Brazil is a very large country in south America with an increasing population distributed within it.
The Amazon river flows across the north of Brazil and the Amazon basin surrounds the river. On average, less than one person per square kilometre lives there because of the location. It is inaccessible, surrounded by land for thousands of miles. Transport through the tropical rainforest is difficult especially in the very hot, wet and humid conditions. The basin comprises dense tropical vegetation and has poor mineral resources. The land can not be farmed and the tropical climate is too humid to be populated. .
Along the actual river itself there is a slightly higher population, with between 1 to 10 people per square kilometre. This is because the river is good for transport along it and to the coast. It makes the area more accessible for trade and industry, encouraging development. Manaus is the only main area of population along the river. It was originally the centre of the rubber collecting industry, an important means of trade in the Amazon basin, and has now become the largest river port along the Amazon. There is a fresh water source and the soil has a greater mineral content and is therefore more fertile along the river. .
The main part of central Brazil has population density of under 0.5 people per square kilometre and the east side nearest the coast has 0.5 to 4.9 people per square kilometre. It is also very remote and underdeveloped. Recently, roads have been introduced to help increase accessibility between main cities and across the country, but the journey is long, hot and humid with thousands of miles of open stretches of land. Many contributories to the Amazon flow down through the highlands of scrub and vegetation. The temperature range is more extreme as land heats up and cool down faster.
The east and south coast of Brazil has a population density of 5 to 50 people per square kilometre and 50 to 100 people per square kilometre around the cities of Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Porto Alegre, Vitoria and Recife as shown in figure 1.