Brazil has a long legacy of sharp socio-economic stratification that was inherited from the colonial system. The aforementioned situation is largely reflected in Brazil's highly skewed income distribution and social inequalities that are widespread. Understanding this situation the Brazilian government is constantly trying to pursue policies specifically aimed at reducing poverty. Nevertheless, one fifth of the population, most of them in the north and north-east of the country, is still living below the national poverty line.

Despite the fact the Brazilian authorities tried to gap the economical and social differentiations of the Brazilian people, still the country experiences extreme regional differences, especially regarding health, infant mortality and nutrition indicators. Indicators in the richer South and Southeast are normally much better than in the poorer North and Northeastern regions. Additionally, poverty and inequality remain at relatively high levels for a middle income country, and there is still a large gap in access to pre-school and secondary education.

Additionally, socioeconomic inequality can be tracked in several domains of everyday living and entails subtle forms of residential, educational, and workplace discrimination. The discrimination is delineated in such ways that members of distinct socioeconomic strata tend to live, work, and circulate in a completely different socio-economic environment.

It is regardless to say that despite the fact that the socio-economical inequalities still remain high the governmental attempts had some results. Especially, after 2002, when Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers Party was elected president the attempts of the Brazilian authorities were intensified. The sound fiscal management and the social reforms that the government adopted managed to lift a significant amount of Brazilians from poverty, create jobs and income. Additionally, the country managed to reach universal coverage in primary education and is currently struggling to improve the quality and outcome of the system, especially at the basic and secondary levels.