African Brazilian
| Afro-Brasileiros | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
|
14,517,961 |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Entire country; highest percent found in northeast | |
| Languages | |
| Portuguese, | |
| Religion | |
|
14,517,961
Afro-Brazilians (Portuguese: afro-brasileiros; Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈafɾu bɾɐziˈle(j)ɾuz]) is a term used in the 21st century by some in Brazil to refer to Brazilian people with African ancestry. The term does not have widespread use in Brazil, where social constructs and classifications have been based on appearance. People with noticeable African features and skin color are generally referred to (and they identify) as negro or preto ("black"). Many members of another group of people, multiracial Brazilians, or pardos, also have a range of degree of African ancestry.
Preto and pardo are among five color categories used by the Brazilian Census, along with branco ("white"), amarelo ("yellow", East Asian) and indígena (Amerindian). In 2010, 7.6% of the Brazilian population, some 15 million people, identified as preto, while 43% (86 million) identified as pardo. Pretos tend to be predominantly African in ancestry, while pardos tend to have a lesser percentage of African ancestry. On average pardos are predominantly European, with African or Native American ancestries.
Since the early 21st century, Brazilian government agencies such as the SEPPIR and the IPEA, have considered combining the categories preto and pardo (individual with varied racial ancestries), as a single category called negro (Black, capital initial), because both groups show socioeconomic indications of discrimination. They suggest doing so would make it easier to help people who have been closed out of opportunity. This decision has caused much controversy because there is no consensus about it in Brazilian society.
Brazilians rarely use the American-style phrase "African Brazilian" as a term of ethnic identity, and never in informal discourse: the IBGE's July 1998 PME shows that, of Black Brazilians, only about 10% identify as being of "African origin"; most identify as being of "Brazilian origin". In the July 1998 PME, the categories Afro-Brasileiro (Afro-Brazilian) and Africano Brasileiro (African Brazilian) were not chosen at all; the category Africano (African) was selected by 0.004% of the respondents. In the 1976 National Household Sample (PNAD), none of these terms was used even once.
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