IBGE
IBGE analyzes Brazilian territory considering Hydrographic Macroregions
December 08, 2025 10h00 AM | Last Updated: December 10, 2025 02h17 AM
Highlights
- Disaggregation by Hydrographic Macroregion: IBGE organizes environmental and population data based on the 12 Hydrographic Macroregions, gathering physical, biotic, and resident population information.
- Population distribution: The Hydrographic Macroregions of Paraná and Southeast Atlantic concentrate almost half of Brazil's population, while larger macroregions, such as the Amazon and Tocantins-Araguaia, have lower population density.
- Land use: Between 2000 and 2020, there was an increase in agricultural areas, pastures, and forestry over natural vegetation areas, with the biggest change in the Amazon and Tocantins-Araguaia macroregions.
- Susceptibility to landslides: The change in relief and geological structure is associated with differences in susceptibility, with higher proportions in the Southeast Atlantic and South Atlantic macroregions.
Ecosystem diversity and territorial changes reveal challenges for environmental management
Brazil's physiographic diversity, which reflects a variety of rocks, reliefs, soils, and vegetation, also greatly influences human settlement, as well as land use.
Each Hydrographic Macroregion presents a unique combination of structural provinces, types of relief, soils, and vegetation. In the Amazon region, for example, Plateaus (35.69%) and Depressions (28.71%) predominate, with Argisols (40.21%) and Dense Ombrophilous Forests (44.51%).
In the Paraná Hydrographic Macroregion, under the eponymous province, Plateaus (68.98%) and Oxisols (52.91%) stand out, covered by Savannas (35.25%) and Semi-deciduous Seasonal Forests (27.05%).
In Southeastern Atlantic, mountains (33.45%) and steep slopes support Seasonal Semideciduous Forests (51.56%) and Dense Ombrophilous Forests (32.60%).
This Hydrographic Macroregion is where the areas most susceptible to landslides are concentrated, totaling 61.51% of the territory in the Very High class, mainly due to the predominance of mountainous relief. This aspect is also observed to a lesser extent in the Southern Atlantic (18.35%) and Eastern Atlantic (15.56%).
Considering the same aspect, the Paraguay, Parnaíba, and São Francisco Hydrographic Macroregions show low susceptibility, associated with flatter relief forms, with 47.94%, 45.77%, and 43.30%, respectively, of their lands classified in the Very Low class.
Regarding territorial dynamics, between the years 2000 and 2020, all Hydrographic Macroregions were subject to changes in coverage and land use due to human activities, with an expansion of areas considered anthropized over those considered natural forested areas and natural non-forested areas.
In proportional terms, the biggest increase in anthropized areas occurred in the Amazon Hydrographic Macroregion, which went from 264,896 km² in 2000 to 478,882 km² in 2020, representing an increase of 80.78%. The smallest increase occurred in the Southeast Atlantic (1.61%), with its anthropized areas increasing from 164,964 km² to 167,627 km².
The main losses, in proportional terms, of natural forest and non-forest areas occurred, respectively, in the Tocantins-Araguaia and Paraná Hydrographic Macroregions. In the former, the reduction was 28.67% (78,027 km²), while in the latter it was 27.75% (22,607 km²).
"This integrated understanding of information is essential to reinforce the importance of considering the diversity of Brazilian ecosystems, both for territorial planning and for water resources management and environmental risk assessment. The information gathered by IBGE provides valuable technical support for environmental policies and for strengthening environmental accounting and statistics in Brazil," concludes Ivone.
Besides statistical data, users can also search and download Hydrographic Macroregions on the Geographic Chart page and on the Interactive Geographic Platform (PGI).
