CV News Feed //According to new census data, Brazil’s population has declined by 5 million due to falling birth rates, following similar trends happening across Latin America.
A new census reported that in 2023, Brazil had a population of 203 million, well below the estimate of 208 million people that was released earlier.
The report found that Brazil’s population grew during the 2010s by 0.52%, the smallest percentage seen since 1872.
This report noted that Brazil is following a similar trend as other Latin American countries and is due to falling birthrates. Researchers attribute the falling birthrate to more people receiving higher education, a greater participation of women in the labor force, and wider access to contraception.
This trend has been happening across Latin America and the Western world. According to reports, the US fertility rate dipped by 7% between 2013 and 2022. Argentina is also facing a similar problem as Brazil.
Argentinian demographer and economist Rafael Rofman reflected on this concerning trend in a recent TED talk delivered last year.
He said that “in 2024, there will be roughly 30 percent fewer 4-year-olds entering Argentine preschools than there were in 2020.”
In recent years, social scientists have been studying this concerning decline. According to a 2019 report by the United Nations Population Division, researchers believe that by 2050, the birth rate in Latin America will “stabilize” to 1.75 children per woman, a rate below that which population replacement requires.
Recent studies have found, however, that many Latin American countries have already dropped below this threshold. Mexico remains the only major Latin American country to have a birth rate over 1.75.
Uruguay, Costa Rica, Chile, Jamaica, and Cuba have all reported being significantly under that threshold, hovering around 1.3 children per woman.
