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Venezuela vs. Brazil

Demographics

VenezuelaBrazil
Population29,069,153 (July 2021 est.)213,445,417 (July 2021 est.)
Age structure0-14 years: 25.66% (male 3,759,280/female 3,591,897)

15-24 years: 16.14% (male 2,348,073/female 2,275,912)

25-54 years: 41.26% (male 5,869,736/female 5,949,082)

55-64 years: 8.76% (male 1,203,430/female 1,305,285)

65 years and over: 8.18% (male 1,069,262/female 1,272,646) (2020 est.)
0-14 years: 21.11% (male 22,790,634/female 21,907,018)

15-24 years: 16.06% (male 17,254,363/female 16,750,581)

25-54 years: 43.83% (male 46,070,240/female 46,729,640)

55-64 years: 9.78% (male 9,802,995/female 10,911,140)

65 years and over: 9.21% (male 8,323,344/female 11,176,018) (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 30 years

male: 29.4 years

female: 30.7 years (2020 est.)
total: 33.2 years

male: 32.3 years

female: 34.1 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate2.46% (2021 est.)0.65% (2021 est.)
Birth rate17.55 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)13.44 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate7.13 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)6.8 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate14.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)-0.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 0.99 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female

total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 0.99 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female

total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 22.23 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 24.79 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 19.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
total: 18.37 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 21.72 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 14.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 72.22 years

male: 68.9 years

female: 75.7 years (2021 est.)
total population: 74.98 years

male: 71.49 years

female: 78.65 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate2.24 children born/woman (2021 est.)1.73 children born/woman (2021 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate0.5% (2020 est.)0.6% (2020 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Venezuelan(s)

adjective: Venezuelan
noun: Brazilian(s)

adjective: Brazilian
Ethnic groupsunspecified Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, IndigenousWhite 47.7%, Mulatto (mixed White and Black) 43.1%, Black 7.6%, Asian 1.1%, Indigenous 0.4% (2010 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS100,000 (2020 est.)930,000 (2020 est.)
Religionsnominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%, other 2%Roman Catholic 64.6%, other Catholic 0.4%, Protestant 22.2% (includes Adventist 6.5%, Assembly of God 2.0%, Christian Congregation of Brazil 1.2%, Universal Kingdom of God 1.0%, other Protestant 11.5%), other Christian 0.7%, Spiritist 2.2%, other 1.4%, none 8%, unspecified 0.4% (2010 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deathsNA13,000 (2020 est.)
LanguagesSpanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects

major-language sample(s):
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Portuguese (official and most widely spoken language); note - less common languages include Spanish (border areas and schools), German, Italian, Japanese, English, and a large number of minor Amerindian languages

major-language sample(s):
O Livro de Fatos Mundiais, a fonte indispensável para informaçao básica. (Brazilian Portuguese)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 97.1%

male: 97%

female: 97.2% (2016)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 93.2%

male: 93%

female: 93.4% (2018)
Major infectious diseasesdegree of risk: high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A

vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria

Note: as of 1 March 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that travelers avoid all nonessential travel to Venezuela; the country is experiencing outbreaks of infectious diseases, and adequate health care is currently not available in most of the country
degree of risk: very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A

vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria

water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

note: widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout Brazil; as of 20 July 2021, Brazil has reported a total of 19,376,574 cases of COVID-19 or 9,115.84  cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 255.09 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 18 July 2021, 44.26% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine
Education expendituresNA6.3% of GDP (2017)
Urbanizationurban population: 88.3% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 1.16% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 87.3% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 0.87% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Drinking water sourceimproved: total: 95.7% of population

unimproved: total: 4.3% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 100% of population

rural: 91.6% of population

total: 98.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 0% of population

rural: 8.4% of population

total: 1.6% of population (2017 est.)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: total: 93.9% of population

unimproved: total: 6.4% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 92.8% of population

rural: 60.1% of population

total: 88.3% of population

unimproved: urban: 7.2% of population

rural: 39.9% of population

total: 11.7% of population (2017 est.)
Major cities - population2.946 million CARACAS (capital), 2.296 million Maracaibo, 1.935 million Valencia, 1.227 million Barquisimeto, 1.216 million Maracay (2021)22.237 million Sao Paulo, 13.544 million Rio de Janeiro, 6.140 million Belo Horizonte, 4.728 million BRASILIA (capital), 4.175 million Recife, 4.161 million Porto Alegre (2021)
Maternal mortality rate125 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)60 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Health expenditures3.6% (2018)9.5% (2018)
Hospital bed density0.9 beds/1,000 population (2017)2.1 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate25.6% (2016)22.1% (2016)
Demographic profile

Social investment in Venezuela during the CHAVEZ administration reduced poverty from nearly 50% in 1999 to about 27% in 2011, increased school enrollment, substantially decreased infant and child mortality, and improved access to potable water and sanitation through social investment. "Missions" dedicated to education, nutrition, healthcare, and sanitation were funded through petroleum revenues. The sustainability of this progress remains questionable, however, as the continuation of these social programs depends on the prosperity of Venezuela's oil industry. In the long-term, education and health care spending may increase economic growth and reduce income inequality, but rising costs and the staffing of new health care jobs with foreigners are slowing development.

While CHAVEZ was in power, more than one million predominantly middle- and upper-class Venezuelans are estimated to have emigrated. The brain drain is attributed to a repressive political system, lack of economic opportunities, steep inflation, a high crime rate, and corruption. Thousands of oil engineers emigrated to Canada, Colombia, and the United States following CHAVEZ's firing of over 20,000 employees of the state-owned petroleum company during a 2002-03 oil strike. Additionally, thousands of Venezuelans of European descent have taken up residence in their ancestral homelands. Nevertheless, Venezuela has attracted hundreds of thousands of immigrants from South America and southern Europe because of its lenient migration policy and the availability of education and health care. Venezuela also has been a fairly accommodating host to Colombian refugees, numbering about 170,000 as of year-end 2016. However, since 2014, falling oil prices have driven a major economic crisis that has pushed Venezuelans from all walks of life to migrate or to seek asylum abroad to escape severe shortages of food, water, and medicine; soaring inflation; unemployment; and violence. As of March 2020, an estimated 5 million Venezuelans were refugees or migrants worldwide, with almost 80% taking refuge in Latin America and the Caribbean (notably Colombia, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Argentina, and Brazil, as well as the Dominican Republic, Aruba, and Curacao). Asylum applications increased significantly in the US and Brazil in 2016 and 2017. Several receiving countries are making efforts to increase immigration restrictions and to deport illegal Venezuelan migrants - Ecuador and Peru in August 2018 began requiring valid passports for entry, which are difficult to obtain for Venezuelans. Nevertheless, Venezuelans continue to migrate to avoid economic collapse at home.

Brazil's rapid fertility decline since the 1960s is the main factor behind the country's slowing population growth rate, aging population, and fast-paced demographic transition. Brasilia has not taken full advantage of its large working-age population to develop its human capital and strengthen its social and economic institutions but is funding a study abroad program to bring advanced skills back to the country. The current favorable age structure will begin to shift around 2025, with the labor force shrinking and the elderly starting to compose an increasing share of the total population. Well-funded public pensions have nearly wiped out poverty among the elderly, and Bolsa Familia and other social programs have lifted tens of millions out of poverty. More than half of Brazil's population is considered middle class, but poverty and income inequality levels remain high; the Northeast, North, and Center-West, women, and black, mixed race, and indigenous populations are disproportionately affected. Disparities in opportunities foster social exclusion and contribute to Brazil's high crime rate, particularly violent crime in cities and favelas (slums).

Brazil has traditionally been a net recipient of immigrants, with its southeast being the prime destination. After the importation of African slaves was outlawed in the mid-19th century, Brazil sought Europeans (Italians, Portuguese, Spaniards, and Germans) and later Asians (Japanese) to work in agriculture, especially coffee cultivation. Recent immigrants come mainly from Argentina, Chile, and Andean countries (many are unskilled illegal migrants) or are returning Brazilian nationals. Since Brazil's economic downturn in the 1980s, emigration to the United States, Europe, and Japan has been rising but is negligible relative to Brazil's total population. The majority of these emigrants are well-educated and middle-class. Fewer Brazilian peasants are emigrating to neighboring countries to take up agricultural work.

Contraceptive prevalence rate75% (2010)80.2% (2013)

note: percent of women aged 18-49
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 54.4

youth dependency ratio: 42.1

elderly dependency ratio: 12.3

potential support ratio: 8.1 (2020 est.)
total dependency ratio: 43.5

youth dependency ratio: 29.7

elderly dependency ratio: 13.8

potential support ratio: 7.3 (2020 est.)

Source: CIA Factbook