• Highlights

• In 2025, Brazil had 79.3 million permanent private housing units, an increase of 18.9% compared to 2016.
• The number of rented housing units grew the most between 2016 and 2025, 54.1%, while the number of owned housing units still paying increased by 31.2% and the number of paid owned housing units increased by 7.2%.
• Tile without concrete slab was the predominant material, with 48.9% (38.8 million) of housing units; and, on the walls, masonry/rammed earth with coating reached 89.7%.
• Access to the general water supply network was present in 86.1% of the Brazilian housing units.
• In rural areas, only 8.9% of housing units had sewage drainage via the general network.
• The burning on the property was the destination for garbage in 4.8 million homes in Brazil.
• Among the goods surveyed, washing machine stood out with a continuous increase in the housing units.
• From 2012 to 2025, the share of the population under 30 years of age changed from 49.9% to 41.4%. There was also a 10.4% reduction in its contingent, from 98.2 million to 88.0 million people.
• On the other hand, the population over 60 years of age grew from 11.3% in 2012 to 16.6% in 2025, showing a trend of population aging.
• From 2012 to 2025, the percentage of the population that declared themselves to be of white color or race fell by 3.8 p.p., going from 46.4% in 2012 to 42.6% in 2025. In the Southeast (48.9%), the percentage was below 50.0%.
• The participation of the population of black color or race grew from 7.4% in 2012 to 10.4% in 2025.
• Single-person domestic units, that is, those made up of just one resident, increased from 12.2% to 19.7%, an increase of 7.5 p.p (8.2 million more housing units).
• In 2025, 56.6% of men in single-person arrangements were aged between 30 to 59 years, and, among women, 56.5% were aged 60 years or over.

In 2025, the number of permanent private housing units increased by 18.9%, from 66.7 million to 79.3 million, compared to 2016. During this period, the number of rented homes grew the most, 54.1%, from 12.2 million to 18.9 million. Owned housing units still paying increased by 31.2%, while those already paid increased by 7.3%. The information is from Continuous PNAD: Characteristics of housing units and residents, released today (17) by the IBGE.

The increase in rented housing units was one of the highlights, according to the survey analyst, William Kratochwill. "It was an increase of 5.4 percentage points compared to 2016. Almost a quarter of Brazilian housing units are rented, while the rate of owned housing units still paying has not changed much over time; from 6.2 in 2016 to 6.8 in 2025. On the other hand, owned housing units that are already paid for have been decreasing and reached 60.2%. It is a reduction of 6.6 percentage points compared to 2016".

Among the permanent private housing units in Brazil, 82.7% (65.6 million) were houses, while apartments added up to 17.1% (13.6 million) last year. However, from 2016 to 2025, the number of apartments grew by 48.7%, while the number of houses increased by 14.2%.

The majority of homes are tiled without a concrete slab

Of the total number of housing units in Brazil, 48.9% (38.8 million) had tiles without a concrete slab as the predominant roofing material in 2025. Next, the predominant material was tiles with concrete slabs, with 32.7% (25.9 million). Housing units with only concrete slabs were 15.6% (12.4 million), and 2.7% (2.2 million) used another type of material. The Southeast Region was the only one that recorded a percentage of housing units with a predominance of tile roofs with a concrete slab (49.1%), higher than those with tiles without a concrete slab (25.8%). In other regions, tile roofing without a concrete slab was predominant.

Housing units with masonry/rammed earth walls with cladding increased by 3.0% in one year

Masonry/rammed earth with cladding was the predominant material in the walls of permanent private homes in 2025, reaching 89.7%. The increase was 2.1 million homes with this material, which corresponds to an increase of 3.0% compared to the previous year. The growth was proportionally greater than the increase in the number of housing units in Brazil (2.6%).

"It's a number that shows the economic evolution of the regions. The North has stood out, with an increase of 10.0 percentage points, reaching 71.5% of homes with this type of wall," comments the survey analyst.

Proportion of homes with cement floors decreases in all Major Regions

In 2025, 82.9% (65.7 million) of permanent private homes had ceramic, tile or stone floors. The increase was 28.7% compared to 2016, when 51.1 million homes had this type of flooring, equivalent to 76.6% of the total. The second material that predominated in floors last year was cement, with 10.9% (8.6 million), followed by wood suitable for construction, 5.7% (4.5 million). In comparison with 2016, all the Major Regions showed a reduction in the proportion of households with cement floors and an increase in the proportion of those with ceramic, tile or stone floors.

Three in every 10 rural housing units have a general water supply network

Of the permanent private housing units in 2025, 86.1% (68.3 million) had access to the general water supply network, ranging from 60.9% in the North to 92.4% in the Southeast.

“The Southeast Region maintained the same proportion between 2016 and 2025. This constant number means that the growth of housing units in the region has been accompanied by an equal proportion of expansion of the general supply network. When this percentage increases, it means that the expansion of the supply network is greater than the expansion in the number of households,” explains Kratochwill.

The percentage of housing units with a general water supply network was higher in urban areas, at 93.1%, while in rural areas this percentage was 31.7%.

Only 8.9% of rural housing units are connected to the general sewage network

From 2019 to 2025, the proportion of permanent private homes with sewage access through a collection network increased from 68.1% to 71.4%. On the other hand, 98.4% of the housing units had a bathroom for exclusive use last year, compared to 97.7% in 2019. In urban areas, 99.5% of the housing units had a bathroom for exclusive use in 2025, and, in 79.3%, the drainage was via a general network. In rural areas, the proportion was 90.3% of the housing units with exclusive bathrooms and, in only 8.9% of them, sewage flow was via the general network. Regional differences were accentuated in relation to housing units with access to the general sewage network: North, 30.6%; Northeast, 52.4%; Central-West, 66.9%; South, 71.6%; and Southeast reaching 90.7%.

Nearly 5 million housing units still use burning as their garbage destination

Direct collection by cleaning services was the destination of garbage in 86.9% of the permanent private housing units in Brazil in 2025. The modality was the main one in all the Major Regions, varying from 79.3% in the Northeast to 91.1% in the Southeast. Burning on the property was the destination of garbage in 4.8 million housing units in Brazil, 3.6 million of which in the North and Northeast. Both regions fell compared to the 2016 percentages: North, from 18.6% to 14.5%, and Northeast, from 17.2% to 13.0%. In the Brazilian rural areas, 50.2% of the housing units had burning on the property as the destination for their garbage, followed by direct collection by cleaning services (32.4%) and collection in dumpsters by cleaning services (12.6%). In urban areas, the main destination for garbage was direct collection by cleaning services, in 94.0% of the housing units.

Almost all housing units have access to electricity

99.8% of housing units had access to electricity in 2025, whether from the general network or an alternative source. The proportion has been maintained since 2019. All the Major Regions recorded a high percentage last year: 99.4%, in the North; 99.8%, in the Northeast; and 99.9%, in the Southeast, South and Central-West regions. According to the housing unit status, the difference is also small: urban areas, with 99.9% of the housing units, and rural areas reaching 99.3%. However, considering access to electricity only through the general network, the rural area of ​​the North Region had the lowest percentage, with 84.9%.

Housing units in two Major Regions have more motorcycles than cars

Among the goods surveyed, the refrigerator was the most present in the housing units. In 2025, 98.4% of them owned the appliance. On the other hand, the washing machine was present in 72.1% of the housing units. According to Kratochwill, the continuous increase in houses with a washing machine is one of the highlights of the survey. "Housing units that now have a washing machine increased by 9.1 percentage points in Brazil. It went from 63.0% of the housing units in 2016 to 72.1% in 2025. Among the Major Regions, the North Region strongly stood out, by going from 41.0% to 60.0%, an expansion of 19 percentage points, and the Central-West Region, which had an increase of 16.6 percentage points, reaching 83.5% in 2025."

The survey also found that 49.1% of the housing units had a car, 26.2% a motorcycle, and 13.5% both. Among the Major Regions, the South registered the highest percentage of car ownership (68.3%). Houses in the Northeast and North owned more motorcycles (39.5% and 34.5%) than cars (31.0% and 30.0%). In contrast, the Southeast was the Major Region that recorded the lowest proportion of housing units with motorcycles (20.1%).

Number of people under 30 years of age falls 10.4% since 2012

The Brazilian population grew 0.4% between 2024 and 2025, reaching 212.7 million people. Since 2013, there has been a slowdown in the annual growth in the number of inhabitants in Brazil: it remained at 0.8% from 2013 to 2015, fluctuated between 0.7% and 0.6% from 2016 to 2020, and has remained at 0.4% since 2021.

The distribution of the population by age groups shows a tendency towards population aging. In 2012, people under 30 years of age were 49.9%, changing to 41.4% in 2025. On the other hand, the population aged 30 years or over grew in the period 2012-2023, going from 50.1% to 58.6%.

“The population under 30 years of age suffered not only a reduction in participation in the total, but also a reduction of 10.4% in its contingent, going from 98.2 million to 88.0 million people. When considering the population aged 0 to 39 years, the drop was 6.1% compared to 2012,” highlights Kratochwill.

The share of people aged 60 years or over represented 16.6% of the population in 2025, compared to the estimate of 11.3% in 2012. Among the elderly, the expansion in the participation of people aged 65 years and over stands out, reaching 11.6% of the total population in 2025.

The North Region had a greater population concentration in younger groups, with 41.5% of its population under 24 years of age in 2025. On the other hand, the Southeast and South recorded the lowest percentages of population in this range, with 31.1% and 31.6%, respectively, and the national average stayed at 33.7%. The share of the population under 18 years of age in relation to the total population decreased in all Major Regions in the period from 2012 to 2025.

In turn, the highest concentrations of the population aged 60 years or over occurred in the Southeast and South, both with 18.1%, while the lowest one was observed in the North Region (11.3%). The participation of the elderly population grew in all Major Regions compared to 2012.

Male population is younger than female population

In 2025, women accounted for 51.2% of the Brazilian population, while men accounted for 48.8%. In all Major Regions, there are more women than men: Northeast (51.7%) and Southeast (51.3%) had higher proportions of women, followed by the Central-West (50.7%), South (50.9%) and North (50.6%).

Male population shows a younger pattern than the female one. In 2025, for all age groups up to 24 years of age, men had a higher estimate than women. In the 25 to 29 years age group, the contingents of men and women were very close, accounting for 3.9% of the total population. From the age of 30 onwards, however, the percentage of women was higher than that of men in all age groups.

As men's mortality is higher than that of women in each age group, the sex ratio (number of men for every 100 women) tends to decrease with increasing age, with a greater concentration of women among the elderly population. While the sex ratio for the total population is 95.1 men for every 100 women, for the population aged 65 and over it was 75.9.

Less than 50% of the population declares themselves white in the Southeast

From 2012 to 2025, the percentage of the population that declared themselves to be of white color or race fell by 3.8 p.p., going from 46.4% in 2012 to 42.6% in 2025. The participation of the population of black color or race grew from 7.4% in 2012 to 10.4% in 2025. The population declared to be of brown color or race recorded slight change in relation to 2012, from 45.5% to 45.8%.

The participation of the population that declared to be of white color or race reduced in all Major Regions between 2012 and 2025, and that of the population of black color or race grew. In the Northeast Region, there was the main expansion in the participation of people of black color or race (4.2 p.p.), and, in the South Region, of people of brown color or race (5.3 p.p.). “In the Southeast Region, the percentage of people declaring themselves was below 50%, standing at 48.9%,” highlights Kratochwill.

Adult men and elderly women are the majority of those living alone

The most common household arrangement in Brazil in 2025 was nuclear, which corresponded to 65.6% of total households, but showed a drop compared to 2012 (68.4%). The nuclear arrangement consists of a single core formed by a couple, with or without children (including adoptive and foster children) or stepchildren. The domestic units comprising a mother with children or a father with children are nuclear ones as well, the so-called single-parent families.

The extended unit, made up of the responsible person with at least one relative, forming a family that does not fit into one of the types described as nuclear, corresponded to 13.5% in 2025, with a reduction of 4.4 p.p. in relation to 2012.

Single-person domestic units, that is, those made up of just one resident, increased from 12.2% to 19.7%, an increase of 7.5 p.p (8.2 million more households). When analyzing the age pattern of people in single-person arrangements, it was observed that 12.0% were between 15 and 29 years of age; 46.8% were between 30 and 59 years of age; and 41.2% were people aged 60 or over.

Women were 45.1% of people living alone in 2025, while men were 54.9%. There are marked differences between men and women who lived alone in terms of age profile: 56.6% of men in single-person arrangements were aged 30 to 59 years, followed by those aged 60 or over (28.6%); and, among women, the majority were aged 60 or over (56.5%).

The Southeast and Central-West had the highest percentages of households with just one resident, with 20.9% and 20.0%, respectively, while the North Region recorded the lowest proportion (15.1%). The North and Northeast recorded the highest proportions of extended households, with 20.1% and 15.5%, respectively, while the South Region, with 11.0%, recorded the lowest proportion.

More about the survey

The Continuous PNAD: General Characteristics of Housing Units and Residents gathers information on the type and condition of the occupation, material prevailing in walls, floor and roof, basic sanitation and electricity services and ownership of goods, data relative to the characterization of housing units.

On the other hand, the characterization of residents shows information on the distribution of the population, sex and age groups, color or race and domestic units (household arrangements). The data are disaggregated for Brazil, Major Regions, Federation Units, Metropolitan Areas and Municipalities of Capitals.