The first counting of the Quilombola population by a Census reveals that Brazil has 1.3 million people belonging to this group, informed the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics). The contingent is equivalent to 0.65% of the total population in the country.
The inclusion of Quilombola communities in the survey has been demanded for two decades by entities such as Conaq (National Coordination of Quilombo Articulation).
In order to make this happen, it was necessary to study ways to carry out the research and map out the locations accurately. The identification of individuals is self-declared.
The 2022 Census showed that 68.2% of Quilombolas live in the Northeast, with Bahia being the state with the highest concentration, 397,059, and Alcântara (Maranhão) the city with the highest proportion of the population, 85%. Even in the south, which is mostly white, there are almost 30,000 Quilombolas.
Quilombos emerged in colonial times in response to the violence by the Portuguese people and their descendants against blacks brought from Africa and enslaved. There are an estimated 5 million direct victims of this trafficking.
Translated by Cassy Dias