age:  total:               28.6 years male:             27.9 years female:          29.4 years (2007 est.) *Source: C.I.A. The World Fact Book 2007 Brazil’s culture is very much influenced by their Portuguese invaders who have ruled the lands for three centuries. It was only in 1822 when Brazil finally became a nation. Although Brazil is a democratic country, education, health, safety (physical and juridical) are deficient in Brazil (Brazil Travel, n.d., par. 1). Brazil is the leading economic power and regional leader in South America yet uneven distribution of income is a pressing problem (C.I.A.). Its economic strength is dependent on its mining, agricultural and manufacturing industries. One of Brazil’s cultural attractions is the Carnaval or Mar de Gras which is annually celebrated at Rio de Janeiro.  The origins of this celebration dates back to the ancient Greek festival in honor of Dionysus which the Romans soon adopted for the Roman God Bacchus as the feast of Saturnalia (World Music Productions, 2007, par. 1). Back then they celebrated it by making slaves and their masters exchange clothes while drinking wine for the whole day. Saturnalia was converted by Roman Catholics into a festival leading up to Ash Wednesday or before the 40 days of sacrifices prior to Easter. It became known as Carne Vale which literally means farewell to the flesh and is a fiesta filled with every known sin the Brazilians could think of. Carnaval, as spelled in Portuguese, is a 4-day celebration. It starts on Saturday, and ends on Fat Tuesday, or Mardi-Gras. (All About Rio, 2007, par. 1). One of the major issues that had put a spotlight on Brazil in the recent years is regarding its environment. The very rich Amazon forest is the habitat of many endangered species and it plays a major role in the weather cycle of the world. If it continues to be cut down, global warming will greatly be affected because the Amazon Forest is one of the world’s best source of rain. Other problems include illegal wildlife trade, air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and other cities, improper mining activities, wetland degradation and severe oil spills (C.I.A., par. 7). References All About Rio. (2007). Ipanema.com. Retrieved August 31, 2007 from http://www.ipanema.com/ carnival/ Brazil Population. (2007). Brazil Population. Retrieved August 31, 2007 from http://www. nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Brazil.html C.I.A. (2007). The World Fact Book. Retrieved August 31, 2007 from https://www.cia.gov/ library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html#Intro Lahmeyer, J. (2003). Brazil. Retrieved August 31, 2007 from http://www.populstat.info/ Americas/brazilc.htm World Music Productions. (2007). History of Carnival in Brazil. Retrieved August 31, 2007            from http://www.afropop.org/multi/feature/ID/33/
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