Ceará is one of the federative units that make up the Northeast Region of Brazil, it borders the states of Piauí (to the west), Rio Grande do Norte (to the east), Paraíba (to the southeast) and Pernambuco (to the south), besides being bathed by the Atlantic Ocean (to the north). Its territorial extension is 148,920,538 square kilometers, corresponding to 9.57% of the northeastern territory and 1.74% of the total area of Brazil. The state has 184 municipalities, and, according to the population count carried out in 2010 by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the Ceará population contingent is 8,452,381 inhabitants, being the third most populous state in the Northeast (after only Pernambuco and Bahia) and the eighth of Brazil.
Of the 8,452,381 inhabitants of Ceará, 75% of them live in urban areas, with the remainder (25%) living in rural areas. Approximately 99% of the urban population has access to electricity in their homes.
Fortaleza, capital of Ceará, has a territorial extension of 315 square kilometers and a population of 2,452,185 inhabitants, it is the second most populous capital in the Northeast Region, only Salvador, capital of Bahia, has the highest concentration populational. Other cities in Ceará with a large population (over 100 thousand inhabitants) are: Caucaia (325,441), Juazeiro do Norte (249,939), Maracanaú (209.057), Sobral (188,233), Crato (121,428), Itapipoca (116,065), Maranguape (113.561).
Fortaleza, the second most populous capital in the Northeast
One of the main problems faced by the population of Ceará is the irregularity of rainfall. The state has historically faced problems with water scarcity. Punished by drought and also by social inequality, part of the population suffers from malnutrition and social inequality. The infant mortality rate is 27.6 per thousand children born alive. Ceará occupies the 22nd position in the national ranking of the Human Development Index (HDI) with an average of 0.723.
Data on the population of Ceará:
Population – 8,452,381 inhabitants.
Demographic Density (2010): 56.7 inhab/km².
Demographic growth: 1.3% per year.
Illiteracy – 18.6%.
Functional illiteracy – 29.5%.
Access to treated water – 81.8%.
Access to treated water in rural areas – 17%.
Sewage treatment in urban areas – 33.6%.
Sewage treatment in rural areas – 0.20%.
Access to electricity in urban areas: 99%.
By Wagner de Cerqueira and Francisco
Graduated in Geography
Brazil School Team
Ceará - Northeast region - geography of Brazil - Brazil School
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/brasil/aspectos-populacao-ceara.htm
