Brazil's Population Growth Rate Hits Record Low in 2026

Brazil's population growth has slowed to its lowest point on record, with an estimated 214.2 million people as of July 2026. The country's annual growth rate stands at 0.37%, a slight decrease from 0.39% in the previous year, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

This declining growth rate reflects a long-term demographic trend. The annual population growth between 2010 and 2020 was 0.52%, the lowest since Brazil's first demographic survey in 1972. The rate has steadily fallen from 2.89% annually in the 1960s to 0.52% in the 2010s.

The IBGE report also details population distribution across the country. São Paulo remains the most populous state with 46.1 million inhabitants, representing 21.6% of the national total. It is followed by Minas Gerais (21.5 million) and Rio de Janeiro (17.2 million). Conversely, the least populated states are Acre, Amapá, and Roraima, all located in the Amazon region.

In terms of cities, São Paulo leads with 11.9 million residents, followed by Rio de Janeiro (6.7 million) and Brasília (3 million). These five major cities collectively house 12.5% of Brazil's total population. The data further indicates that 44.3% of Brazilian municipalities, totaling 2,467 small towns, have fewer than 10,000 inhabitants, accounting for 6% of the national population.