Brazil has record aging and elderly people make up almost 11% of the population

According to updated data from the 2022 Demographic Census, released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, this Friday (27), the country reached a record aging rate.

According to the survey, people aged 65 or over in the country already make up 10.9% (22,169,101) of the population. The rate represents an increase of 57.4% compared to 2010, when the country’s elderly population was 7.4%.

In parallel, the total number of children up to 14 years of age fell from 45,932,294 (24.1%) in 2010, to 40,129,261 (19.8%) in 2022, a drop of 12.6%.

“Over time, the base of the age pyramid has narrowed due to the reduction in fertility and births occurring in Brazil. This change in the shape of the age pyramid became visible from the 1990s onwards and Brazil’s age pyramid clearly lost its pyramidal shape from 2000 onwards. What has been observed over the years is a reduction in the young population, with increase in the adult population and also at the top of the pyramid by 2022”, explained the manager of Studies and Analysis of Demographic Dynamics at IBGE, Izabel Marri.

According to Marri, the reasons for the population aging movement may be linked to the drop in fertility and migration.

“When we look at the federation units, not only will the drop in fertility change this median age, but we can also have a migration effect, with the reception of people of a certain age group in certain states, mainly young adults, so like in those states where migrants leave. These factors also impact and help to understand the median age observed in the UFs and municipalities”, said the IBGE Studies manager.

Furthermore, according to the survey, Brazil has 6 million more women than men.

Of the 203,080,756 inhabitants registered in 2022, 104,548,325 were women (51.5% of the population), while 98,532,431 (48.5%) were men.

According to IBGE, this difference is related to the higher mortality of men in all age groups: “From babies to the oldest ages”.

“Furthermore, in adulthood, male excess mortality is more intense. And, with the aging of the population, the reduction in the population aged 0 to 14 and the swelling of the older population, there is an increase in the proportion of women, as they survive longer compared to men”, informed the Institute.