Although below the level of population replacement, which is an average of two children per woman, the average Brazilian fertility rate ...

 

Although below the level of population replacement, which is an average of two children per woman, the average Brazilian fertility rate (1.94 child per woman in 2009) presents important inequalities, especially due to schooling. In the country as a whole, women having studied for up to seven years had, on average, 3.19 children, almost twice as many (1.68) as those with eight years of schooling (at least complete elementary school). Besides having fewer children, more educated women became mothers a little later (at 27.8 years old, against 25.2 for those with up to seven years of schooling) and avoided teenage pregnancy more often: among women with less than seven years of schooling, the age group 15-19 concentrated 20.3% of mothers, whereas among women with eight years of schooling or more, the same age group accounted for 13.3% of fertility.

 

This is one of the highlights of the Summary of Social Indicators (SIS) 2010, aimed at analyzing life conditions in the country, having as its main information source the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) 2009, among others. This year it encompasses ten themes.

 

SIS shows that even when more educated than men, women’s average income is still inferior to men’s (employed women earn on average 70.7% of what men earn), a situation that worsens when both have 12 years of schooling or more (in this case, women’s income is 58% of men’s). Women work less hours per week (36.5) than men; on the other hand, even when employed outside home, they are still the main responsible for household tasks, dedicating an average of 22 hours per week to those activities, against 9.5 hours of employed men.

 

SIS shows education evolution between 1999 and 2009, for example, with the increased percentage of people who attend teaching institutions in all age groups and all school levels – although family income per capita is still a factor of unequal access to school, especially at non-obligatory levels (nursery, high school and university). In spite of a more democratic access to school, suitability of age for educational level is still a challenge, mainly at the 15-17 age group, in which just 50.9% of the students fit the appropriate level (high school).

 

When comparing education indicators for white, black and brown people, one may also notice reduced inequalities among the groups, but concerning the average years of schooling and the presence of youngsters at higher education, in 2009 black and brown individuals had not reached the indicators already presented by whites in 1999. Moreover, last year, illiteracy rates for people of black (13.3%) and brown color or race (13.4%) were more than twice that of whites (5.9%).

 

Longer life takes to an increased participation of elderly people (over 60 years) in population, from 9.1% in 1999 to 11.3% in 2009. Although most of these senior citizens (64.1%) are the reference persons in their households and 77.4% affirm to suffer from diseases, 32.5% were neither registered at the Family Health Program nor insured by a private health plan.

 

Read the following details about the SIS 2010 main information. 

 

Brazil has 94.8 men for each 100 women

 

In 2009, there were 94.8 men for each 100 women in the country. It is the sex ratio, which has been declining due to a higher male mortality. Among metropolitan areas, the lowest sex ratio was found in Recife (85 men for each 100 women), and the highest, in Curitiba (94.6).

 

The participation of children and teenagers aged up to 19 in the population fell from 40.1% in 1999 to 32.8% in 2009. The proportion of the population aged 70 or over increased from 3.9% (6.4 million people) in 1999 to 5.1% (9.7 million) in 2009.

 

The proportion of people at potentially inactive age (from 0 to 14 and 65 or over) in relation to 100 people available for economic activities (between 15 and 64) was, in 2009, of 47.2%. The lowest ratios were found in Santa Catarina (39.9%) and the Federal District (40.0%), and the highest, in Acre (61.5%).

 

In 2009, life expectancy at birth in Brazil was 73.1 year. Between 1999 and 2009, this indicator increased 3.1 years, with women in a more favorable situation than men (from 73.9 to 77 years for women and 66.3 to 69.4 years for men). In 2009, the difference between the longest life expectancy of women, 79.6 years (Federal District) and the shortest of men, 63.7 years (Alagoas) was almost 16 years for women.

 

Infant mortality rate (number of deaths per each live birth – ‰) in Brazil declined from 31.7‰ to 22.5‰ between 1999 and 2009. Rio Grande do Sul had the lowest infant mortality rate in 2009 (12.7‰) and Alagoas (46.40‰), the highest.

 

Fertility varies with women’s schooling, color, race and region of residence

 

In 2009, total fertility rate (average number of children that would be born to a woman in her child-bearing age) was 1.94. This figure results from fertility decline in Brazil in the last decades. Rio de Janeiro (1.63) and Minas Gerais (1.67) had the lowest rates in 2009; Acre (2.96) and Amapá (2.87), the highest. This fertility decline has been occurring in all regions and social groups, independently from income, color and social level.

 

Schooling is one of the determining factors of female fertility. For the country as a whole, women with up to seven years of schooling had an average of 3.19 children, whereas those with eight years of schooling or more had 1.68. Comparing extreme regional values, the distance in fertility between the less educated women of the North region (3.61) and the more educated women of the Southeast (1.60) was 2.01 children.

 

Among women with less than seven years of schooling, the age group 20-24 concentrated, in 2009, 37% of total fertility, and that of 15-19, 20.3%. Among women with eight years of schooling or more, age groups 20-24 (25.0%) and 25-29 (24.8) concentrated together almost half fertility, and the group 15-19 concentrated 13.3%. Among less educated women, the fertility pattern tends to be younger. As a result, the average age women used to have children was also different due to schooling: among those with less than seven years of schooling, the average was 25.2 years. Among those with eight years of schooling or more, the average was 27.8, a difference of 2.6 years.

 

Half of those aged 15 to 17 fit the appropriate educational level for their age

 

In 2009, there was an expressive increase in pre-school attendance by children aged 0 to 5, since the percentage of those who attended schools or day care reached 38.1%, whereas in 1999 it was 23.3%. Even in rural areas, where supply of teaching establishments for this age group is reduced, growth was significant, from 15.2% to 28.4% in these ten years. In the 6-14 age group, since the middle of the 1990’s, practically all children attended school (94.2% in 1999 and 97.6% in 2009).

 

The situation is less favorable for teenagers aged 15-17: in 2009, the rate of school attendance reached 85.2%, but the net schooling rate (percentage of people who attended school at the appropriate level for their age, that is, high school) was 50.9% (it was 32.7% in 1999). There was still a great difference between regions: North and Northeast had, respectively, 39.1% and 39.2% of people aged 15-17 at high school, not reaching the 42.1% that the Southeast had already achieved in 1999 (in 2009 it was 60.5%).

 

Inequalities in familiar income per capita exert great influence on the suitability age/teaching level: among the 20% poorest people of the population, 32.0% of teenagers aged 15-17 attended high school, whereas in the 20% richest, this situation fit 77.9%.

 

In 2009, the average years of schooling for people aged 15 or over were 7.5 years, inferior to the eight years necessary for the conclusion of the obligatory elementary education. In the Southeast, the average was 8.2 years; in the Northeast, 6.7. For people aged 25 or over, the average was 7.1 years of schooling. Among the 20% richest, the average reached 10.4 years of schooling above the obligatory level, but below the 11 years equivalent to the complete high school level.

 

Among students aged 18 to 24, those studying at higher education changed from 22.1% to 48.1% in 10 years

 

The young population aged 18 to 24 years with 11 years of schooling (complete high school) represented 37.9% of this age group total in 2009. Regional inequalities were also remarkable: in the Southeast, the proportion was 44.0%; in the Northeast, 31.8%. Still among people aged 18 to 24, 15.1% had 11 years of schooling or more and among them, 10.7% continued studying.

 

Distribution of students aged 18 to 24 among educational levels reveals advances: in 1999, 24.8% of them were still at elementary school, against 22.1% at higher education; in 2009, these percentages were 8.3% and 48.1% respectively.

 

Illiteracy still prevails among the elderly, people with the low incomes and residents of the Northeast

 

Illiteracy rate among people aged 15 or over decreased from 13.3% in 1999 to 9.7% in 2009. In absolute numbers, the contingent was 14.1 million illiterate people. Among these, 42.6% were older than 60, 52.2% resided in the Northeast and 16.4% lived on ½ minimum wage as familiar income per capita.

 

The sharpest decreases in illiteracy by age group between 1999 and 2009 occurred in the 15-24 age group. In this group, women were more literate, but men presented a sharpest decrease, which changed from 13.5% to 6.3%, against 6.9% to 3.0% for women.

 

Family income determines access to education

 

Inequalities are decreasing in what concerns access to education, but the level of family income is still an important source of inequality, especially in the non-obligatory education cycles. Between 1999 and 2009, nursery school (0 to 5 years) was the education level that most grew in terms of frequency (from 32.5% to 40.2%), but in this age group just 30.9% of the poor attended day care or pre-school education, with this percentage increasing to 55.2% among the richest 20%. In the 6-14 age group, which corresponds to elementary school, access to school (97.8% on average) was practically the same in all income levels. In the 15-17 age group (82.6% on average), the difference between the poorest (81.0%) and the richest 20% (93.9%) almost reached 13 percentage points. For the group 18-24 (31.3% on average), this difference was 26 percentage points and, even among the richest 20%, half the youngsters (49.6%) attended teaching establishments.

 

Among people aged 18-24, 14.7% declared to study only, 15.6% reconciled work and study, 46.7% only worked, 17.8% informed to perform household tasks and 5.2% were not involved in any activity. In the group 16-24 years, 22.2% earned up to ½ minimum wage in the job market. In the Northeast, this percentage doubled (43.5%). Besides that, 26.5% of people in this age group worked more than 45 hours per week.

 

Among youngsters aged 15 to 24, almost 647 thousand, what corresponded to 1.9%, were illiterates, and most of them lived in the Northeast (62%), and in the Southeast (19%).

 

62.6% of urban households have water supply, sewerage network and waste collection

 

In 2009, 19% of Brazilian urban dwelling units housed families whose income was up to ½ minimum wage per capita. In the North (30.7%) and Northeast (36.3%), percentages were much above national average; at the other extreme was the South (10.9% in this situation), followed by the Southeast (12.2%) and Central West (16.4%). Most of the lowest-income population lived in houses (96.6%). In general, in 2009, 87.5% of Brazilian dwelling units were houses and 12.1%, apartments.

 

In 2009, 62.6% of Brazilian urban households were served, at the same time, by water supply network, sewerage network and direct waste collection – in 1999 they were 57.2%. Among those with average income of up to ½ minimum wage per capita, the percentage did not reach half (41.3%) and went up to 77.5% among households with more than two minimum wages of family income per capita.

 

In the North, 13.7% of urban households had simultaneous access to the three sanitation services and, in the poorest households, this percentage did not reach 10%. In the Northeast, the average percentage was 37% (27.9% for the income group of up to ½ minimum wage per capita). In the Southeast the best conditions were found, with an average of 85.1% of households in these conditions.

 

In Brazil, in 2009, 21.1% of the households had simultaneously electricity, fixed telephone, internet, computer, refrigerator, color TV and washing machines (in 2004 they were 12.0%). In the North region 7.5% fit this criterion, whereas in the Southeast the proportion was 27.8%; in the South, 27.1%; in the Central West, 17.6%; and in the Northeast, 8.1%. Among federation units, the Federal District had 40.3% of households in this situation, followed, with a difference of almost 10 percentage points, by São Paulo (31.9%). At the other extreme were Maranhão (3.7%), Piauí (5.7%) and Tocantins (5.8%).

 

10% basic education students have no filtered water at school

 

In 2009, almost 60% of children up to 14 years old (46.3 million) lived in dwelling units where at least one sanitation service (water, sewerage, waste collection) was not adequate. Approximately 5 million children (10.9% of the total from 0 to 14 years old) lived in dwelling places where these three sanitation forms were simultaneously inadequate, a percentage that reached 19.2% among Northeastern children.

 

Data from the School Census conducted by the Ministry of Education (MEC) showed that among basic education students 40% used to study at schools served by no sewerage network; 14% used to study at schools served by no water supply network; 9% used to study at schools with no waste collection; and 10% (5.2 million) had no access to filtered water at the place of study.

 

Family income inequalities show reduction

 

The average number of people in the family decreased from 3.4 in 1999 to 3.1 in 2000, being 4.2 among families with monthly income per capita of up to ½ minimum wage. We may observe, in these 10 years, a relative increase in the proportion of childless couples (from 13.3% to 17.1%) and a reduction in the number of couples with children (from 55% to 47.3%). Unmarried women with children represented 17.4% in 2009, with no significant alteration in the decade.

 

The ratio between family income per capita of the richest 20% and that of the poorest 20% shows the tendency towards reduced inequalities. In 2001, the richest 20% earned on average 24.3 times more than the poorest 20%, and this relation declined to 17.8 in 2009. Between 1999 and 2009, there was an increased participation of “other sources” in the family income (they include transfer programs of fund and interest income, rent, dividend, among others), for families with income per capita of up to ¼ minimum wage. For these, incomes of “other sources” represented 28.0% of total family income in 2009, against 4.4% in 1999. For the total of families, the “other sources” represented 5.0% of family income in 2009, 76.2% corresponded to work income and 18.8%, to incomes from retirement and pension.

 

Illiteracy rates of black and brown individuals are more than twice as high as that of whites

 

From 1999 to 2009, there was growth in the proportion of people who self-declared black (from 5.4% to 6.9%) or brown (from 40% to 44.2%), which now in group represent 51.1% of the population. The situation of inequality due to color or race, however, persists.

 

The illiteracy rate of people aged 15 or over was 13.3% for the population of black color, 13.4% for brown people against 5.9% for whites. Another important indicator is the functional illiteracy (people aged 15 or over with less than four complete years of schooling), which decreased from 29.4% in 1999 to 20.3% in 2009. This rate, which for the whites was 15%, continues high for blacks (25.4%) and brown ones (25.7%).

 

The white population aged 15 or over had, on average, 8.4 years of schooling in 2009, whereas among blacks and brown ones, the average was 6.7 years. Baselines are superior to those of 1999 for all groups, but the level reached both by black and brown people is still inferior to that of whites in 1999 (seven years of schooling).

 

In 2009, 62.6% of white students aged 18 to 24 were receiving higher education (adequate to their age), against 28.2% of blacks and 31.8% of brown individuals. In 1999 they were 33.4% among whites against 7.5% among blacks and 8% among brown ones. In relation to the population aged 25 or over with complete higher education, there was an increase in the proportion of blacks (from 2.3% in 1999 to 4.7% in 2009) and brown ones (from 2.3% to 5.3%). In the same period, the percentage of whites with a diploma changed from 9.8% to 15%.

 

Income/hour of black and brown people is smaller than that of whites

 

The income of black and brown people is still inferior to that of whites, although the difference has decreased in the last 10 years. The income/hour of black and brown people represented respectively 47% and 49.6% of the income/hour of whites in 1999, changing to 57.4% for each of the two groups in 2009. The percentages of income/hour of black and brown people in relation to that of whites, in 2009, were, respectively, 78.7% and 72.1% for the group with up to four years of schooling, from 78.4% and 73% for five to eight years, and 72.6% and 75.8% for nine to 11 years, and 69.8% and 73.8% for 12 years or more.

 

Comparing the Gini index for family monthly income per capita, we may observe decreased inequality in similar proportion to whites (from 0.572 to 0.537), blacks (from 0.502 to 0.471) and brown people (from 0.531 to 0.497). The index ranges from zero to one: the highest, the more unequal.

 

Inequality among white, black and brown people is also expressed when we observe the number of people per position in the occupation. Among employed people aged 10 or over, in 2009, 6.1% of whites were employers, against 1.7% of blacks and 2.8% of brown ones. At the same time, blacks and brown people were, mostly, workers without a formal contract (17.4% and 18.9%, respectively, against 13.8% of whites) and most domestic servants with a formal contract (3.9% and 2.3% against 1.9%) and with no formal contract (8.3% and 6.8% against 4.1%).

 

Informal work prevails among young and older women

 

The percentage of women in the formal job market (in which there is a contract, including maids, military and statutory public servants, employers or own-account workers that pay social security contributions) increased from 41.5% in 1999 to 48.8% last year. Among men, there was an increase from 45.9% to 53.2%. In the same period, female participation in the category employee with a formal contract changed from 24.2% to 30.3%. Participation of unpaid female workers, who work for their own consumption or are engaged in activities of construction for their own use decreased from 18.7% to 11.6%.

 

Among employed women aged 16 to 24, 69.2% had informal works. The rate was higher among women aged 60 or over: 82.2%. Differences were even more expressive in the regional comparison: in the Southeast, 57.2% of young women were engaged in informal works; in the Northeast the figure reached 90.5%.

 

Regarding color or race, women’s insertion was also differentiated. Among white women, around 44.0% worked in the informal market; the percentage was 54.1% among black and 60.0% among brown women. The largest difference in the formality rate among women according to race or color occurred in the North region, where 55.9% of the white women were in the informal market against 67.1% of the black and 68.3% of the brown ones. The smallest difference was that of the South, whose percentages were 44.2% for white, 43.4% for black and 50.5% for brown women.

 

Among the more educated, women earn 58% of what men earn

 

Even with longer schooling, women have average income inferior to men’s. In 2009, the total employed women earned around 70.7% of employed men’s average income. In the formal market, this ratio reached 74.6%, whereas in the informal market the difference was bigger, and women earned 63.2% of men’s average income.

 

The difference was even bigger among the more educated: women with 12 years of schooling or more earned, on average, 58% of the income of men with the same schooling level. In the other schooling groups, the ratio was a little higher (61%). Between 1999 and 2009, differences decreased little.

 

Domestic services are essentially provided by women (93%). In 2009, 55% of them were between 25 and 44 years old, and the percentage of brown women was 49.6%. An expressive percentage of domestic workers (72.8%) did not have a formal contract; the average schooling time was 6.1 years, and the average income was of the order of R$ 395.20.

 

While in 2009 women worked, on average, 36.5 hours (in all works) per week, men used to work 43.9 hours. In informal works, the average decreased to 30.7 hours for women and 40.8 hours for men. In the formal occupations, both for women (40.7 hours) and for men (44.8), the average of worked hours was above the 40 hours per week.

 

When we analyze the average of hours worked by groups of schooling, we find that both men and women with 9-11 years of schooling work more than those in the other groups. Women with shorter schooling worked less than those with 12 years of schooling, whereas the opposite happens for men: those with longer schooling work less than the others.

 

Despite the increased women’s activity rate, women are still the main responsible for household chores and care for children and other relatives. In Brazil, the average hours spent by women aged 16 or over in household chores is more than the double average hours spent by men. In 2009, while employed women aged 16 or over spent on average 22.0 hours in household chores, men in these same conditions spend, on average, 9.5 hours.

 

The issue of household chores according to schooling shows that employed women with 12 years of schooling or more used to spend less time with household chores (17.0 hours per week) when compared to women with up to eight years of schooling (25.3 hours per week).

 

In 2009, 41 thousand women related to have been victims of violence

 

The Office for Women’s Policies (SPM) recorded, in 2009, by its women service support (Call 180), almost 41 thousand reports on violence against women, what represented 10.2% of services, which include requests for information, service supply, complaints, suggestions and compliments. Of the total reports of violence, around 22 thousand (53.9%) referred to physical violence and more than 13 thousand (33.2%) reported psychological violence, whereas 576 (1.4%) were cases of sexual violence.

 

It is worth highlighting that, in Brazil, among the 5,565 municipalities, just 274 have a legal service specialized in domestic violence against women. Most of them are in São Paulo, with 41 municipalities that count on this service, followed by Minas Gerais, with 26. The Federal District and Amapá do not offer this kind of specialized support. The number of municipalities with police stations for women defense is a little higher, 397 in the whole country, being 120 in the state of São Paulo and 49 in Minas Gerais. Roraima has this kind of service in only one municipality.

 

22.6% of people aged 60 or over declared not to have diseases and 45.5% consider their health good or very good

 

In 2009, there were around 21 million senior citizens in the country and, between 1999 and 2009, the percentage of people aged 60 or over in the population changed from 9.1% to 11.3%. In this age group, women were a majority (55.8%), as well as whites (55.4%). Among the elderly, 64.1% were the reference person in the household, a few more than 12% had household income per capita of up to ½ minimum wage, 30.7% had less than one year of schooling and 66% were already retired.

 

According to the Health Supplement of PNAD 2008, Just 22.6% of the elderly declared not to have diseases. Among those aged 75 or over, this percentage decreased to 19.7%. Almost half (48.9%) of the elderly suffered from more than one chronic disease, and in the subgroup from 75 years old, the percentage reached 54%. Hypertension was the chronic disease that stood out, with proportions around 50%. Back pains and arthritis or rheumatism reached respectively 35.1% and 24.2% of people aged 60 or over.

 

While 77.4% of the elderly declared to suffer from chronic diseases, 45.5% stated their health was “very good” or “good”. Just 12.6% said they had “poor” or “very poor” health, and among these, the highlights were those aged 75 or over, black or brown people and those who lived on family income per capita of up to ½ minimum wage.

 

The percentage of senior citizens unable to walk or with great difficulty to walk 100 meters changed from 12.2% (2003) to 13.6% (2008). This increase may be explained by the rise in life expectancy (among those aged 75 or over, the percentage of those who declared difficulty or incapacity was 27.2%). As women are the majority in this group, 15.9% of women declared to have difficulty to walk 100 meters, against 10.9% of men.

 

Still according to PNAD Supplement 2008, 32.5% of the elderly neither had their housing unit registered in the Family Health Program nor had a private health insurance plan. This situation of helplessness was a little smaller from the group of family income per capita of two minimum wages or more, when the percentage was 19.7%. In Rio de Janeiro, which has the highest proportion of elderly people in the country, almost half of them (49.1%) lived under such conditions.