Population of Brazil by ethnicity and slave status 1872

Brazil conducted its first nationwide census in 1872, just 16 years before slavery's official abolition in 1888. Modern estimates place Brazil's total population in 1872 at approximately 10.3 million; the exclusion of non-white infants and indigenous populations from the census is likely the cause of this deficit. The 1872 census showed that non-whites made up the majority of Brazil's population at this time, at roughly 5.75 million, compared to the white population of 3.79 million. Of these 5.75 million, over 4.2 million were free, compared to 1.5 million living in slavery; this gives a ratio of almost three free non-whites for every one slave. To compare, in the United States in 1860, there were at least eight slaves for every one free person of color in the years leading up to slavery's nationwide abolition.