Brazil's population is composed of mostly females, according to the National Household Sample Survey (Pnad) released on Friday by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

According to the survey, which was based on 2008 figures, women make up 51.3 percent of Brazil's 189.9 million inhabitants, while males account for 48.7 percent.

The IBGE stated that the birth rate of boys is higher than that of girls. However, while women have a longer lifespan, the number of males is lower in the country.

In addition to the higher number of men who die from health problems, the number of males killed in acts of violence and in motor vehicle accidents is also higher, causing women to be the majority of the population.

Black and mixed-race citizens are also the majority of the Brazilian population, according to the Pnad. The share of Brazilians who declared to be black totaled 6.8 percent in 2008, from 7.5 percent in 2007, while the mixed-race citizens totaled 43.8 percent, from 42.5 percent in 2007. White citizens accounted for 48.4 percent, down from 49.2 percent in 2007.

Additionally, the Pnad showed that the Brazilian population is getting older, and that the number of elders already exceeds the number of infants.

In 2008, the number of Brazilians aged 60 or more reached 21 million, from 19.7 million in 2007. The figures represented 11.1 percent of the Brazilian population.

The number of children up to four years old totaled 13.6 million, down from 13.7 million in 2007. The figure represents 7.2percent of the total population.

The Pnad was carried out in 851 municipalities all over Brazil. A total of 391,868 people from 150,591 households have participated in the survey.

Source: Xinhua