Men are the majority (50.9%) among people responsible for domestic units in Brazil, with a total of 37 million, but the number of women, however, is very close (49.1%) and totaled 36 million.
As the 2022 Demographic Census: Household composition and reported deaths research showed, the data indicate an important change compared to 2010, when the percentage of responsible men (61.3%) was significantly higher than that of women (38.7%) .
Also according to the research – released in Rio de Janeiro this Friday (25) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) – the percentage of women in this condition exceeds 50% in 10 states. In Pernambuco, it was 53.9%, followed by Sergipe 53.1%, Maranhão 53.0%, Amapá 52.9%, Ceará 52.6%, Rio de Janeiro 52.3%, Alagoas and Paraíba 51.7 %, Bahia 51.0% and Piauí 50.4%.
According to the 2022 Census, there were around 72 million 522 thousand 372 domestic units in Brazil. The number is 15 million more than that recorded in 2010, when there were 57 million. The average number of residents was 2.8 people. This result is lower than in 2000 (3.7 people) and in 2010 (3.3). Among domestic units, around 72.3% have up to three residents and 28.7% have two residents.
The researcher, manager of Studies and Analysis of Demographic Dynamics at the IBGE Population and Social Indicators Coordination, Marcio Mitsuo Minamiguchi, explained, in the presentation of the research, that the name responsible person is given to whoever is indicated by residents as such.
“In general, the interviewee defines himself as this person. In older censuses there was the category of chief, today it no longer exists, so comparisons in relation to chiefs in the past do not fit here”, he said.
The domestic unit, according to the manager, is the name given to the group of people who live in a private home whose constitution is based on arrangements made by the person, individually or in groups, to guarantee food and other essential goods for themselves. its existence.
“Its formation occurs through a kinship relationship or coexistence with the person responsible, in the case of each private household we have a domestic unit. The term domestic unit serves to differentiate the issue, specific domicile, which refers a lot to the characteristics of housing, while the domestic unit is more about the composition and relationship of the people who live in the place”, he added, highlighting that collective domiciles are outside the domestic unit assessment.
“Collective homes follow different rules, such as prisons, penitentiaries, convents, hotels and hospitals. They are different relationships”, he assessed.
The research showed that also in 2022, more than half (57.5%) of the domestic units were made up of a responsible person and a spouse or partner of a different sex. The result represents a decline compared to the 2010 Census. At that time, it was 65.3%.
Same sex
Another change indicated in the research is that of domestic units made up of a responsible person and a spouse or partner of the same sex, which reached 0.54% of the total. Even though the percentage is small, the growth was relevant compared to 2010, when it was 0.10%. In this type of household, the number rose from 59,957 in 2010 to 391,080 in 2022.
The Federal District is where the highest proportions of domestic units with a responsible person in a same-sex union were noted (0.76%). Next were Rio de Janeiro (0.73%) and São Paulo (0.67%). The lowest were in Piauí (0.25%), Maranhão (0.30%) and Tocantins (0.31%).
Color/race
For the first time, in 2022, a Census showed, among those responsible for domestic units, that the proportion of mixed race people (43.8%) exceeded that of white people (43.5%). In 2010, the proportion of brown people was 40.0% and that of white people was 49.4%.
“The profile of the person responsible closely follows the changes observed in the total population in the last two censuses, when we also observed an increase in the brown and black population in relation to the previous census. This is also represented here in the profile of the person responsible for the household. For the first time, it is observed that brown people surpass white people in the number of people responsible for households in Brazil”, he stated.
“The profile of the person responsible is older compared to 2010, he is more black and brown, more feminine and in relation to children, the number has decreased”, he summarized.
The researcher also reported that sole proprietorships grew. “There are people who don’t actually get married. There are these trends that exist both as behavioral changes in the formation of families and on the other side that families tend to diminish with separation, widowhood, children leaving home. All of this contributes to changes in the proportions of sole proprietorships”, he argued.
When comparing the 2010 Census to the 2022 Census, the proportion of domestic units with a responsible person, spouse and child of both fell from 41.3% to 30.7%. In the proportion of units with a guardian, spouse and child of one of them, the difference is smaller, from 8.0% to 7.2%. In contrast, the proportion of couples without children grew from 16.1% in 2010 to 20.2% in 2022.
Another information from the survey is that – among those residing in domestic units – 3.9% were grandchildren, a lower share than in 2010, when it was 4.7%. However, it remains greater than that of other relatives or cohabitants. “This is also an indication of more multigenerational families, with more generations living together”, he analyzed.
The proportion of children of the guardian and spouse fell from 25.0% in 2010 to 19.1% in 2022, but there was an increase in the proportion of children of the guardian only. It was 10.9% and remained at 11.6% in the same period.
In 2022, the most common among the four types of domestic units was nuclear (64.1%). Following were single-person (18.9%), extended (15.4%) and compound (1.5%). In 2010, these percentages were 66.3%, 12.2%, 19.1% and 2.5%, respectively.
The only type of domestic unit that increased its participation – since the last Census – was the Unipessoal, which went from 12.2% to 18.9%. Growth was demonstrated across all age groups.
The highest concentrations of elderly people, over 60 years of age, responsible for domestic units, were concentrated in single-person units (28.7%) and extended units (21.7%). Nuclear domestic units predominate in all age groups (64.1%), mainly with guardians up to 17 years old (70.0%) and 25 to 39 years old (75.8%). In IBGE’s view, this possibly occurs because they begin to form their own families.
Extended units are those that include other relatives, grandchildren and nephews. In those who have stepchildren, stepmothers and stepfathers are nuclear.
States
Rio de Janeiro is the state where there were the highest proportions of single-person domestic units (23.4%), ahead of Rio Grande do Sul (22.3%) and Espírito Santo (20.6%).
Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul were also the oldest states. The lowest proportions of single-person domestic units were in Amapá (12.0%), Amazonas (13.0%) and Pará (13.5%). These states are also among the youngest in the country.
Composition
For IBGE, the composition takes into account the condition of the household with the relationship of kinship or coexistence between the residents and the person responsible.
“The analysis of household composition includes characterizing the person responsible for the household according to age, color or race, as well as the presence of a spouse and child(ren). A classification of domestic units into species was developed. In this way, it is possible to know the profile of domestic units according to size and composition”, informed the IBGE.
