Unit 6 - Megacities

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro is one of the two megacities in South America, alongside São Paulo, and stands as the second most populated city in Brazil. With a current population of approximately 13,634,000 inhabitants, the city has experienced consistent growth, adding over 517,279 people between 2015 and 2020. However, as shown in the Brazil Population Growth graph (1961–2024), the annual growth rate has followed a clear downward trend, dropping from around 3.0% in 1961 to approximately 0.4% by 2024, indicating that while Rio de Janeiro continues to grow, the pace of that growth is steadily slowing over time.

As a megacity, Rio de Janeiro  benefits from Brazil's position as the eighth-largest economy in the world and provides its citizens with 100% access to electricity and 94.1% access to sanitation facilities. The city is also highly connected, with Brazil ranking 6th globally in mobile phone usage and 81% of its population being internet users. Culturally, Rio de Janeiro is rich and diverse, offering a wide variety of religions, languages, and historic landmarks.

However, rapid urbanization has brought serious problems to the city. Air pollution has already surpassed World Health Organization guidelines, driven by 2.7 million vehicles on its roads, contributing to approximately 49,000 deaths per year in Brazil. Waste management is equally concerning, as only 1.9% of the city's trash is recycled and 90 tonnes of rubbish flow daily into Guanabara Bay, threatening local wildlife. Furthermore, Brazil has lost 2.48% of its forest cover in just two years due to expanding urbanization, and 4.2% of the population still lives below the poverty line, highlighting the major sustainability challenges Rio de Janeiro must urgently address.

Cleaned Monthly Income Distribution 

According to the records shown in the graph, a steady increase is visible from the lowest income levels, where a rise of approximately 4,000 cases appears near BRL 0, followed by a fluctuation of values between BRL 100 and BRL 700. Also, there is a notable peak at the BRL 800–900 range, where frequency surged to over 11,000 individuals. After the peak, there is a dramatic fall in frequency, which declined sharply through the BRL 1,000–1,800 range. The distribution then shows a secondary surge, with growth reaching nearly 6,000 cases around BRL 1,400–1,500, before experiencing another significant decrease.

Overall, the graph reportedly reflects a highly unequal income structure, where the majority of the population earns below BRL 1,000 per month, and only a small proportion reaches higher income brackets.

Education vs Income (Outliers Remove)

The graph shows that individuals with fewer years of schooling generally tend to earn lower monthly incomes, while individuals with more years of schooling tend to earn higher monthly incomes. The data points clearly show this pattern, as people with fewer years of schooling are concentrated in the lower income ranges. This is worrying because individuals without access to quality education are losing opportunities to earn higher incomes and improve their quality of life through education. As shown in the graph, years of schooling clearly affect the income levels of people in Rio de Janeiro.

For example, the graph shows that people with around 0 to 5 years of schooling mostly earn low incomes, often below the lower end of the scale shown. Between approximately 6 and 12 years of schooling, incomes vary more, ranging from low to medium levels, but most still stay in the lower half of the income range. On the other hand, people with more than 12 years of schooling are more often found in higher income levels, including some of the highest values in the graph. This makes it clear that as years of schooling increase, income also tends to increase in general.

Income Comparison by Gender

The boxplot shows differences in income between men and women in Rio de Janeiro. Men generally earn higher incomes, while women are more concentrated in lower and middle income levels. The graph suggests that women may have fewer opportunities to access better-paying jobs.

The graph shows many very high income values, especially among men. This reflects strong income inequality in Rio de Janeiro and shows that gender directly affects people’s incomes. In particular, being a woman can negatively affect income opportunities and salary levels in the city.

For example, the median income for men is around 1200 BRL, while for women it is closer to 850 BRL. The graph also shows more high-income outliers among men, with some salaries reaching above 3500 BRL. These differences support the idea that men generally have access to higher-paying jobs and better economic opportunities than women in Rio de Janeiro.