The Municipal Human Development Index (IDHM), which considers income, education and life expectancy, was 0.809 in Minas, compared to 0.805 in Brazil. Income data shows the distance between municipalities in Minas Gerais: in Nova Lima, household income per person was more than seven times that recorded in Monte Formoso.
Reducing these differences and expanding access to food and housing are among the challenges facing whoever takes over the government of Minas Gerais in 2027.
According to IBGE data for 2024, 454 thousand miners lived in a situation of severe food insecurity, a condition in which hunger is part of the routine. The number of people with some degree of food insecurity fell by around 10% compared to 2023, but still reached 4.4 million.
In Contagem, in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte, Eliana Barbosa de Souza lives with her husband and three children in a 12 square meter room. The family moved to the space five months ago, after a fire destroyed the wooden house where they lived, in the Guarani Kaiowá occupation.
Eliana says that the wind comes in through cracks in the walls and that her children face health problems during cold periods. She has already thought about renovating her house, but says that the money is not enough to buy building materials and ensure the family's food.
In the same occupation, Sandra Maria Miranda has lived in a wooden house for 19 years. She reports problems with the structure of the property and says that her and her husband's income is not enough to supply the house. According to Sandra, the family receives a basic food basket and, when possible, seeks out food distributed by a church.
Data from the 2022 Census show that the monthly household income per person in Nova Lima, in Greater BH, was R$4,299.91, the highest in the country. In Monte Formoso, in the Jequitinhonha Valley, the value was R$590.22, the lowest in Minas. In the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte, the average was R$2,112.11.
Per capita household income is calculated by dividing the income of the residents of a house by the number of people living in it.
For professor at the Department of Demography at UFMG Danielle Fernandes, the improvement in general indicators does not mean that all regions have advanced at the same rate.
Differences also appear within Greater BH. According to data cited by geographer Rodrigo Carvalho, from the UFMG Institute of Geosciences, 12% of the population of the metropolitan region lived in poverty and 2% in extreme poverty, despite the region being among the highest income in the country.
In Belo Horizonte, more than 13% of the population — around 300 thousand people — lived in favelas, according to data from the 2022 Census presented by the researcher. For him, these areas need greater attention from public policies, especially in access to sanitation and other essential services.
In 2024, the housing deficit in Minas Gerais was 506,419 homes, equivalent to 6.3% of the total number of households. In Brazil, the proportion was 7.4%.
The calculation includes precarious housing, situations in which families need to share the same home and cases in which rent compromises a high portion of income. In Minas, the excessive burden of rent accounted for most of the deficit, with 386,025 registrations.
For families like Eliana's, the difficulties in improving housing are added to food expenses. Social inequality and the challenges it represents for the next state government are the subject of another report in the Minas Brasil series, shown by MG2.
