In 2005, about 20% of the population 10 years of age or over in Brazil  accessed the Internet, and, for the first time, there were more mobile telephones lines than fixed ones  in Brazilian households.

 

Illiteracy has decreased, but it still affects 10.2% of the population 10 years of age or over and 11.1% of those 15 years of age or over. The number of working children between 5 and 14 years of age increased by 10.3% in relation to 2004. In the Northeast Region, also for the first time, the number of persons 60 years of age or over surpassed the number of children under 5 years of age.

 

The average real income of workers increased by 4.6% in relation to 2004. Considering the harmonized series (*) (with the results for 2004 and 2005 adapted to the geographic coverage of PNAD up to 2003), it was the first hike of income since 1996. However, in the same harmonized series, the average real income in 2005 was 15.1% below the figure in 1996.

 

The level of occupation (percentage of the employed population at active age) was 57.0% in 2005. Considering the harmonized series, this was the highest level of occupation since 1996. The level of occupation of women (46.4%), in the same harmonized series, was the highest since 1992.

 

In relation to 2004, the number of workers with a formal employment contract increased by 5.3%. The number of workers contributing to social security also increased by 4.9%. In the harmonized series, this amount has reached its highest percentage (48.0%) since 1996.

 

These are some of the results presented in IBGE’s National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) which interviewed, in 2005, 408,148 persons in 142,471 households in all the Federative Units. The collecting of all these data employed a group of about two thousand people.

 

PNAD 2005 brings data on migration, education, work, families, households, income and also presents some results of the supplementary survey of internet access and of possession of mobile telephones for personal use. The results of these surveys will be released afterwards. 

 

Average income increased by 4.6% in comparison with 2004 results

 

The average real income of employed persons with income from work increased by 4.6%, from 2004 to 2005. Among men, the increase was 3.9% and, among women, 6.3%. From 2004 to 2005, there was real gain in the average real income for all categories of work. The average real compensation of workers increased by 4.7%; of domestic workers, by 5.3%; of employers, by 3.3%. The average income of own-account workers had no significant increase (1.5%).

 

The average real income of workers with a formal employment contract increased by 3.6%; of military and civil servants, by 5.7%; of workers without a formal employment contract, by 6.6%. Among domestic workers, the real gain was 7.4% for those with a formal contract and 3.9% for those without one.

 

From 2004 to 2005, the 50% of persons with the lowest wages had real gain of 6.6% and the 50% with the highest wages, 4.1%. This way, the Gini Index of income from work changed from 0.547 to 0.543, from 2004 to 2005. In 2005, the 10% of employed persons with the highest work income had 44.7% of the total, whereas the 10% of employed persons receiving the lowest income had 1.1%. 

 

In 2005, the average income of women was 71.2% of the income of men

 

The difference in the level of entrance and participation of the female and male population in the job market (in terms of occupation, hours worked, etc) clearly affects income. Compensation still differs between the two groups, but not as much as before: in 2005, the income of women represented 71.2% of the income of men; this figure was 69.5% in 2004. The income of working women was 89.9% of the income of men; among employers, it was 77.7%; among domestic workers, 74.5%; and among own-account workers, 66.4%.  

 

In relation to 2004, average income increased by 5.2% in the Southeast Region

 

In all the Regions, the average monthly income had real increase in relation to 2004, but, in the North, it was insignificant (1.7%). The biggest gains occurred in the Southeast (5.2%) and Central West (5.3%) Regions. In 2005, income in the North Region was the second lowest one; the Northeast Region had the lowest figure. In comparison with the Southeast, the Region with the highest income, the Northeast, represented 52.4%; the North, 68.6%, the South, 96.3%, and the Central West, 99.6%.

 

In 2005, 30.5% of the employed persons had income of up to 1 minimum wage. In the Northeast, this indicator was the highest (48.5%). The second highest percentage was that of the North Region (33.8%). The percentage of the group receiving up to 1 minimum wage was lowest in the South Region (19.7%), followed by the Southeast (23.2%) and the Central West (27.2%). The group of workers who received more than 20 minimum wages made up 0.8% of the employed population in the country. This indicator changed from 0.3%, in the Northeast Region, to 1.3%, in the Central West Region.

 

The Gini index of income distribution was mostly concentrated in the Northeast (0.557) and Central West (0.551) Regions; it was 0.490 in the North, 0.507 in the South and 0.526 in the Southeast Region.

 

In 2005, the average income of Brazilian households was R$ 1,524,00

 

The real average income of households receiving income was R$ 1 524 00 in 2005. The highest figure of this income was registered in the Southeast Region (R$ 1,808,00). The lowest ones,  in the Northeast and in the North Region represented, respectively, 52.9% and 64.2% in relation to the Southeast.

 

With reference to the monthly household income, which encompasses the compensations of all the household members, the proportion of households with income of up to 1 minimum wage was 13.1% and of those receiving more than 20 minimum wages, 3.3%. The highest percentages of this group were those of the Central West Region (4.6%) and Southeast Region (4.3%). Considering the group receiving up to 1 minimum wage, the lowest percentages were those of the South (7.7%) and Southeast Regions (8.1%), both very different from the highest one, in the Northeast Region (25.3%).

 

Income has its first hike in nine years, but has accumulated decrease of 15.1% since 1996

 

In 2005, considering the results for 2004 and 2005 restricted to the geographic coverage of PNAD up to 2003 (which did not encompass the rural areas of Rondônia, Acre, Amazonas, Roraima, Pará e Amapá), the monthly average income of persons with income from work increased in relation to 2004. It was, however, still 15.1% below the figure in 1996.

Income remained on a slow deconcentration process

 

Considering the results for 2004 and 2005 restricted to the geographic coverage of PNAD until 2003 (which did not encompass the geographic areas of Rondônia, Acre, Amazonas, Roraima, Pará e Amapá), from 1995 to 2005, the Gini index of income distribution faced a downward trend. This indicator was 0.585, in 1995, reached 0.566 in 2001, and changed to 0.544, in 2005, which was the lowest result since 1981. In ten years, this indicator has decreased by 7.0%.

 

The group of 10% of employed persons with the highest income held 47.1% of the total work income in 1995 and 44.7% in 2005, whereas the 10% of employed persons with the lowest income held 1.0% of the total income in 1995, and 1.1%, in 2005.

 

In 1995, the average income of women receiving income from work represented 62.6% of that received by men; this percentage was 69.3% in 2001 and 70.8% in 2005.

 

In 2004, the employed population grew by 2.9%

 

The employed population increased significantly (2.9%), surpassing the expansion observed in the group of persons 10 years of age or over (2.0%). From 2004 to 2005, the employed population received more 2,5 million persons, among whom 52% were women. This bigger participation of women in the employed population shows the growing presence of women in the job market.

 

The level of occupation of persons 10 years old or over (percentage of employed persons in the group of people 10 years of age or over) changed from 56.5% to 57%, from 2004 to 2005, and the level of occupation among women rose from 45.6% to 46.6%, whereas in the group of women did not rise significantly, having changed from 68.2% to 68.3%. The employed female population increased by 3.7%, and the male population, by 2.4%.

 

The unemployment rate changed from 8.9%, in 2004, to 9.3%, in 2005. There was increase of the male and of the females groups, but unemployment among women (12.2%) remained with a higher percentage than among men (7.1%), indicating the big participation of women in the job market.

 

From 2004 to 2005, no category of position in the occupation fell, although the increases of the number of non-paid workers (0.5%) and own-account workers (1.4%) have been insignificant. The number of employers grew by 5.9%; of employees, by 2.8%; of domestic workers, by 2.9%.  

 

In relation to 2004, the number of workers with a formal employment contract increased by 5.3%

 

From 2004 to 2005, the number of workers with a formal employment contract increased by 5.3%; the number of military and civil servants had slight decrease (1.4%), whereas the number of employees without a formal employment contract had insignificant increase (0.1%). Among domestic workers, there was increase of the group with a formal contract (4.5%) and of the group without any type of registration (2.3%).

 

In the agriculture sector, the participation of workers for own-consumption increased

 

In 2005, 20.5% of the employed population worked in a type of agriculture activity, a percentage lower than that of 2004 (21.0%). In comparison with 2004, the number of workers in production for own-consumption increased significantly (15.0%) and its participation in the population employed in agriculture increased from 19.1% to 21.9%. The participation of own-account workers in agricultural activities fell from 24.0% to 22.5%, and the participation of own-account workers, from 26.2% to 25.0%. From 2004 to 2005, the proportion of persons with a formal employment contract signed among the persons employed in agricultural activities changed from 31.7%to 32.1%.

 

Compared to figures of 2004, the number of workers with a formal employment contract in the non-agricultural sector grew by 5.5%

 

Among the workers in the non-agricultural sector, in relation to 2004, there was expressive increase of the number of persons with a formal employment contract (5.5%), decrease of the number of military and civil servants (1.4%) and stability among the ones without an employment contract (0.2%).

 

The number of persons employed in non-agricultural activities increased by 3.6%, from 2004 to 2005, and there were significant increases in all types of position in the activity. In the same period, the number of employees increased by 3.0% and of domestic workers, by 2.9%. Together, these two categories accounted for 71.8% of the population employed in non-agricultural activities in 2005. The number of own-account workers and of employers grew by 3.2% and 7.2%, respectively. The number of persons employed in construction for own-use increased by 23.0% and of non-paid workers, by 17.3%.

 

From 2004 to 2005, the number of federal civil servants increased by 3.9%. The municipal contribution had almost irrelevant change (-0.5%) and the state contribution fell by 3.5%. In the group of military and civil servants, the participation of federal workers increased from 10.7% to 11.3%, whereas among state workers, it changed from 42.1% to 41.2%, and among municipal servants, from 42.5% to 42.9%.

 

In relation to 2004, in the groups of non-agricultural activities, only the group of other collective, social and personal services fell significantly (5.7%). The major increases occurred in trade and repair (5.7%), construction (5.3%), lodging and feeding (5.3%) and in manufacturing industry (5.1%).

 

The level of occupation was the highest since 1996 and, among women, it was the highest in the series

 

By limiting the results for 2004 and 2005 to the geographic coverage of PNAD until 2003 for the time analysis of indicators, it was observed that, in 2005, the level of occupation was 56.8%, the highest since 1996, but still lower than that observed in the first half of 1990.

 

Monitoring processes since the beginning of the 1990’s showed that the level of occupation of the male population remained on a falling trend until 2003, had clear retrogression in 1996, and reached its  lowest point in 2003 (67.2%) and, in 2005 (68.1%), it was still below figures observed until 1998. The level of women occupation increased until 1995, fell significantly in 1996, but, from 1999 on, began to increase again; in 2004 it was higher than in previous years.  These results indicate the continuity of the big participation of women in the job market, which has occurred since the 1980’s.

From 1995 to 2005, the level of occupation decreased significantly in the age groups below 25 years of age and in the group of persons 60 years of age or over. In the intermediate groups, the level of occupation in 2005 was above that of 1995, due to the presence of the female population. In all the age groups, the level of occupation among men in 2005 was below the equivalent result for 1995. In the female population, in ten years, this indicator increased significantly in the groups between 20 and 59 years of age and fell in the age groups below 20 years of age and 60 years of age or over.

 

Since 1995 the participation of women in trade has increased by 5.4 percentage points

 

In nine years, the major change in the groups by gender occurred in trade and repair: the participation of women was 32.9% in 1995; it increased to 38.8%, in 2005. In the segment of construction, the percentage of women changed from 2.4% to 2.6%; in industry, from 34.0% to 36.5%; in services, from 56.0% to 57.1% and, in agriculture, from 34.3% to 33.0%. It is worth mentioning that, in the group of domestic services, which belongs to the services segment, the female group represented 93.2%, in 1995, and 93.4%, in 2005.

 

From 1995 to 2005, the percentage of persons who used to work less than 40 hours a week changed from 45.0% to 42.8%, in the male group, and from 16.2% to 18.6%, in the female one.

 

21% of the population 10 years of age or over accessed the Internet in 2005

 

In 2005, 21% of the population 10 years of age or over accessed the Internet, at least once, from a computer, somewhere (home, work, school, free or paid Internet access center, someone else’s home or any other place) in the period of 90 days preceding the interview. Considering the population between 15 and 17 years of age, 33.9% accessed the Internet; it was the best result in all the age groups. With the increase of age, this percentage decreased, reaching 3.3% in the group of person 60 years of age or over.

 

In 2005, the percentage of persons accessing the Internet in the North (12.0%) and Northeast Regions (11.9%) was inferior to the percentage in the Southeast (26.3%), South (25.6%) and Central West (23.4%) Regions.

 

The proportion of men who accessed the Internet (22.0%) was bigger than the proportion of women (20.2%). The higher the level of education and household monthly income per capita, the higher the number of persons accessing the Internet. In the group of persons with 15 or more years of schooling, the percentage of Internet users reached 76.2%, whereas in the group of people who did not receive formal education or with less than 4 years of schooling it was 2.5%. In the group with income of up to ¼ of the minimum wage per capita, the percentage of persons using the Internet was 3.3%, whereas in the group receiving more than 5 minimum wages, it was 69.5%.

 

In 2005, almost 37% of the persons 10 years of age or over had a mobile phone for personal use

 

In 2005, the possession of mobile telephone for personal use was more spread among the population than the use of Internet. In the group of persons 10 years of age or over, 36.7% had a mobile telephone for personal use. This indicator was 38.2% among men and 35.4% among women.  

 

Among people without formal education or with less than 4 years of schooling, 11.8% had a mobile telephone for personal use, whereas 82.9% of those with 15 years or more of schooling had one. With reference to the monthly household income per capita, the proportion of persons with a mobile telephone for personal use was 10.4%, from the group of persons without income, up to the group of those receiving up to ¼ of the minimum wage. The figure was 82.1% in the group receiving more than 5 minimum wages.

 

In 2005, there were more households with a mobile telephone than with a fixed telephone line

 

In 2005, households with a mobile telephone outnumbered those with a fixed telephone line. The percentage of households with a mobile telephone increased from 47.8%, in 2004, to 59.3%, in 2005. The households with a fixed line changed from 48.9% to 48.1%.

 

Considering the results for 2004 and 2005 with the same geographic coverage of PNAD until 2003, it was observed that, since 2001, when PNAD began to investigate, separately, the mobile and fixed lines, the percentage of households with a mobile telephone has been increasing, and it changed from 31.1% to 59.9%, in 2005. In these four years, the proportion of households with only a mobile telephone increased from 7.8% to 23.6%, which can indicate the use of this type of line to make up for the absence of a fixed line, or as an alternative and easier means of communication. On the other hand, the proportion of households with a fixed telephone line (52.9% in 2002) started to decrease in 2003, and fell to 48.8% in 2005.

 

97.2% of the housholds had electricity in 2005

 

In 2005, considering the total number of households in the country, 82.3% had a general water supply system; 69.7% had adequate sewage dsiposal system; 85.8% had garbage disposal; 71.6% had telephones and in 97.2% of them there was electricity. All these indicators increased from 2004 to 2005.

The Southeast had the highest percentages of households with electricity, water supply system, garbage disposal and adequate sewage system (with sanitary pipes connected to the sewage disposal system or septic tank), whereas the South Region surpassed the others in terms of the number of residences with telephone.  The North Region had the lowest percentage of houses with electricity (90.7%) and connected to the general water supply system (54.6%), a result very different from those in other Regions. The proportion of households connected to the sewage disposal system in the North Region was the lowest (4.0%), but in terms of adequate sewage disposal (52.7%), this Region surpassed the Northeast (46.4%) and in Central West (44.6%).

In 2005, 88.0% of the households had a refrigerator, 16.7%, a freezer and 35.8%, a washing machine.

 

18.6% of the households had personal computers

 

In 2005, there were television appliances in 91.4% of the households, radios in 88.0% and personal computers in 18.6% of them. In 13.7% of the households there were personal computers connected to the Internet.

 

Since 2001, households with television appliances outnumbered those with radios. Considering the same geographic coverage of PNAD until 2003, it was observed that, from 2001 to 2005, the percentages of households with radios changed from 88.0% to 88.4%. In the same period, the number of households with television sets increased from 89.1% to 92% and the increase rates of households with personal computers surpassed figures relative to other durable goods; this proportion increased from 8.6%, in 2001, to 18.8%, in 2005. 

 

In 2005, in the Northeast, there were already more elderly people than persons under 5 years of age

 

In 2005, the fertility rate in the country was 2.1 children per woman. The North Region had the highest rate (2.5), followed by the Northeast Region (2.3%). The lowest fertility rate was registered in the Southeast Region (1.9). In the South and in the Central Region the rates were the same (2.0).

 

The Southeast and the South Regions had the oldest age structures; the North had the youngest one. The Northeast Region, with fertility levels inferior only to those in the North, held the second biggest proportion of children under 5 years of age and, due to its history of immigration, had the third highest level of participation of the elderly people.

 

In 2005, in the country, the number of elderly people (persons over 60 years of age or over) surpassed the number of children under 5 years of age by 24.2% (versus 17.9% in 2004). In the Southeast and in the South the elderly outnumbered children under 5 years of age by 58.0% and by 51.1%, respectively. For the first time, in the Northeast, the elderly outnumbered, by 1.6%, children under 5 years of age. In the Central West and in the North Region, children under 5 years of age were still more numerous than the elderly. However, in the Central West, the two groups were not so distant in terms of percentage (for each group of 1000 children under 5 years of age, there were 950 persons 60 years of age or over), whereas in the North Region (1000 children for 595 elderly persons).

 

Women outnumbered men in the population of all Regions

 

In 2005, women accounted for 51.3% of the population in the country, and made up 56.1% of the group 60 years of age or over. In the North region, with a lower difference between the number of men and women, the female group accounted for 50.4%, but they made up 51.2%, of the group 60 years of age or over; it was the lowest percentage among all the Regions. The highest percentage of women in the group of elderly people was in the Southeast (57.6%), followed by those in the South 956.4%), in the Northeast (55.0%) and in the Central West (52.8%) Regions.

 

In the country, there were, on average 3.5 persons per household

 

In 2005, the average number of persons per household was 3.5, in the country. The results for the North (4.0) and Northeast Region (3.8) were the highest ones, and were different from the results in other Regions (3.4 in the Central West; 3.3 in the Southeast and 3.2 in the South). The average number of persons per household was lower in the households in which the reference person was a woman. Considering the total number of households, 10.8% had a single member in 2005. This indicator changed from 8.6% in the North Region, to 11.9%, in the Southeast Region.

 

In 2005, white people accounted for 49.9% of the population in the country; dark-skinned ones for 43.2%. In terms of Regions, the division of the population by color or race is very different. White people made up 58.5% of the population in the Southeast Region, and this proportion was inferior only to that in the South Region (80.8%). Dark-skinned people were predominantly present in the North (71.5%), Northeast (63.1%) and Central West (49.9%) Regions.

 

The number of working children between 5 and 14 years of age increased by 10.3% in relation to 2004

 

From 2004 to 2005, the level of occupation (percentage of employed persons in the group of the population 10 years of age or over) changed from 1.5% to 1.8% in the age group between 5 and 9 years of age; from 10.1% to 10.8% in the group between 10 and 14 years of age; and from 31.1% to 30.8% in the group between 15 and 17 years of age.

 

The increase of 10.3% in the group of working children between 5 and 14 years of age was influenced by the increase in the category of workers in the production for own consumption, which is typical in the agricultural activity, and, at a lower degree, in the group of non paid workers, which is also part of this activity.

 

The concentration of working children and teenagers in agricultural activities decreased with the increase of age; the same occurred considering non-paid work.

 

In 2005, the agricultural activity held 76.7% of the employed persons between 5 and 9 years of age, 58.7% between 10 and 14 years of age, and 32.9% between 15 and 17 years of age. The categories of workers without income (not paid, working for their own consumption, or in construction for their own use) encompassed 91.3% of the children between 5 and 9 years of age employed in 2005, 71.6% of the group between 10 and 14 years of age, and 33.0% of the persons between 15 and 17 years of age.

 

In 2005, the level of occupation of the male population in the group between 5 and 17 years of age was 15.6%, and in the population, 8.6%. The indicator relative to men remained higher than that relative to women in the three age groups: it was 2.4% versus 1.1% among children between 5 and 9 year of age; 14.3% versus 7.2% for those among 10 and 14 years of age; 39.0% versus 22.6% among teenagers between 15 and 17 years of age.

 

The participation of children and teenagers in the economic activity differed a lot among the Regions. The Southeast Region had the lowest level of occupation of children and teenagers (8.6%), followed by the Central West (10.5%). Opposite results were registered in the Northeast (15.9%), South (14.0%) and Central West (14.0%) Regions. The result in the North Region was 13.1%.

In spite of the increase on the extreme of the series, when the results for 2004 and 2005 with the same geographic coverage of PNAD until 2003 (without the areas of Rondônia, Acre, Amazonas, Roraima, Pará and Amapá) are taken into consideration, it is observed that the level of occupation in the group between 5 and 17 years of age was on a falling trend in ten years. From 2001 to 2005, the participation of the employed persons in the groups with ages between 5 and 9 years changed from 1.8% to 1.6%; in the group between 10 and 14 years, it changed from 11.6% to 10.3%; in the group between 15 and 17 years of age, it changed from 31.5% to 30.3%. In 1995, these indicators were, respectively, 3.2%, 18.7% and 44.0%.

2.7% of children between 7 and 14 years of age did not attend

 

In 2005, in the country, 8.8% of children and teenagers between 5 and 17 years of age did not attend schools, a percentage which changed from 7.1% in the Southeast, to 12.0%, in the North Region.

 

In the age group between 5 and 6 years of age, 18.5% did not attend school, and the results in the Southeast (14.9%) and Northeast Region (14.6%) were extremely below those in the other Regions (24.4% in the Central West; 26.7% in the South and 28.7% in the North).

Among children between 7 and 14 years of age, who should be receiving basic education, 2.7% did not attend school. The lowest result was that in the Southeast (1.8%), being followed by the South (2.1%). The North Region had 4.3% of persons in this age group out of school; in the Northeast Region they were 3.5% and in the Central West, 2.4%.

In the group between 15 and 17 years, 18.3% did not attend school. Once more, the Southeast (15.4%) had the lowest percentage and the North (22.1%), the highest. The results in the remaining Regions were: 18.1% in the Central West; 19.3% in the South; and 20.7% in the Northeast Region.

 

In 2005, the levels of schooling in the two groups were already close, but among women they were even higher. In the group with ages between 5 and 17 years, 9.1% of men and 8.4% of women did not attend school. The rates were, respectively, 18.8% and 18.2%, in the group of 5 and 6 years of age; of 2.9% and 2.4% in the age group between 7 and 14 years; and 18.8% and 17.8% in the group between 15 and 17 years of age.

 

The public system of education received the vast majority of students 5 years of age or over (80.8%), but the coverage was different: 25.9% of higher education students attended public school; 85.6% of those at secondary education, 89.2% of those at basic education and 76.3% at pre-school. In the division by age group, the percentage of students 5 or 6 years of age in the public system (77.0%) was lower than in the group between 7 and 14 years of age (87.4%) and in the group between 15 and 17 years of age (86.8%), reflecting the coverage of the levels of education to which the majority of each group belonged.

 

10.2% of the persons 10 years of age or over and 11.1% of those 15 years of age or over were illiterate

 

In the country, the illiteracy rate of persons 10 years of age or over was 10.2% in 2005; of the persons 15 years of age or over, 11.1%. In the group 10 years of age or over, the regional differences remained more visible: the illiteracy rate changed from 5.4% in the South Region to 20.0% in the Northeast Region. For the same age group, the indicator was 10.5% for men and 9.9% for women.

 

In 2001, considering the population 10 years of age or over, the proportion of persons who had at least 11 years of schooling (basic or secondary) was 27.2%, versus 26.0% in 2004. As a consequence of more education among women, in 2005, this indicator for the female group was 28.9%, 3.4 percentage points above the figure for the male group (25.5%). This difference was more evident in the employed population: 41.5% of the women had 11 or more years of schooling, whereas among men the percentage was 31.0%.

 

The average number of schooling years for the population 10 years of age or over (6.7 years) was also lower than that of the group of employed persons (7.4 years). For the population 25 years of age or over (who, in the normal schooling process, would have already finished the undergraduation program), the average period of schooling was 6.6 years, whereas for the employed persons in this age group, it was 7.2 years.

 

The level of education in the Northeast Region (5.4 years of schooling, on average) was at a lower level than in the other Regions. The highest result was observed in the Southeast (7.4 years). In terms of the employed population, the Southeast was, once more, the leader (8.4 years); the Northeast had the lowest indicator (5.7 years).

 

In ten years, there was improvement of all the school indicators

 

Also considering the results for 2004 and 2005 with the same geographic coverage previously applied by PNAD, evolution in the education of the country was observed.

 

The percentage of children and teenagers who did not attend school in the group 5 and 6 years of age decreased from 36.2% to 23.8%, from 1995 to 2001, and reached 17.8% in 2005. In the group between 7 and 14 years of age, the number of persons out of school was 9.8%; in 1995 it was 3.5%; in 2005, 2.6%. Considering the population between 15 and 17 years of age, the percentages were 33.4%, 18.9% and 18.%, respectively.

The attendance of children and teenagers between 5 and 14 to school increased in all the Regions. In the group between 15 and 17 years of age, the percentage of those who did not attend school in 2005 was below that of 2001 in all the regions, though, in the Northeast, the rates change extremely little (20.8%, in 2001; and 20.7%, in 2005).

 

 

The illiteracy rate of persons 10 years of age or over fell from 14.7% to 11.4%, from 1995 to 2001, and was 10.1%, in 2005.

 

The increase of the level of education may be monitored by the evolution of the proportion of persons 10 years of age over with 11 or more years of schooling, that is, who finished at least high school or equivalent. This indicator changed from 15.5%, in 1995, to 21.7%, in 2001, and reached 27.6% in 2005. In this group of employed persons, the level of education remained the highest, and the number of persons who finished high school or equivalent increased from 20.4%, in 1995, to 28.9%, in 2001, having reached 35.9%, in 2005.

 

The average number of schooling years also increased. In the group 25 years of age or over, the average number of schooling years was 5.3 in 1995, and changed from 6 to 6.6 years, from 2001 to 2005. In terms of the employed population, this indicator increased from 5.8 to 6.6 years, from 1995 to 2001, and reached 7.3 years in 2005.

 

Number of contributors to social security increased by 4.9%

 

From 2004 to 2005, the number of contributors to social security institutes in their main activity increased by 4.9%. The increment in employment with a formal contract contributed effectively to this change. The proportion of contributors among the total population changed from 46.3% to 47.2%, both in the male (4.5%) and in the female population (5.4%). In 2005, the proportion of contributors to social security institutes in any activity of the employed population was 47.4%: 48.1% for women and 46.4% for men.

 

 

The groups of activity in the main work with the highest percentages of contributors were public administration (84.6%) and education, health and social services (82.2%), whereas the lowest figures were those of agricultural activity (11.9%) ,domestic services (28.8%) and construction (30.6%).

 

The Southeast Region, which concentrated the highest of registered workers, was the one with the biggest number of contributors to social security institutes, in any activity (58.8%). The  lowest percentage was that in the Northeast Region (28.7%), followed by the North Region (33.6%).

 

The number of union workers increased by 5.1% from 2004 to 2005, changing the participation of the employed population in unions (from 18.0% to 18.4%). The increase was higher among the female population (6.7%, with level of participation of 17.2%) than in the male population (with 4.1%, with 19.2% of participation).

 

The participation in unions was higher in terms of other industrial activities (38.0%), with education, health and social services (29.6%), in second place. The lowest level of participation in unions was that of domestic services (1.7%) and construction (7.4%). The South Region had the highest percentage of persons in unions in the employed population (23.0%). The lowest percentages were those in the North (14.8%) and Central West (15.5%) Regions.

 

The percentages of union participants and of social security contributors were the highest since 1995

  

Considering the results for 2004 and 2005 relative to the geographic coverage applied by PNAD until 2003, it was observed that the proportion of contributors to social security institutes of any activity among the employed population in 2005 (48.0%) surpassed all those since the beginning of the 1990’s. In 1995, this indicator was 43.2% and it reached 45.7% in 2001.

 

In ten years, there was significant reduction of the distance between the proportion of contributors in any activity among the male and the female population. From 1995 to 2005, this indicator changed from 45.5% to 48.8% among men and from 39.7% to 47.0% among women.

 

The percentage of union workers in 2005 (18.3%) also reached its highest level since the beginning of the 1990’s: it was 16.2% in 1995, reached its lowest point in 1998 (15.9%) and has grown significantly since then.

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^(*) In 2004, PNAD was implemented in the rural areas of Rondônia, Acre, Amazonas, Roraima, Pará and Amapá, with complete coverage of the national territory. Considering this influence on the results for 2004 and 2005, the time comparisons of the harmonized series were done taking into consideration the geographic coverage of PNAD until 2003.