Evolution of the geographical distribution of Rio Grande do Sul population, 1970-2000.

Abstract

This paper studies the population dynamics in Rio Grande do Sul from 1970 to 2000. The used dataset was built using the conversion system developed by the Statistics and Economics Foundation. Such methodology allows us to obtain a comparable number of City Councils without the loss of information. The data are from demographic Brazilian surveys conducted in 1970, 1980, 1991, and 2000. The results show that the urban population faced a dispersing process. Such process was relatively bigger in small and medium size towns. The Metropolitan Region of Porto Alegre deserves a special attention due to the biggest increase in urban population, especially in the Cities around Porto Alegre