—— 
a ee 
OR ee oe 
oes 
average annual temperatures in these four regions 
are as follows: 
IRs 
Humid-tropical (Amazon Jowlands)................. 80 
sRropicali(coastaluplains) cc. 25 oars ate ele so 74-80 
Sah ropieale(Hshlands)): He. tree cc roles «oes =e 64-70 
em perates (SOuth) rages eee oo ae Po ae oe See a 62-66 
Temperatures in the Amazon lowlands seldom reach 
above 95°, but here the high humidity contributes 
to discomfort. The highest absolute maximum 
temperature recorded in the past 36 years was 111° 
taken not in the Amazon lowlands but far to the 
south at Bagé in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. 
Rainfall exceeds 80 inches a year on an average 
in the upper Amazon lowlands, along the north- 
facing coastal lowlands, and at scattered points 
along the east and southeast (fig. 4). Annual 
averages as great as 120 inches occur near the 
border of the Guianas and in certain areas on the 
Atlantic slopes of the southern highlands. Through- 
out much of central and southern Brazil the rainfall 
ranges from 40 to 80 inches annually. Inland parts 
_rainfall for normal agriculture. 
of States of northeast Brazil usually have too little 
In this area irreg- 
ularity of rainfall is the principal problem; years 
with adequate rainfall and occasional floods may be 
followed by 2 or 3 years of little or no rainfall. 
Average rainfall for much of this area ranges 
between 20 and 25 inches. 
The wet season, or period of maximum rainfall, 
begins in southwestern Brazil about November and 
continues through April. Throughout the remainder 
of the interior and most of the Amazon lowlands and 
along the southeast coast, the months of maximum 
May. Rainfall 
is greatest from January through June along 
rainfall are December through 
the north coast and from February through July 
along the east coast. In the far north next to 
Venezuela, maximum rainfall comes from May 
through August. In the extreme south, rainfall 
totaling 40 to 80 inches is well distributed throughout 
the year. Winters are mild and light snowfall is 
common during July and August on the highlands 
of Parana and Santa Catarina. 
THE PEOPLE 
Seventy-one million people, half of the population 
of South America, live in Brazil. Seventy percent 
of Brazilians live in the 10 States of the South and 
East. Another 22 percent are concentrated in the 
seven States on the northeastern bulge of the country. 
Thus nine-tenths of Brazil’s people live on about 
one-third of its total land area, and 16 of the 17 
States included in this area border on the Atlantic 
Ocean (table 1, fig. 5). Average density for the 
combined South, East, and Northeast is 61 persons 
per square mile, about the same as that for the State 
of Missouri. 
The least populated part of Brazil is in the North 
where the Amazon Basin and the Guiana Highlands 
have an average of less than 2 people per square mile. 
and almost half of the people are concentrated in 
about 50 centers of 2,500 or more. Major parts of 
the States of Mato Grosso and Goids are also very 
sparsely populated. The North and the Central- 
West, with 64 percent of the total area of the country, 
account for less than 8 percent of the population. 
The people of Brazil have in the past been pre- 
dominantly rural, but today the trend is toward 
urbanization. In 1950, 64 percent of the population 
was rural; the 1960 census showed only 54 percent 
FORESTS AND FOREST INDUSTRIES OF BRAZIL 
rural. 
In 1950 the 10 largest cities accounted for 
nearly 13 percent of the population: in 1960 they 
Overall, the population 
accounted for 15 percent. 
Inhabitants per squore mile 
(ms Less than 2 
[J 2-12 
(] 13-60 
Z 6-260 
HBB More than 260 
Figure 5.—Population density, 1960. 
