In Brazil, there are 1,694,836 people who declare themselves indigenous; Until March, 253,270 identified themselves as such to the Electoral Court
In Brazil, the indigenous population is 1,694,836 people, which corresponds to 0.83% of the total population, according to results from the (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics). Of this contingent, around 507,590 indigenous people (29%) are up to 14 years old, an age group not yet able to vote.
Data from the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) indicate that, by March 2026, 253,270 voters declared themselves indigenous before the Electoral Court.
Despite the predominance of younger voters, the age group with the greatest disparity between the population and indigenous voters is precisely that of 15 to 19 years old. While the 2022 Census records 161,846 indigenous people at this age, only 52,894 are registered as voters, which represents a coverage rate of approximately 32.6%.
Indigenous population and electorate
The states with a strong indigenous presence are Roraima (13% of the population and 3.09% of the electorate) and Amazonas (12.46% of the population and 1.81% of the electorate), Mato Grosso do Sul (3.64 percentage points) and Acre (3.14 percentage points). In federation units with a low absolute indigenous population, such as the Federal District and Sergipe, representation in the electorate is proportionally lower.
One thing that raises the alarm bells in the study is that 70% of the indigenous population is of potential voting age, aged 15 or over, and only 15% declared themselves indigenous. The TSE states that there may be more indigenous people qualified to vote who have not declared themselves to the Electoral Court.
At the time the information was collected (May 2025), of the total of 181,314 self-declared indigenous voters, 93,606 (51.6%) were women and 87,708 (48.4%) men.
When comparing these numbers with the gender distribution of the total indigenous population –860,020 women (50.8%) and 834,816 men (49.2%)–, it is observed that there is a slight female overrepresentation in the indigenous electorate in relation to the population proportion.
The data collection and study turned into the book Electorate and indigenous population data. The publication presents a complete comparative analysis between the indigenous population data collected by the 2022 Demographic Census and the information on the indigenous electorate registered by the Electoral Court, based on the registration updated until May 2025.
The data is essential for the Electoral Court to improve deliberations for the full exercise of the right to vote for this important segment of the electorate.
Using visual representations, such as maps and graphs, the book seeks to highlight the disparities between the number of indigenous people in Brazil and those formally registered as voters.
“Voter and eligible, almost 4 decades after the 1988 Brazilian Constitution came into effect, indigenous citizens still have spaces to conquer in terms of the legal and social effectiveness of fundamental rights, especially with regard to active political citizenship”stated the president of the TSE, minister Cármen Lúcia.
In general, indigenous voters accessed electoral propaganda produced by candidates exclusively in Portuguese. “Only in the most recent elections, the Electoral Court took care to present the main electoral information in some indigenous languages”highlighted the minister.
According to the judge, it is necessary to gather adequate data on the indigenous population to adopt measures that guarantee full rights for all. Furthermore, the presence of indigenous people in spaces of power is essential. “It is necessary to give voice to their demands, to receive contributions and world views that will add to other ways of understanding life experiences and so that we can build a more supportive and fair society”added Cármen Lúcia.
Life experience
The book was organized and coordinated by the judge in charge of the 5th Criminal Court of the TJ-AM (Court of Justice of Amazonas), Andréa Jane de Medeiros, in co-authorship with the Secretariat of Modernization, Strategic and Socio-Environmental Management and the Secretariat of Communication and Multimedia of the TSE.
Daughter of a northeastern father, who was a public servant and who also worked with farmers and extractivists, and an Amazonian cabocla mother and banker, the judge was born in Parintins, on Tupinambarana Island, a city bathed by the Amazon River, located in the middle of the forest, and brings in her soul the knowledge of the original peoples. That “record” is present in every detail of the book Electorate and indigenous population datawhich brings together detailed information from the Superior Electoral Court.
“I come from a place where the name of the land speaks before people, the rhythm of the waters announces changes before they happen and where the forest is not a landscape: it is a mother, it is a home, it is a voice. It was there, in the heart of the North, that my steps began and it was there that I understood that my life would always be guided by what I learned from this territory”defines the judge, without hiding her emotion.
The legal vocation was shaped by experiences lived on the banks of the Amazon River, during childhood and youth. “Our house was full of uncles, cousins, neighbors, farmers who came to talk about credit and caboclos who needed guidance. From an early age, I understood that justice is something that manifests itself in everyday life: in the missing document, in the service that is not enough, in the public policy that never reaches the most fragile end of the system”said the judge.
In the work, the presentation is by the President of the Court, Minister Cármen Lúcia: “Only in the most recent elections, the Electoral Court took care to present the main news and electoral information in some indigenous languages, such as Nheengatu, Tucano and Guarani, but many other ethnicities, with a large number of voters and indigenous voters who adopt other languages, demand the same treatment. To achieve this, it is necessary to gather adequate data to adopt measures to guarantee full rights to everyone”.
What motivated the publication was the need to measure the real number of indigenous voters in Brazil. Before 2022, voters were not identified as indigenous in electoral records. “Based on IBGE data, we analyzed cities with more than 100 indigenous people and investigated their ability to be voters and whether they met the requirements. We cross-referenced the data, mapped indigenous people from all over Brazil, compared official data from the 2022 Census with current indigenous electoral data, in order to know and update the electoral records of these peoples”stated the minister.
This text was originally published by the TSE, on May 4, 2026. The content is free for republication, citing the source, it was adapted to the TSE standard. Poder360.
