Brazil’s census-identified mixed population doubled while its black population halved across sixty years

Evidence

Notwithstanding the categorical shiftiness and instability over time, the percentage of the Brazilian population formally categorizing itself as mixed in the official national census counts has substantially increased as the percentage that is black has dropped dramatically. In 1940 the black population was counted at about 15 percent, while in 2000 it was recorded at just 6 percent. The mixed population across this period doubled from about 20 percent to 40 percent, and the white population dropped from well over 60 to a little over 50 percent. — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race, 1186

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to my reading on racial formation and census politics elsewhere — e.g., How the US census race categories shifted and how counting itself shapes racial reality.