There is a growing public perception that the number of people experiencing homelessness has been rising in Brazil. To better understand this issue, the Brazilian Observatory of Public Policies on the Homeless Population, established under the Polos de Cidadania Program at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, compiled data from thousands of municipalities in a historical series spanning from 2012 to 2021. Unfortunately, the data indicates that this crisis is indeed worsening across the country.
This article focuses on data concerning state capitals, proposing several hypotheses to be examined against the presented figures. In most cases, these capitals are the most populous cities in their respective states and also concentrate the majority of Brazil's homeless population. Data for other municipalities is available on the Observatory's website, which also provides breakdowns by race, gender, age, and social background.
