Brazil is getting older: some lessons from the Bambuí Health and Aging Study

The difference in Brazil’s age structure between 1980 and 2000 is very impressive, as shown in Figure 1. To demonstrate the process of aging that has taken place in this country, the proportion of the population aged over 60 years has increased from 6.1% to 8.6%. In 1980, no Brazilian State had more than 10% of its population in this age stratum. In 2000, the States of Rio de Janeiro (10.7%) and Rio Grande do Sul (10.5%) reached this level. The cities of Rio de Janeiro (12.7%) and Porto Alegre (11.8%) are the state capitals with the greatest numbers of elderly people. The proportion of the Brazilian population aged over 80 years in 2000 (1.1%) was twice what it was in 1980 (0.5%).