Brazil

Abstract

Starting in the 1930s, the Brazilian economy and society embarked on a major transformation from agricultural to industrial. As a result, cities in the southern states, where most industries were located, began to expand at high rates. Between 1950 and 2000, the urban population ballooned from 19 million to 161 million (80 % of the total). Thus Brazil turned into a highly urbanized nation. The pace of urbanization was particularly fast between 1960 and 1980 and resulted in 48 million additional people in the nine largest metropolises (Table 2.1).