Poverty rate:

19.4%

of the total population (2018)

Emigration: According to the 2010 census by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the population residing abroad was estimated at 491,243 people. However, according to the Minister of Foreign Relations (MRE), in 2016 there was an estimated 3,083,255 Brazilians abroad. It is believed that the true number of emigrants is higher than official figures. In general, Brazilians living outside of the country reside mainly in the US, Portugal, England, Japan, Italy, Spain, and Paraguay.

Immigration:According to the Federal Police, Brazil has close to 1.2 million migrants, around .5% of the total population. According to the Migration Observatory (OBMigra), around 774,000 immigrants arrived in Brazil between 2010-2018, composed mainly by Haitians, Venezuelans, and Colombians. In the last four years, the Venezuelan population reached a higher volume (253,495 Venezuelan migrants and refugees until November 2019 according to R4V).

Transit:Immigrants passing through Brazil include Venezuelans, Haitians, and Africans.

Refugees:According to the National Committee for Refugees (CONARE), there are officially registered 43,000 refugees in Brazil in 2020, 88% of recognized refugees (38,000) are Venezuelans

Hover over the country where you want to know the data.

* daily data update

The Paraguayan government opened the border with Brazil on October 29, including the pedestrian crossing. The decision affects the movement of people across the Ciudad del Este International Friendship Bridge. The passage between the two countries had been closed in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. On October 15th, it opened with some remaining restrictions.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, representative organizations of immigrants and refugees have been trying to obtain information on how Covid-19 has impacted this population, who often live in extremely vulnerable situations. The first official response from the Ministry of Health came only in August, five months after the announcement of the first emergency health measures. However, for those concerned with the situation, these figures are far from a reflection of reality. One of the reasons for this discrepancy is that the tools of the health system were not designed, nor were the health agents trained, to detect immigrants and refugees.

On November 13, 2020, the Chamber of Basic Education published in the Official Record a resolution that guarantees the enrollment of migrant children, stateless persons, and asylum seekers in the country's public basic education. Enrollment will be guaranteed as vacancies become available and without discrimination, with access for the most vulnerable.

In November 2020, the Brazilian government launched the third edition of the Manual on Financial Information for Refugees and Migrants. The purpose of the brochure is to provide information about the country's financial system to refugees and migrants, who arrive in a situation of financial vulnerability and have difficulties understanding the Brazilian system. The document has updates and new regulations, such as information on the PIX, the instant payment system, with versions in Portuguese, English, and Spanish, it will soon be available in French and Arabic. The manual is available on the website of the Central Bank.

The government of Acre published in the Official Record the creation of the State Committee in Support of Migrants, Stateless Persons and Refugees (CEAMAR / AC). The committee will be linked to the Secretary of State for Social Assistance, Human Rights and Women's Policies (SEASDHM), and will have the objective of guiding, monitoring, and evaluating actions, projects, programs, and plans related to policy concerning migration, stateless persons, and refugees. It will also propose mechanisms to prevent human trafficking, slave labor, sexual exploitation, and other violations.

General Antônio Manoel de Barros commands the so-called Welcome Operation, which seeks to relocate Venezuelan migrants arriving to the border city of Roraima. However, throughout 2020 Operation Shelter faced difficulties in relocating Venezuelans and reorganized in anticipation of the opening of borders. There is another delicate point, which is the role of the military in the operation. According to de Barros, a contingency plan is being prepared that includes the reduction of the “military aspect” starting in August of next year. “The operation has a mature process, and we are working on a plan for a gradual and orderly transition,” he said.

Venezuelans living in shelters in Roraima played a key role in the measures created by Operation Welcome to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Such measures implied new rules of cohabitation and hygiene as well as the creation of the Protection and Care Area (APC). The balance of the effort was positive. At the end of October, 10,300 infections had been registered, of which only 349 were people of Venezuelan origin. Operation Shelter managed to hold the contamination rate in shelters to 3%—up to November there were 9 deaths—which was considered a success. Today APC passed into the hands of the State and remains a positive legacy of Operation Welcome.

The Ministry of Justice and Public Security, through the Migration Department of the National Secretariat of Justice (Demig/Senajus), released reports on immigration and refugee status in Brazil. The documents contain information on the insertion of migrants and refugees into the labor market. The Document was prepared in conjunction with the International Migration Observatory (OBMigra) with data from 2010 to 2019.

The Government resumes the practice of temporary regularization of immigrants with pending trials in SEF.

*For more detail go to the digital achieve that we created: