Data from the Long Form Questionnaire of the 2010 Census show inequalities between the population that lived in subnormal agglomerates (irregular settlements known as slums, invaded properties, slums in deep valleys, slums in low-lands, poor communities, slums in villages, slums in backwaters, types of shacks and stilt houses, among others) and those living in other areas of the municipalities. These differences also appeared among the five Brazilian Major Regions. While 14.7% of the resident population in other areas finished higher education, only 1.6% did that in the agglomerates.

Labor informality was also higher in the agglomerates (27.8% of workers without formal contract) in relation to other city areas (20.5%). Inequalities also appeared in regard to income: 31.6% of the residents in subnormal agglomerates earned a per capita household income of up to half minimum wages, whereas this percentage was of 13.8% in the other areas. On the other hand, only 0.9% of the residents in agglomerates earned a per capita household income above five minimum wages, whereas this percentage was of 11.2% in the other city areas. The Sample Results of the Census for subnormal agglomerates also include information on schooling, ownership of goods and commuting time to work.

In 2010, 15,868 enumeration areas (around 5% of the total) were located in subnormal agglomerates, which added up an area of 169.2 thousand hectares and comprised 3.2 million permanently occupied private housing units in the 6,329 subnormal agglomerates identified. In order to improve the knowledge on diversity in the Brazilian subnormal agglomerates, the 2010 Population Census carried out the Territorial Information Survey (LIT) for the first time. Getting to know the territorial aspects of the subnormal agglomerates is an important complement to the socioeconomic characterization of these areas. LIT reported that 52.5% of the housing units in subnormal agglomerates were located in predominantly plain areas (1,692,567 housing units), 51.8% were predominantly accessed by streets (1,670,618 housing units), 72.6% were not spaced between each other (2,342,558) and 64.6% had predominantly one floor (2,081,977).

More information is available in the publication "2010 Population Census - Subnormal Agglomerates - Territorial Information" (accessed on https://www.ibge.gov.br/english/estatistica/populacao/ censo2010/aglomerados_subnormais_informacoes_territoriais/default_informacoes_territoriais.shtm) and in the tables of the General Sample Results of the 2010 Census for Subnormal Agglomerates, published in IBGE´s Aggregate Database (SIDRA) (accessed on http://www.sidra.ibge.gov.br/cd/CD2010RGAADAGSN.asp).

The results of the Short Form of the 2010 Census for subnormal agglomerates were released on December 21, 2011 (http://saladeimprensa.ibge.gov.br/en/noticias?view=noticia&id=1&idnoticia=2057&busca=1&t=censo-2010-11-4-milhoes-brasileiros-6-0-vivem-aglomerados-subnormais)

More residents in agglomerates attend public school, though few with higher education

Day care and public schools were the education institutions attended by 86.9% of the population of subnormal agglomerates, while 63.7% of the residents in other areas attended public schools. This was a characteristic of all the Major Regions, in which the South Region registered the highest inequality (92% for subnormal agglomerates and 60% for other areas). The North Region recorded the lowest contrast (83.2% and 71.4%, respectively). The Northeast reported the smallest percentage of persons in subnormal agglomerates attending public school or day care (79.7%).

The proportion of persons who finished higher education also revealed inequalities: 1.6% of the resident population in agglomerates finished higher education, whereas the percentage in other areas reached 14.7%. The North Region recorded the highest proportion of resident persons in agglomerates with higher education (2.8%), while the lowest proportion was in the Southeast (1.2%).

48.3% of workers living in agglomerates have no formal contract in Maceió, 29.3% in the rest of the city

Labor informality was higher in the agglomerates (27.8%) than in the rest of the cities (20.5%). It was reflected in all the Major Regions, though less intense in the South, where 19.1% of the resident population in subnormal agglomerates and 15.1% of those living in other areas had no formal contract. In the North Region, informal workers living in agglomerates reached 36.0%, whereas those in other areas were 26.4%. Macapá (AP) was the capital with the highest proportion in the agglomerates (48.3% against 29.3% in other areas).

Agglomerate residents in Rio de Janeiro spend less time commuting to work

The time spent commuting to work was similar for persons living in subnormal agglomerates and in other city areas. In Brazil, the percentage of employed persons who spent more than one hour per day commuting to work ranged between 19.7% and 19.0%, respectively. Nevertheless, the hillsides along the municipality of Rio de Janeiro were occupied, allowing this population to live closer to their work and thus shorten the cost and time spent with transportation. In Rio de Janeiro, 21.9% of the population in agglomerates spent more than one hour per day to arrive at their work, while this proportion in other areas was of 26.3%. In the municipality of São Paulo, whose relief is far from rough, irregular settlements were located at a great extent far from downtown, which explained the differences in the commuting time: 37.0% of the population living in agglomerates took more than one hour to arrive at work, in contrast with 30.0% of those living in other areas of the city.

31.6% of population in agglomerates earn up to half minimum wages

Considering the per capita household nominal income, 31.6% of the resident population in subnormal agglomerates were in the range of up to half minimum wages, in contrast with 13.8% in other areas of the cities. This pattern was the same in all the Major Regions. The South (20.6% and 5.1%, respectively) and the Southeast (25.6% and 10.7%, respectively) posted the lowest proportions for both areas. The highest contrast was registered in the Central-West, where it reached 17.2 percentage points: 28.4% of the households in subnormal agglomerates were within this income range and 11.2% of the households in other city areas.

The gap remained in place when considering per capita household nominal income above five minimum wages, once 0.9% of the population living in agglomerates fell within this income range. In the other areas, this percentage was 13.4%. This contrast was the same in all the Major Regions. The Central-West Region reported the biggest difference: 1.2% and 20.8%, respectively.

Agglomerate residents own less cars, washing machines and access to Internet

The comparison of ownership of goods between subnormal agglomerates and other areas of the municipalities pointed out the virtual universalization of refrigerators and television sets, which recorded slight differences between the two areas. The ownership of motorcycles (11.3% in other areas and 10.3% in subnormal agglomerates) was also similar in the two areas. This case pointed out the higher weight of this type of private transportation in the subnormal agglomerates, once the figures for private cars are well different (17.8% in subnormal agglomerates and 48.1% in other areas). Other inequalities were also reported in the ownership of washing machines (41.4% in agglomerates and 66.7% in other areas), computers (27.8% and 55.6%, respectively) and computers with access to the Internet (20.2% and 48.0%), all of them showing percentages significantly different.

Metropolitan Areas concentrate most housing units in subnormal agglomerates in Brazil: Metropolitan Area of São Paulo is the highlight

The metropolitan areas concentrated the majority of the housing units in subnormal agglomerates in Brazil. The highlight was the metropolitan area of São Paulo (RMSP), which comprised 596,479 housing units in enumeration areas within subnormal agglomerates (18.9% of the national figure), occupied by 2,162,368 persons (17%).  The capital concentrated 66% of these housing units, considered as small-sized and highly dispersed in the urban fabric.

Most housing units in plain areas in the Metropolitan Area of Rio de Janeiro

The metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro (RMRJ) was the second in terms of concentration of housing units in subnormal agglomerates, accounting for 14.9% of the national figure.  Despite the most impressive aspects of the subnormal agglomerates in the capital - like Rocinha and Vidigal -, the majority of the housing units in subnormal agglomerates of the RMRJ was located in predominantly plain areas (55% of the overall metropolitan area) and had predominantly two floors (53.5% of the overall metropolitan area).

87.0% of the housing units in subnormal agglomerates in the Metropolitan Area of Belém is accessed through streets

Positioned in the third position in terms of the participation of housing units in subnormal agglomerates in Brazil (9.9%), the metropolitan area of Belém (RMB) registered the highest proportion of resident population in subnormal agglomerates among all the metropolitan areas (more than 50%). 87.0% of the housing units in the metropolitan area of Belém were located in areas predominantly accessed through streets. Extensive subnormal agglomerates comprising housing units in predominantly plain areas (99.6% of the overall metropolitan area) and having predominantly one floor (96.8%) were other impressive characteristics reported.

Subnormal agglomerates in Salvador highly dense

The metropolitan area of Salvador (RMS) recorded the third biggest percentage of housing units in subnormal agglomerates (8.2% of the national figure). The highlight was Salvador itself, which concentrated 94.9% of all the housing units in subnormal agglomerates of the metropolitan area. More than 85% of the housing units in subnormal agglomerates of the RMS were located in highly dense areas, predominantly with steep slopes (47.3%), two or more floors (71.4%) and no spacing between each other (92.3%). The housing units in areas of steep slope were concentrated in Salvador, while a large number of housing units in subnormal agglomerates in predominantly plain areas were located in other municipalities of the RMS, except Itaparica, Candeias and Simões Filho. 

45.5% of housing units in subnormal agglomerates of the metropolitan area of Recife accessed through alleyways

The Metropolitan Area of Recife (RMR) registered 45.5% of the housing units in subnormal agglomerates in areas predominantly accessed through alleyways, 39.8% accessed through streets and 7.9% accessed through stairways.  The housing units in subnormal agglomerates of the RMR were predominantly located in plain areas (56%), whereas 15.1% of the housing units were predominantly located in areas like creek, river, lake or lagoon banks.

The RMR was the metropolitan area that recorded the lowest percentage concentration of housing units in subnormal agglomerates in the core municipality (40%) among the five metropolitan areas under analysis. The subnormal agglomerates in the RMR were highly disseminated across the metropolitan space, in which the constructions were predominantly dense with one floor. The RMR reported large contiguous areas, like those located in the Casa Amarela/Olinda cluster and in Jaboatão dos Guararapes.

Little more than half of subnormal agglomerates located in moderate or steep slopes

47.5% of the housing units in subnormal agglomerates in Brazil were predominantly located in moderate or steep slopes. The RMSP concentrated the largest number of housing units predominantly located in steep slopes  (166.0 thousand), followed by the RMS (137.3 thousand) and the RMRJ (103.8 thousand).

At national level, the main internal passageways to housing units in subnormal agglomerates were streets (51.8%) and alleyways (39.7%). Other types of internal passageways were of regional importance, like stairways, alleyways and ramps in the Northeast and Southeast, and footbridges and catwalks in the North Region. In the North, South and Central-West Regions, the predominant internal passageways in subnormal agglomerates allowed the circulation of cars and trucks.

The metropolitan area of São Paulo recorded the largest number of housing units in subnormal agglomerates predominantly located in creek, river, lake or lagoon banks (148.6 thousand), which occupied an area of 2.6 thousand hectares. In the metropolitan area of Macapá, 14.5 thousand housing units (83% of the total) were predominantly located on rivers, creeks, lakes or over the sea.

Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo registered the largest number of housing units in agglomerates close to areas of restrict use.

The metropolitan area of São Paulo concentrated the largest number of housing units predominantly located in landfills, dumps and other contaminated areas (1,984 housing units), close to oil and gas pipelines (2,282), transmission lines (10,816) and in areas of environmental preservation (10,213). The metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro concentrated the largest number of housing units predominantly located along railways (7,328) and highways (11,909). Although considered permanent protection areas, the metropolitan areas of Natal and Fortaleza stood out in the occupation of beaches and dunes with 9,023 and 5,529 housing units, respectively.