How has the pandemic affected Brazil’s different regions?

As we never tire of saying on The Brazilian Report, Brazil is such a vast country, with immense diversity among its regions, states, and cities. For example, the population of the state of São Paulo is 74 times that of northern state Roraima. The Federal District — where capital city Brasília is located — enjoys a Human Development Index (HDI) similar to Portugal. Meanwhile, in northeastern states Alagoas and Maranhão, the index is the same as Iraq. Therefore, when we deal with nationwide economic data in Brazil, enormous regional differences are often masked. 

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, Brazil’s GDP is expected to fall around at least 6 percent this year. But such a unique situation as this coronavirus epidemic — with its myriad social, political, and economic consequences — has different effects depending on which part of Brazil you are looking at.

Below we have laid out five crucial indicators to illustrate the current moment in Brazil. Crucially, however, they are all split into the country’s different regions or, where possible, states.

Economic activity

Every month, Brazil’s Central Bank publishes its economic activity index (IBC-Br) which is taken as a trustworthy predictor of GDP figures, which are only released months later. In the latest figures, corresponding to the month of...