Migration EDC

• Brazil's capital city is Brasilia
• Brazil's ethnic groups


  • 44.7% white
  • 43.1% white mixed
  • 7.5% black
  • 1.1% Asian
  • 0.4% indigenous
• Brazil's economy


  • Large industrial base in south-east (textiles, lots of large commercial plantations and ranches (say bears, beef), mining industry (Iran)
  • Remittance: 0.25% of economy (2021)
• Prior to 1900, Brazil was a host destination for slaves to work on plantations
• In 1888, Brazil abolished slavery and needed workers, so it encouraged white migrants from Europe and poor migrants from Japan
• After WWII, Brazil had a dictatorship and many moved to the USA, becoming a source country
• Since 1965, Brazil has become more democratic and developed as part of the Mercosur Group, and is now a destination country
• Migration flow is from Brazil's south to north
• Brazil's source countries for migration

  • Venezuela (325k)
  • Portugal (275k)
  • Bolivia (140k)
  • Paraguay (245k)
• Brazil's destination countries for migration

  • USA (1.9m)
• Venezuela is one of the poorest countries in South America, with famine and starvation under the Chavez dictatorship (1999-2013), causing many to migrate away, with remittances making up 5% of Venezuela's economy
• Haiti is another LIDC in South America that was ravaged economically after the 2010 earthquake, with damage equal to 120% of its GDP
• Why Brazil is a destination for migrants


  • Brazil has a need for low-wage, low-skilled workers (e.g. in factories or farms), and migrants from less developed countries (e.g. Haiti) can fill these needs
  • Migrants from ACs (e.g. Japan/USA) bring knowledge, skills and innovation, e.g. the USA sends lots of teachers who have trained in US universities
• Migrants send remittances back to their families


  This may result in less money being invested in local Brazilian communities
• On average, 66% of remittance money is spent on daily needs and 34% goes on education in Brazil
• The value of remittances sent to Brazil is relatively small, equating to only 0.35% of Brazil's GDP
• Since Brazil joined the Mercosur group of nations, relationships between countries have been steady, as businesses in each country rely on the other for migration, and poor relations would harm their economies
• The bilateral flow between Japan and Brazil also increases trade, as Brazil imports Japanese goods (including media exports like Manga, tech and cars) and exports natural resources like iron, resulting in many trade deals
• Through increased migration, the Mercosur group has become increasingly integrated, with workers now able to get a free VISA for two years to work in any other country in the region
• Brazil has worked with the UN to provide homes for refugees from war-torn/poverty-stricken Venezuela, with Operation Venezuela being Brazil's project to integrate these refugees, of which 425,000 have been part
• Brazil's south (e.g. Sao Paulo) is more developed than the north-east, leading to a big flow of migrants to cities such as Rio and Sao Paulo, resulting in overcrowding and the growth of Brazilian slums known as 'Favelas'
• Black-Brazilians experience significant discrimination, dating back to the abolition of slavery where the government aimed to 'whiten' Brazil, and they continue to experience violence and job discrimination to this day
• Many Haitians have migrated to Brazil after the 2010 earthquake, but have faced persecution and poor treatment, often working in very poor conditions on farms, and many have now migrated from Brazil to Chile or the USA in search of better conditions