Brazil Socio-Geographic Division

The Brazil socio-geographic division is a slightly different division than the Brazilian Division by Regions. It separates the country into three different and distinctive regions:

Historically, the different regions of Brazil had their own migratory movements, which resulted in racial differences between these areas. The Southern region had a greater impact of the European immigration and has a large White majority, which contrasts with the Northern and Northeastern regions, which have a large Pardo (mixed-race) majority.

In Northern Brazil, the main racial contribution was of the native Amerindians, with a smaller European and African influence. In Northeastern Brazil, the main contribution was of Africans, with a smaller European and Amerindian influence. The Southeastern region of Brazil had a more balanced ratio of European, African and Amerindian admixture.

This does not separate the country by borders of states. The north of Minas Gerais, for example, is in the socio-geographic division of Nordeste, but its southern part is in Centro-Sul.

In the economic, social, historical, cultural, ethnic and geological point of view, this division is much better than the division by Regions. However, it is not very used, mainly because it is unofficial; all official information by IBGE is listed by the criteria of regions. The division by Socio-Geographic similarities is used mainly in universities and private companies, and it is little mentioned at regular school (grades 6-10).

The South of Brazil is the region with the largest percentage of Whites. According to the 2005 census, people of European ancestry account for 79.6% of the population. In colonial times, this region had a very small population.

The region what is now Southern Brazil was originally settled by Amerindian peoples, mostly Guarani and Kaingangs. Only a few settlers from São Paulo were living there. This situation made the region vulnerable to attacks from neighboring countries. This fact forced the King of Portugal to decide to populate the region. For this, settlers from the Portuguese Azores islands were sent to the coast.

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