- Nordeste (socio-geographic division)
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Map of the Socio-Geographic Region of the Northeast
The socio-geographic division of Nordeste (Portuguese pronunciation: [nɔhˈdɛʃti], Northeast) is the oldest populated by Europeans (also with the oldest fossils that suggests human presence in Brazil) and currently the second most populous area of Brazil (42,822,100 in 1990). Its area is approximately 1,542,271 km², made up of the official Northeast Region, minus the western half of Maranhão, but including the north of Minas Gerais - the Jequitinhonha Valley.
A major part of its territory is made of an extensive plateau, old and flattened by erosion. Due to different physical characteristics, the region can be divided into four sub-regions: meio-norte, zona da mata, agreste and sertão. In the Socio-Geographic division of Brazil, parts of meio-norte are considered Amazônia Legal and not Nordeste.
Doing a rough average, it can say that nearly half of the population is Pardo (mixed-race), 20% are African Brazilians, 5% are Amerindians and 25% are whites of Portuguese descent mainly, but also Spanish, Syrian-Lebanese, Dutch, French and Swiss as well people from other parts of Brazil with other European, and Asian, ancestries. In Northeastern Brazil, unlike in Amazônia Legal, mulattoes and not mestizos or caboclos, are the dominant among Pardo population (nevertheless most people have large African and Amerindian contribution to their ancestries, including white people, like in other parts of Brazil). So there is a strong African culture and influence.
See also
Categories:- Subdivisions of Brazil
- Geography of Brazil
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