Population and occupancy of space: the role of migration in Brazil

Abstract

The Brazilian population has been heavily influenced in its spatial distribution and age and sex structure by important flows of international immigrants. This aspect of the national population dynamics, however, was restricted to the past, because after World War II, with the decrease of international migration flows and the intense vegetative growth of the national population, it was the Brazilians the main responsible for the population distribution in the country through internal migration in recent periods. This article aims to present an overview of migration in Brazil and their connections to different contexts, from the nineteenth century to the present day. Moreover, it stands out in recent years the resumption of international migration in Brazil, since re-emerged immigrants from abroad, although not numerous, but they bring evidence that the country may be regaining its status as an immigration country.