MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazilian population to reach 190 million next October

Brazil' population reached 189.6 million and will cease to grow in thirty years time when it's expected to total 220 million inhabitants according to a report from the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute, IBGE.

"Thirty years from now the Brazilian population will cease to grow", said Luiz Antonio Pinto de Oliveira, head of the Population and Social indicators department from IBGE. De Oliveira said the current rate of children per woman is 2 but will fall t o 1.5 in the next thirty years. "International experience indicates there's not much chance of further growth from then on" because cultural and economic trends change as population grows. However the 189.6 million should become 190 million by next October. This is because population expansion in the last seven years has averaged 2.3 million annually equivalent to 1.21%. The current 189.6 million Brazilians are distributed in 5.565 counties. IBGE is mandated by law to annually update population estimates, which helps among other things to determine income distribution and poverty areas and pockets. The states with the largest population are Sao Paulo, 41 million; Minas Gerais, 19.8 million; Rio do Janeiro, 15.8 million and Bahia, 14.5 million. As to the cities, Sao Paulo leads with 10.9 million followed by Rio do Janeiro, 6.1 million; Salvador, Bahia, 2.9 million and the capital Brasilia, 2.5 million.