The cultural sector employed, in 2018, more than 5 million persons, according to data from the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Continuous PNAD), accounting for  5.7% of the total employed population in the country. More than half were women (50.5%), white persons (52.6%) and under 40 years of age (54.9%). In addition to that, in comparison with the total positions, the percentage of persons with a higher education degree was bigger (26.9% in the cultural sector versus 19.9% in the overall employed population).

Between 2014 and 2018, there was a decrease in the proportion of persons with a formal contract in the private sector (from 45.0% to 34.6%) and an increase in the numer of self-empoyed workers (from 32.5% to 44.0%) in culture. Informal occupation, represented by employees and domestic workers without a formal contract, self-employed workers and workers who do not pay social security, besides family auxiliary workers , recorded an increase in the culural sector, with a change from 38.3% in 2014 to 45.2% in 2018.

The black or brown population was more vulnerable in terms of potential access to cultural equipment and means of communication: 44.0% of them lived in municipalities without movie theaters in 2018, whereas, among white persons, the percentage was 34.8%. The difference was also observed in relation to museums (37.5% versus 25.4%), theaters or concert halls (35.2% versus 25,8%), AM or FM local radio stations (20.5% versus 16.5%) and Internet providers (15.3% versus 14.3%).

Children up to 14 years of age were more susceptible in comparison with other age groups in terms of access to museums (35.9%), theater or concert halls (34.6%), movie theaters (43.8%), AM or FM local radio stations (20.2%) and Internet providers (15.6%).

Inequality is also present in the average household expenditure on cultural activities, which reached R$ 282.86 in 2017-2018 in Brazil. Families with earnings of up to R$ 1,908.00 employed only 5.9% of their expenditure on cultural activities (R$ 82.15), below the national average of 7.5%, whereas those with earnings above R$ 23,850.00 spent 7.9% on culture (R$ 1,443.41).

Those data come from the System of Cultural Information and Indicators (SIIC) 2007-2018, a study which, in its fourth edition, brings consolidated information from different IBGE surveys, thus innovating the construction of indicators related to the cultural sector. 

That is the case of the Culture Prices Index (IPCult), which increased 1.7% in 2018, and was below the Exended Consumer Price Index (IPCA), with an increase of 3.8%.

The publication also shows that, between 2007 and 2017, the number of organizations engaged in organizations performing activities considered of cultural nature fell from 353.2 thousand to 325.4 thousand (-27.8 thousand). The value added of the cultural sector reached R$ 226 billion in 2017.

The total amount allocated for the cultural sector increased from approximately R$ 7.1 billion, in 2011, to R$ 9.1 billion, in 2018. In that period, the three spheres of the government (federal, state and municipal) recorded negative changes in the share of culture in their expenditure).

The total amount obtained by means of the Culture Incentive Law (Rouanet Law) decreased by 2.3% (not counting inflation) between 2011 and 2018. The Southeast accounted for 77.3% of the overall obtained in 2018.

Cultural activities had 325.4 thousand organizations and 1.9 million employed persons

According to the Central Register of Enterprises, in 2007, there were 353.2 thousand formal organizations (public, private and third sectors) in cultural activities. In 2017, 325,4 thousand worked in activities considered of cultural nature, which employed 1.9 million persons, being 76.1% salaried ones (1.5 million). Total employed persons in cultural activities increased 7.2%, between 2007 and 2017, with a positive net balance of 129.9 thousand persons formally employed in culture, but had a decrease in participation (from 4.2% to 3.7%).

In 2007, the average salary paid by cultural activities was R$ 2,953,00, being 27.6% above of the average in the Register (R$ 2,314.00). In 2017, the difference fell to 23.9%, with an average salary paid by cultural activities of R$ 3,530.00, and in the Register, of R$ 2,849.00. Between 2007 and 2017, the average monthly salary changed, in real terms, by 19.5%, whereas in terms of  the Register it increased by 23.1%.

Cultural activities paid women 67.8% of men’s salary 

In 2017, in cultural activities, men (R$ 4,127.00) earned a higher monthly salary than women (who received R$ 2,798.00 or 67.8% of men’s salary). A total 32.8% of the salaried employed persons in cultural activities had a higher-education degree, whereas in term of the Central Register that percentage was 22.6%. Salaried employed persons with a higher education degree earned, on the average, R$ 6,681.00. The other salaried workers, R$ 1,994.00.

In public administration, in cultural activities, women earned, on the average, R$ 5,445.00, which represented 108.6% of men’s salary (R$ 5,015.00) in 2017. As for compensation paid by enterprises, the difference between men (R$ 4,142.00) and women (R$ 2,777.00) is reversed, and women will make 67.1% of men’s salary. 

Value added of the cultural sector hit R$ 226 billion in 2017

Structural economic surveys, which use a sample of enterprises from a smaller universe than the Central Register of Enterprises, estimated there were, in 2017, 223.4 thousand enterprises associated with the cultural sector, which employed 1.7 million persons and generated a net revenue of approximately R$ 539 billion. The value added by the sector in the year was R$ 226 billion.

Between 2007 and 2017, the participation of enterprises in value added fell from 12.2% to 10.1%. Most of the value added  of culture was generated in the activities indirectly related to culture in the case of companies in the three economic sectors. The participation of services in the value added of culture, reached 80.0%, in 2017; of trade, 10.8% and of manufacturing industry, 9.2%.

Participation of culture in the expenditure of the three spheres of government fell between 2011 and 2018

The total public expenditure from the cultural segment changed from R$ 7.1 billion in 2011 to R$ 9.1 billion in 2018. The participation of culture in the total public expenditure from the three spheres of government fell 0.07 percentage points, with a change from 0.28%, in 2011, to 0,.1% in 2018. The three spheres recorded negative changes in participation of culture in the total expenditure (from 0.08% in 2011 to 0.07% in 2018 in the federal government; from 0.42% in 2011 to 0.28% in 2018 in state governments; and from 1.12% in 2011 to 0.79% in 2018 in municipalities).

The total public expenditure allocated for the cultural sector changed from R$ 7.1 billion in 2011 to R$ 9.1 billion in 2018. The participation of expediture with culture in the total consolidaded publc expenditure of the three spheres of government fell by 0;07 percentage points, with a change from 0.28%, in 2011, to 0.21% in 2018. The three spheres represented negative changes in the participation of culture in the total expenditure (from 0.08% in 2011 to 0.07% in 2018 in the federal government; from 0.42% in 2011 to 0.28% in 2018 in the state governments; and from 1.12% in 2011 to 0.79% in 2018 in municipalities).

The decrease was bigger in the states, affecting the distribution in the three spheres: the federal government, which accounted for 19.2% of that total expenditure in 2011, with increase of participation to 21.1% in 2018, whereas state governments reduced it from 32.0% to 27.5%. The municipal governments, with 48.8% in 2011, remained as the sphere of government which most used its budget in the cultural sector, expanding its participation to 51.4% in 2018. 

Per capita expenditure changes from R$ 34.66, in 2011, to R$ 42.94 in 2018. The highlight among the Major Regions was the Central west, due to the concentration of federal expenditure in that region, mostly in the Federal District, which is the home of most federal bodies. Nevertheless, in spite of having the highest per capital expenditure, the Central West had the lowest change in the period analyzed. 

Among the three spheres of government, the Federal one remained allocating the least budget resources for the cultural sector (21.1% in 2018). In 2011, the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (Iphan) was the most representative institution in terms of expenditure on culture in the federal government. 

In 2018, the National Film Agency (ANCINE) which is responsible for funding the audiovisual sector, almost tripled its participation and was the most representative one in the federal sphere. The increase in the ANCINE budget came from the revenue of telephone companies, initiated in 2012 (Law 12,485/2011) and the subsequent increase of the Audiovisual Sector Fund, directed to the investment in this field. 

The state sphere faced biggest decrease in the participation of public expenditure on culture, with a change from 32.0%, in 2011, to 27.5%, in 2018. São Paulo, Bahia and the Federal District were the states with biggest participation between 2011 and 2018. However, all of them reduced their participation: São Paulo, from 36.0%, in 2011, to 31.6% in 2018; Bahia, from 8.6% to 6.9%; and the Federal District, from 8.2% to 7.2%. Rio de Janeiro, which had 7.0% in 2011, reduced its participation in 2018 to 5.1%. Minas Gerais and Amazonas, which represented 5.3% and 5.0%, in 2011, respectively, increased their participation to 5.8% and 5.3% in the total state sphere. 

The municipalities were most representative in the total costs of the cultural sector, wih approximately 51.4%, in 2018 (in 2011, that participation was 48.8%). The percent distribution of expenditure in the municipal sphere with culture  by Federation Unit indicated the municipalities of São Paulo as the most representative, havibg changed from 29.5% in 2011 to 29.6% in 2018. Minas Gerais faced a slight decrease, from 11.8% to 11.3%. Rio de Janeiro, which followed in 2011, with 8.9%, changed to 5.6% of the total in that spehere in 2018, losing positions for Pernambuco and Bahia. 

Fiscal incentive for cultural projects via Rouanet Law decreases by 2.3% between 2011 and 2018

In 2011, a total R$ 1.325 was obtained by cultural producers a total R$ 1,325 billion for the promotion of cultural projects, being R$ 1,225 billion via tax waiver (92.5% of the total) and R$ 99 million (7.5% of the total) effectively invested by the private sector. In 2018, the value obtained a decrease by approximately 2.3%, having fallen to R$ 1,295 billion, being R$ 1,272 billion via tax waiver (98.2%) and R$ 23 million (1.8%) effectively invested by the private sector.

The analysis of the number of projects approved shows that the Southeast, in spite of being the most representative Major Region, reduced its participation in the period, from 65.4%, in 2011, to 57.3% in 2018. The Northeast (from 8.0% to 6.8%) and Central West (from 3.8% to 2.8%) also faced a decline in the number of projects approved in the period. On the other hand, the South Region had a significant increase in projects approved, with a change from 22.1%, in 2011, to 33.4% in 2018. The North Region changed from 0.77%, in 2011, to 1.1% in 2018.

The analysis of the value obtained from cultural projects by Major Region, nevertheless, shows bigger centralization of resources, mainly in the Southeast Region, which accounted for 79.8% of the total obtained in 2011 and reduced its participation to 77.3% in 2018, because of Rio de Janeiro. The Southeast Region increased its participation from 11.4%, in 2011, to 14.9% in 2018, whereas the Northeast and the Central West faced slight decreases.

The value obtained is also unevenly distributed among the Federation Units. In 2018, the biggest proportions were in São Paulo, 46.8%, and Rio de Janeiro, 18.6%. These figures represented more than twice as the Brazilian population living in those Federation Units, 21.8% and 8.2%, respectively, in 2018.

Culture prices change 1.% in 2018 and stay below IPCA (3.8%)

The Culture Price Index (IPCult) changed 1.7% in 2018, being below the Extended National Cosnumer Price Index (IPCA), which increased 3.8%. The highest figure in the time series was recorded in 2015 (6.3%), also below the IPCA that year (10.7%).

The Culture Price Index (IPCult) is an approximate indicator to measure the cost of living related to cultural products, considering items collected in the  IPCA. It reflects the evolution, in time, of prices of a fixed basket or goods and services predominantly used for cultural purposes. 

IPCult increased, on the average, 3.5% a year, whereas the IPCA increased 5.9% between 2012 and 2018. Teaching products and activities (7.5% a year), newspapers, magazines and subscriptions (6.6%) and personal accessories (6.3%) recorded the biggest increases in the IPCult. The smallest changes between 2012 and 2018 took place in household articles (0.5%) and telephony services, subscription TV and Inernet (2.1%). Smaller price changes in the market can mean easier access to some goods and services, besides oscillations in supply and demand. 

Telephony services, TV subscription and Internet is the main group of goods and services in the index composition. Between 2012 and 2018, its weight in the product basket decreased in importance, from 42.3% to 39.0%, reflecting the smallest price changes. 

IPCult has different weighting structures by Major Region. In 2018, telephony services, TV subscription and internet had more importance in the Northeast  (43.4% of the basket) and in the Central West (45.0%), whereas personal expenses related to cultural products (CD and DVD, musical instrument, bicycles, toys and cameras) had a bigger weight in the South and Southeast of the country. 

Consumption of cultural activities reflects income inequalities 

The average expenditure on culture in 2017-2018 was R$ 282.86 (7,5% of the overall expenses), below that with other groups such as housing (R$ 1215.00), transportation (R$678.99), feeding (R$ 658.23) and health assistance (R$ 302.06). The percentage of expenditure on culture in income ranges above R$ 5,724.00 (or six minimum wages), representing 26.2% of the families was above the national average.

The Southeast Region (7.9%) had proportions above the national average (7.5%), whereas the North (6.9%) and Northeast (6,8%) recorded the smallest proportions. By state, the highest expenditure occurred in the Federal District (8.7%), followed by Rio de Janeiro (8.6%).

The group of telephony services, TV subscription and Internet has the highest individual value, both overall (R$ 169.32) and in all the classes of earnings. The other two groups of biggest relevance to the composition of average consumption expenditure are cultural activities, leisure and parties (R$ 40.63) and acquisition of household appliances (R$ 28.76). The participation in the structure of costs of these three groups represents 84.5% of the total expenditure on culture in Brazil. Purchase of household appliances, besides telephony services, subscription TV and Internet have a bigger weight for lower  income families. Expenditure on culture, leisure and parties, professional education and teaching activities (for example, language and art classes) and professional related to culture (interior designers, architects, etc.) account for a more significant part of the costs of families with higher earnings. 

Cultural sector employs 5.7% of the Brazilian workers

Persons employed in the cultural sector in 2018 represented  5.7% of the total employed persons (5.2 million persons), a percentage which is the same as in 2014. There was an increase by 2.9 percentage points in the participation of women, with a change from 47.6% in 2014 to 50.5% in 2018. In comparison with the participation in the labor market as a whole, men were always above (57.3% in 2014 and 56.3% in 2018).

Among workers in the cultural sector, White persons were the majority in all the period analyzed, although the black or brown population increased its participation in the sector. In 2018, White persons were 52.6%, whereas black or brown ones, 45.7% (a difference of 6.9 percentage points). In 2014, there were 42.3% of black or brown persons and 56.8% white ones (a difference of 14.5 percentage points). It shows that, in 2018,black or brown workers in culture were still underrepresented in comparison with the total employed population (51.3% of blacks or browns).

Although there was a decrease in relation to 2014, the biggest number of persons employed in the cultural sector were under 40 years of age in 2018 (from 59.8% to 54.9%). Considering the total employed population, that figure was 52.5%. The population aged 60 and over employed in the cultural sector increased over that in 2014, with a change from 7.9% to 10.4%, being above the overall employed population in both periods (6.6% in 2014 and 8.0% in 2018).

About one out of every four employed persons in the cultural sector had a higher education degree in 2018 (26.9%, 5.7 percentage points more than in 2014), having reached 1.4 million workers. In the overall employed population, 19.9% had a higher education degree in 2018.

Informality increases in the cultural sector between 2014 and 2018

Among culture workers, that trend to reduction of positions in the private sector with a formal contract and increase of self-employment was observed in all the Major Regions. Nevertheless, in the South Region alone, in 2018, culture employees with a formal contract encompassed a bigger percentage (43.3%) than self-employed persons (37.5%). The Northeast Region had the biggest percentage of employees in the private sector without a formal contract (16.7%) and of self-employed persons (47.5%).

Informal positions are represented by employees and employers and domestic workers without a formal employment contract, self-employed workers and auxiliary family workers. That type of employment increased considerably in the cultural sector. In 2014, 38.3% (2.0 million) cultural workers were in informal positions, whereas, in 2018, that percentage reached 45.2% (2.4 million workers).

The number of formal cultural workers recorded a decrease in the same period, but it remains bigger. In 2014, they represented 61.7% (3.2 million) of the workers in the sector and, in 2018, the percentage fell to 54.8% (2.9 million). It is observed that although the number of workers in the cultural sector has remained stable in the period, there was a replacement of formal workers for informal ones.

Workers from the cultural sector work fewer hours than the total workers in the five years analyzed. The percentage of persons working up to 14 hours a week was bigger in culture than in most sectors. Considering those who worked up to 14 hours a week, the sector presented a percentage below the total. For persons working 45 hours and over, the culture sector had a percentage below the total. There was considerable reduction in the participation of persons working 45 hour and over, both in culture (15.8% in 2014 and 8.2% in 2018), and in the total workers (19.5% in 2014 and 11.5% in 2018).

Earnings in the cultural sector fell 8.3% between 2014 and 2018 

The average usual real earnings from the main job of the population aged 14 and over and employed in cultural activities was estimated at R$ 2,391.00 in 2014 and R$ 2,193.00 in 2018, which means a decrease by 8.3%. Those figures were slightly above the earnings received by the employed population in the total productive activities, R$ 2,218,00 in 2014 and R$ 2,163.00 in 2018 (a decrease by 2.5%).

In 2018, in the cultural sector, the earnings of women amounted to R$ 1,805.00, whereas that of men was R$ 2,586.00 (a difference of R$ 781.00). In all the sectors, the earrings of women amounted to R$ 1,874.00 and that of men to R$ 2,382.00 (a difference of R$ 508.00). Women also had a bigger decrease in terms of the output of culture  (-8.0%), in comparison to men (-6.8%).

Almost 82% of the Internet users watched videos, programs, series and films on the web 

Out of the 180.4 million persons aged 10 and over in 2017, 69.8% or 125.9 million accessed the Internet at least once in the three months preceding the survey. There was an increase in comparison with 2016, when the recorded access was 64.7% or 115.6 million persons.

Sending or receiving text or voice messages or pictures by means of different email applications was the most recurrent purpose of access surveyed, adopted by 95.5% of the users in 2017, with an increment versus the 2016 figure (94.2%). In second place were voice or video calls (83.8%), watching videos, including programs, series and films (81.8%). Sending or receiving emails recorded a decrease between 2016 (69.3%) and 2017 (66.2%).

In relation to watching videos, including programs, series and films, there was bigger access for persons with a complete higher education (86.7%) and smaller access for persons without schooling or with incomplete primary education (77.4%). It was also bigger for teenagers aged 10 to 14 (88.7%) in comparison with elderly persons aged 60 and over (65.8%).

The most often used equipment for accessing the Internet was the mobile telephone, used by 97.0% (122.1 million) of the persons using the Internet in 2017. In second place was the personal computer, used by 56.6% of them, followed by television set or another type of equipment, used by 16.7% of the persons aged 10 and over who accessed the Internet. 

Despite the increase in Internet use between 2016 and 2017, there was a decrease in the access by personal computer in relative terms, from 63.7% to 56.6% of the persons who used the Internet, and, in absolute figures, from 73.8 to 71.2 million persons in the group aged 10 and over. 

Ownership of a cell phone is most frequent among women, white persons and those with a higher education degree 

In 2017, 78.2% of the persons aged 10 and over had a mobile telephone for personal use, an increase of 1.1percentage points against 2016. That percentage was bigger among women (79.5%) compared to men (76.9%). It was also more significant among white persons (82.9%) in comparison with black or brown ones (74.6%). The ownership of a mobile telephone was also higher in the population aged 30 to 59 years of age (86.0%), followed by the population aged 15 to 29 (84.1%). In the population aged 60 and over, the percentage fell to 63.5%.

The more advanced the level of schooling, the bigger the proportion of mobile phone ownership. Among persons without schooling or those with incomplete primary education in 2017, 59.8% had a mobile telephone. Considering complete primary education or incomplete high school, that percentage was 83.3% and with complete high school or above, 90%. 

Ownership of thin-screen television sets increases from 65.4% in 2016 to 74.2% in 2018, but access is still uneven 

In 2018, the ownership of any kind of television set was virtually universal, once that appliance was accessible to 97.2% of the residents of Brazilian permanent private housing units. Considering thin-screen TVs, that proportion was smaller (74.2%), although there was an increase versus 2016, when that was accessible to 65.5% of the population. That figure means 20.3 million persons more having access to that good, an increase by 8.7 percentage points. 

In 2018, the percentage of men (73.4%) was below that of women (74.9%), in housing units with a thin-screen tv set. The percentage of white residents with that type of television was 81.6%, way above that of black or brown residents (68.4%).

The biggest percentages of residents with a thin-screen tv set are among persons with a higher level of schooling. Among persons without schooling or with incomplete primary education, 63.8% had a thin-screen television, whereas considering those with complete primary education or incomplete high school that percentage was 73.1%, with complete high school or incomplete higher education, 83.4% and with complete higher education, 94.0%.

Potential access to cultural facilities and means of communication reveals inequalities 

Traditional facilities such as libraries, museums, theaters, radio stations and cinemas increased in terms of existence in municipalities up to 2014, with a decrease in 2018. In spite of that decrease, the figures found in 2018 were similar or above those in the start of the series in 1999, collected by the Survey of Basic Municipal Information (MUNIC).

Bookshops were present in 42.7% of the municipalities in 2001, falling to 17.7% of them in 2018. Video rental shops recorded their biggest participation in 2006 (82.0% of the municipalities) and hit a historical low in 2018 (23.0%). Record, tapes, CD and DVD shops followed the same trend. 

In 2018, 32.2% of the population lived in municipalities without a museum, 30.9% without a theater or concert hall, 39.9% without a movie theater, 18.8% without a local AM or FM radio station, 14.8%, without an Internet provider. That analysis was based on the combination of data from MUNIC, which, considering information provided by city governments, investigates the presence or absence of cultural equipment and means of communication in municipalities, and from Continuous PNAD, which collects characteristics of residents in private housing units in more than 3 thousand municipalities.  

As for museums, the proportion is bigger for men (33.0%) versus women (31.4%), for the black or brown population (37.5%) versus the white ones (25.4%) and has its highest figures for children and teenagers up to 14 years of age (35.9%) compared to other age groups. Persons without schooling or with incomplete primary education had most constraints in this respect (40.3%).

In 2018, 14.8% of the population lived in municipalities without an Internet provider, according to city government reports. That disadvantage is most significant for vulnerable groups: black or brown population (15.3%), children (15.6%) and persons without schooling or with incomplete primary education (17.7%). Among the Federation Units, the biggest proportions of the population in municipalities without an Internet provider were in Piauí (51.3%) and Tocantins (42.3%).

Potential access to cultural facilities is smaller for children and teenagers 

The access of children and teenagers to cultural facilities is particularly important. As for museums, studies show that the access to that cultural facility during childhood helps raise interest in it in other phases of life, once museums are places for the transmission of culture, familiarization with the sciences, for education, entertainment and so on.  

In the case of museums, the smallest proportions of children and teenagers up to 14 years of age with potential access in 2018 were in Maranhão (23.6%) and in Tocantins (36.7%); the biggest proportions, in the Federal District (100.0%), São Paulo (85.0%) and in Rio Grande do Sul (82.8%). As for theater or concert halls, the worst conditions for children and teenagers were found in Maranhão (30.8% with potential access) and Mato Grosso (32.9%). There was no potential constraint in the Federal District (100.0%) and it was relatively small in Rio de Janeiro (91.2%). Maranhão (19.6% with potential access) and Tocantins (30.0%) had the highest levels of scarcity of movie theaters; the Federal District (100.0%) and São Paulo (79.1%), the lowest.