A methodology for definition of rural spaces: an implementation in Brazil

Rural spaces definitions are differentiated in several countries. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has standardized a rural definition by regional typology. The OECD regional typology set areas as Predominantly Urban, Intermediate, or Predominantly Rural. This paper analyses the application of OECD regional typology in Brazilian territory. The research used the OECD methodology, with support of GIS software, to define the rural areas in Brazil. The mostly segmented data from Brazilian Census of 2010 are used in contrast to others studies. The paper concludes that Brazil is more urban than official estimates and OECD reports. According to paper results, 87.48% of Brazilian population is urban and only one Territorial Level 3 region was classified as predominantly rural.