Brazil homeless population nearly doubles since 2022

The homeless population in Brazil has nearly doubled in the last three and a half years. According to data from the Cadastro Único (CadÚnico), the number of people in street situations rose from 198,700 in December 2022 to 392,400 by June 2026.

Since January 2023, the average monthly growth rate has increased to 4,600 people, compared to an average of 2,000 per month between 2019 and 2022. Looking at the long term, the population in this condition has grown by 597% since 2015, a period during which the general Brazilian population grew by only 0.4% annually.

While the federal government attributes the increase to improved registration processes, data suggests the upward trend has continued even after corrections for underreporting. Discrepancies exist between federal data and local counts; for example, in Rio de Janeiro, the municipal government recorded 8,195 people in 2024, while the federal registry listed 23,000. In São Paulo, the 2021 census identified 31,900 families, but CadÚnico figures have since exceeded 104,000.