Brazil (view map)

Brazil is South America's largest, most influential country, and is classed as one of the world’s upper middle income nations. Its main exports are manufactured goods, iron ore, and coffee. The country is self-sufficient in oil supplied from offshore fields and is home to much of the world’s largest rain forest, the Amazon.

In spite of Brazil’s income and resource wealth there is a huge gap between rich and poor with almost a quarter of the country’s population of 160 million people living on one dollar a day – the official definition of absolute poverty. This poverty is caused in part by the country’s arable land being controlled by a small number of wealthy families. Huge numbers of landless people do not have enough to eat if they live near the country’s massive commercial plantations. Many groups within the country are fighting for land redistribution to the poor and for increased food aid until there is sufficient access to land for the poorest in the country to support themselves.

Brazil’s most destitute areas are concentrated in the north-east where around 60% of the country’s poor live. Ethnic minorities such as indigenous and afro-descendent groups are especially affected. Living conditions in the big cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, where a third of the population lives in favelas, or slums, are also harsh. The Brazilian government has committed itself to achieving the International Development Target (IDT) set out in the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals of reducing absolute poverty by one half by the year 2015.

SCIAF has worked in Brazil for 20 years and is currently supporting three partners with grants totaling £65,000. Our work focuses on advocacy promotion and food security.

Last Updated: November 2007