1
Investigating Population Health in Brazil: 1990-2010
Student
Institution
Instructor
Course
Date
2
Investigating Population Health in Brazil: 1990-2010
Introduction
This report aims to identify population health patterns in Brazil in terms of place, time,
and macro-level factors from 1990 to 2010. They are per capita gross domestic product, Gini
inequality, extreme poverty, gender ratio in mean years of schooling, literacy, child mortality, life
expectancy, stunted children under five years, long-term female unemployment, corruption
perception index, and the human development index (HDI). The details are derived from various
sources such as the World Health Organization, the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, the
World Bank, Our World in Data, and Gapminder.
Per Capita GDP & Gini Coefficient
Brazil experienced a lot of economic growth from 1990 to 2010. The gross domestic
product per capita was about $2,900 in 1990 and $10,600 in 2010 (World Bank, 2024). There
were also fluctuations in income inequality by the Gini coefficient, which fluctuated around 0.6
in the early 1990s, rising to 0.63 in 1993 before declining to 0.54 by 2010 (Our World in Data,
2024). Some of the factors include social policies such as Bolsa Família- a cash transfer program
for low-income families, and economic stabilization policies like the Real Plan in 1994 that
control hyperinflation, among others (World Bank, 2024).
Extreme Poverty
While looking at the Brazil country case, extreme poverty is defined as the proportion of
the population living on less than $1.90 per day, which has reduced significantly from 23% in
1990 to 6% in 2010 (World Bank, 2024). This was made possible through social welfare as well
as economic stabilization measures. The Bolsa Família conditional cash transfer program has
been in existence since 2003 and has helped lift millions out of extreme poverty (Barreto et al.,
3
2020). This program helped improve the standard of living of the disadvantaged members of the
population of Brazil. Overall, these interventions demonstrate the value of specific social policies
in combating poverty.
Gender Ratio of Mean Years in School
Gender disparity in mean years of schooling in Brazil rose from 1990 to 2010. The
median years of schooling in 1990 for male and female students were 6 and 5, respectively. This
had risen to 8.2 years for males and 8.0 years for females, indicating that the gender gap in
education had been reduced by 2010 (World Bank, 2024). Policies formulated by the various
governments to improve education for girls and women have also contributed to this
improvement.
Literacy Rate for Youth Males & Females
According to the analysis, youth literacy in the region has been rising from 1990 to 2010.
For total youth and young men, the literacy rate was as follows: 86% of male youths in the age of
15-24 years and female youths 84% for the same age bracket in the year 1990. Both rates have
been gradually increasing, and by 2010, they had risen to nearly 98% (Our World in Data, 2024).
This has been accorded to educational reforms together with the enhancement of funds in the
education sub-sector, which has democratized schooling and quality education for the youths in
all the regions.
Child Mortality
The under-five mortality rate in Brazil, that is, the probability of a child dying before
reaching the age of five years per 1000 live births, also reduced from 58 in 1990 to 20 in 2010
(Machado et al., 2020). A reduction in this mortality rate was attributed to the provision of
improved healthcare services that led to appropriate care and treatment of the young ones.
4
Vaccination campaigns continued to show a reduction in affective killer diseases amongst kids,
and better still, maternal health upped the quality of births (GBD, 2020). Both of these initiatives
show great improvements towards the overall theme of decreased child mortality in Brazil in this
timeframe.
Life Expectancy for Males & Females
Over the period between 1990 and 2010, male and female life expectancy in Brazil also
rose. Males were estimated to live 62 years and females 70 years upon birth in the year 1990.
This had increased to 71 years for males and 78 years for females by the year 2010 (World Bank,
2024). This was due to various causes, some of which are enhancements in the accessibility of
health care and offering superior curative and precautionary treatments. A decrease in child
morbidity and specific causes like vaccine-preventable diseases, malnutrition, and malaria also
contributed to this since many children began to live beyond infancy and childhood. Also,
improvement in infections and contagious disease incidences by way of vaccine drives and
public health measures also enhanced life expectancy generally (Machado et al., 2020). These
associations demonstrate how much progress was achieved during the course of the past three
decades in changing the shape of Brazil and increasing its population’s health expectancies.
Underweight Children
The childhood underweight population has declined somewhat in the past few decades,
especially in Brazil, where the index reduced from 14% in 1990 to 2% in 2010 (GBD, 2020).
Several factors can be regarded as the causes of this positive trend. Increased food quality was
essential in the families, as was quality diet education. Also, access to health care was enhanced
to provide such a service to as many children as possible, particularly those requiring medical
attention or preventive checkups. Other objectives related to social programs that helped to
5
enhance the outcome of child health were also important factors, especially for vulnerable
groups. These combined efforts of targeted activities demonstrate how child malnutrition can be
prevented and reduced among children. In general, it can be concluded that the reduced
proportion of underweight children indicates significant improvements in child health and
nutrition in Brazil during this period.
Long-Term Female Unemployment
Long-term female unemployment, which is the share of unemployed females seeking
employment for in excess of one year, remained an issue in Brazil in the period 1990 – 2010. In
1990, this rate was approximately 5%, and by the year 2010, it had reduced to approximately 4%
(World Bank, 2024). Although there were signs of overall economic progression during this
period, problems in the structures of the labour market persisted and negatively impacted long-
term female employment prospects. Such persistent problems demonstrate the presence of
gender inequalities and the necessity to implement relevant policies. Unfortunately, economic
growth by itself was not enough to address these fundamental problems.
Corruption Perception Index
Between 1996 and 2010, Brazil saw a minor improvement in the Corruption Perception
Index (CPI), which measures corruption in the public sector. In 1996, the coefficient was 3.4 out
of 10, 0 being a very high level of corruption and 10 a very low level of corruption. The score
slightly rose to 3.7 by the year 2010, which meant a slight improvement in the perception of
corruption (Transparency International, 2024). This is a positive shift, meaning that there has
been some improvement in combating corruption, most probably by expanding and modifying
the programs. Nonetheless, the consistently low score suggests that the fight against public sector
corruption will continue to be an enduring problem for Brazil.
6
Human Development Index (HDI)
According to the Human Development Index (HDI), which captures life expectancy,
education and income, Brazil has dramatically improved its standards from 1990 to 2010. HDI
for Brazil in 1990 was 0.611, which refers to moderate human development, and increased to
0.724 in 2010 (UNDP, 2024). This improvement has been attributed to increased longevity due
to improved healthcare, reduced under-five mortality, and increased education as average years
of schooling for both males and females improved. Also, general income rises due to economic
development and social security measures have positively impacted this trend, thus
demonstrating Brazil's improvement in life for its people.
Historic Events Influencing Indicators
When exploring the mortality and morbidity shifts in Brazil over the 1990–2010 period,
critical historical considerations have to be made. The Plan Real in 1994 was successful in
stopping hyperinflation, gradually restoring and setting the right precedents for a better economy.
The fact that these poor families may become eligible for conditional cash transfers since Bolsa
Família began in 2003 contributed to the effective socialization of the poor families, and in
addition, it improved the health and education indicators. Also, the expansion of the Unified
Health System increased the population's demands for health care and services, thus reducing
children's mortality rate and increasing life expectancy. These concerted actions played a role in
enhancing the population health in Brazil during the period in question.
Conclusion
From 1990 to 2010, there was one systematic improvement of Brazil's essential health
status indicators, the economic and social context, and health care. However, such problems as
the income structure gap or the long-term unemployment of women remained, which indicated
7
the need for further action. It emphasizes the necessity of the complex approach as the key to
creating an efficient and sustainable economic, social and health agenda. More studies must
address these issues and improve the quality of human beings in society.
8
References
Barreto, M. L., et al. (2020). Monitoring the progress of health-related sustainable development
goals (SDGs) in Brazilian states using the Global Burden of Disease indicators.
Population health metrics, 18, 1-14.
Machado, D. B., Pescarini, J. M., Ramos, D., Teixeira, R., Lozano, R., Pereira, V. O. D. M., &
Barreto, M. L. (2020). Monitoring the progress of health-related sustainable development
goals (SDGs) in Brazilian states using the Global Burden of Disease indicators.
Population health metrics, 18, 1-14.
Our World in Data. (2024). Economic and health data for Brazil. Retrieved from
https://ourworldindata.org/
Transparency International. (2024). Corruption Perception Index. Retrieved from
https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2024
UNDP. (2024). Human Development Report. Retrieved from
http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-index-hdi
World Bank. (2024). Data for Brazil. Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator?tab=all
