Census 2010: By the Numbers

The 2010 Brazilian Census came out about a week ago, and it reveals some startling numbers.

Illiteracy

Almost 10 percent of Brazilians remain illiterate, despite the rate falling from 13.6 percent in 2000. Although this is a remarkable drop in historical terms, authorities view the reality to be much brighter for youth; the  illiterate segment of the population is concentrated in the 60-plus age group, where nearly 27 percent of people cannot read, reports the Jornal Globo.

Whiteness

Other interesting news from the 2010 census, the number of Brazilians identifying themselves as white has fallen below the 50 percent mark for the first time since census results ever began to be reported. Much of this change is chalked up to the social desirability bias; it is not necessarily that the number of whites has diminished, but borderline cases are less reluctant to categorize themselves as non-white as they were in the past. The rate of people identifying themselves as white went from 54 percent in 2000 to 48 percent today, a 6 percent drop.

Asian Growth

A surprising number, the Asian population has gone up by 173 percent, reports the Jornal Globo, accounting for over 2 million of Brazil’s 191 million people.