Although Brazilian demographic censuses present a question about religion, the results of this question have not been explored by researchers, and even less so concerning minorities. In this article the author relies on census data to establish basic figures for Jewish immigration in Brazil and for the formation of the Brazilian Jewish community. The source and the significance of this information are discussed (part of the data has been published by the Brazilian census agency, part is a result of special tabulations made by the author), as well as an attempt to understand why Jews have been enumerated separately since 1940. Among other topics, it is investigated the main countries of emigration, the evolution of the Jewish population in the 1940-1991 period, its spatial distribution among Brazilian States, and the main cities where they are concentrated.
Jews in Brazil; History; Demography; Sociology; Census data
