Demographics of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro City is home to more than 6 million people, accounting for about 35% of the population of Rio de Janeiro State. Portuguese remains the most widely spoken language and Rio de Janeiro is the second city in the Portuguese speaking world.
Demographics of Rio de Janeiro
Though the main industries in Rio's first years were fishing and sugar plantations, the discovery of gold and diamonds in the neighboring Minas Gerais state brought an influx of people and an economic boom. With Rio's significance increasing, the colonial administration moved from Salvador, in northeast Brazil, to Rio in 1763. In 1808, the Portuguese Royal Family moved to Rio in order to escape from Napoleon's invasion of Portugal, forcing some residents out of their homes in order to make room for the noblemen that followed.