Brazilian Street Children Brazil is a country of 176 million. It is a highly stratified society resulting from colonialism and slavery. The relatively high GPD per capita (U.S. $2,593 in 2002) masks deep inequality because Brazil has a highly skewed income distribution, which is among the world s worst. Poverty is most pervasive in the lowest levels in the rural parts of the Northeast, but there are also pockets of urban poverty in the largest cities in the developed regions in the Southeast and South. The number of people who live below the national poverty line was estimated in 2001 to be about 17% of the country s total population.
Twenty-two percent of the population survives on less than U.S. $2 a day. Due to the high unemployment levels and widespread informal economic activity, the lowest strata continue to be excluded from full participation in markets and full access to government services (Hudson, 1997; Human Development Reports, 2004).
Moreover, as a result of the acceptance of interracial unions, Brazilians form one of the most heterogeneous populations in the world, constituting a tri-hybrid population with European, African, and Amerindian (i.e., South American Indian) roots. Based on self-declared ethnicity, in 1991, Brazilians were 55.3% White, 39.3% mixed-race (pardos), 4.9% Black, and 0.6% Asian (Parra, Amando, Lambertucci, Roca, Antunes, & Pena, 2003).
Regarding youth and their education, in Brazil, 28.3% of the population is below age 15. If compared with developed countries, Brazil has a relatively young population. There are 32 million children and adolescents who live in families with incomes of less than U.S.
The Essay on Population Growth in Developing Countries
Perceiving that a local reporter needs help in understanding the conditions of people in developing countries who live in places where the land can neither provide for the immediate needs of the people nor their secondary needs, different options are provided for them to enhance their lifestyle and living conditions. For the purpose of this study, there will be five available options for the ...
$40 a month. The widespread poverty creates a breeding-ground for social ills like malnutrition, abuse, maltreatment, and violence against children (Soca, 2004).
Primary school is free and compulsory for children between the ages of 7 and 14, but high drop-out rates and grade repetition are endemic problems. In 1990, school enrollment reached about 90% of school-age children, although there was wide variation, with lower coverage among rural and low-income populations. However, only about one third of students enrolled in primary school finish eight years of mandatory schooling. Students in Brazilian public school receive an average of four hours of class time per day (Hudson, 1997; Human Development Reports, 2004).
Public access to medical care increased after Brazil’s constitution of 1988 granted all Brazilian citizens the right to procure free medical assistance. The management and organization of health services was decentralized from the federal to the state and, especially, municipal level.
Although the public domain oversees basic and preventive health care, the private nonprofit and for-profit health care sector delivers the bulk of medical services, including government reimbursement and subsidized inpatien.
