Study reveals massive inequality in Brazil’s access to sanitation

A new study by Instituto Trata Brasil and GO Associados highlights Brazil’s massive inequality in access to water and sanitation across the country.

The study assessed Brazil’s 100 largest cities, which are home to roughly 40 percent of the country’s total population. While cities such as São Paulo, Curitiba, and Brasília provide safe drinking water and sewage systems to nearly all inhabitants, less than 30 percent of residents in the northern state capitals of Macapá, Porto Velho, Belém, and Rio Branco had access to sanitation.

Using 2021 data from the National Sanitation Information System, the study also analyzed efficiency indicators, such as sewage treatment and the percentage of water wasted in distribution. The 20 lowest-ranked cities lost more than 50 percent of their treated water due to old pipes and illegal connections.

Of the top 20 cities, eight are in the state of São Paulo, and only four are from outside Brazil’s wealthier Southeast and South regions. However, there are southeastern and southern representatives among the worst-ranked cities as well, with four from the state of Rio de Janeiro and two from Rio Grande do Sul.

The best-ranked city overall was São José do Rio Preto, located some 440 kilometers from São Paulo. The wealthy countryside municipality scored top marks in all indicators analyzed in the study. Meanwhile, the worst-ranked was Macapá, the capital of Amapá state, which has more highway links with French Guiana than it does with any major Brazilian city. 

The study also shows that the best-performing cities invest more in sanitation than the worst: an average of BRL 166.52 (USD 31.73) per inhabitant on average, compared to an average of BRL 55.46 in the 20 worst-ranked municipalities. 

The northern city of Belém is a prime example, noted Luana Pretto, head of Instituto Trata Brasil. “[It invested] BRL 5 per inhabitant per year. Only 33 percent of the population in Belém has access to sewage. How will investing BRL 5 change that reality? There’s no way.”

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