favela

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

A dense cluster of houses in Rocinha Favela spreads across a hillside in Rio de Janeiro, with modern high-rise buildings, mountains, and the ocean visible in the background.

Blue textured background with white text reading Favela.

A visible divide between wealth and poverty

Community life in a favela

An organic urban garden in the Manguinhos favela in Rio de Janeiro

Police presence in an informal settlement

Dense cluster of small, colorful houses built closely together on a hillside in a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with patches of greenery among the buildings.

Rio de Janeiro: favela

Favela, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Densely packed, multi-story brick and concrete homes with metal roofs in a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with some greenery visible among the buildings.

favela: References & Edit History

More Articles On This Topic

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

Katie Angell
Katie Angell is Associate Editor at Encyclopedia Britannica, covering topics related to Latin America. She holds an MA from Vanderbilt University and is pursuing a PhD in Political Science.

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type	Description	Contributor	Date
	Media added.	Meg Matthias	Aug 18, 2026
	Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Conceptual Model on Access to Food in the Favela Food Environment.	Emily Rodriguez	May 07, 2026
	Add new Web site: UCL Discovery - Understanding the City as a Whole: An Integrative Analysis of Rio de Janeiro and its Informal Settlement (PDF).	Gloria Lotha	Feb 26, 2026
	Article updated	Katie Angell	Jan 16, 2026
	Added a Top Questions section and updated the census figures.	Amy Tikkanen	Dec 14, 2025
	Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Conceptual Model on Access to Food in the Favela Food Environment.	Grace Young	Oct 17, 2025
	Add new Web site: Academia - The favela and its touristic transits (PDF).	Gloria Lotha	Jun 06, 2025
	Add new Web site: University of Califorina - eScholarship - Favela Chic (PDF).	Grace Young	Jan 04, 2025
	Add new Web site: Texas State University Digital Repository - A Broader Definition of Fragile States: The Communities and Schools of Brazil's Favelas.	Gloria Lotha	Nov 06, 2024
	Add new Web site: BBC Bitesize - Life in Brazil's favelas.	Gloria Lotha	Jan 11, 2024
	Add new Web site: GlobalSecurity.org - Favelas.	Gloria Lotha	Jul 20, 2023
	Add new Web site: Brown University Library - Brazil: Five Centuries of Change - Favelas in Rio de Janeiro, Past and Present.	Gloria Lotha	Apr 15, 2023
	Add new Web site: Academia - The favela and its touristic transits (PDF).	Aakanksha Gaur	Feb 16, 2023
	Corrected display issue.	Adam Augustyn	Aug 22, 2019
	Noted that, according to the 2010 census, 6 percent of Brazil's population lives in favelas.	Jeff Wallenfeldt	Jul 08, 2016
	Added photos of favelas in or near Rio de Janeiro.	Jeff Wallenfeldt	Jul 21, 2011
	Added expanded descriptions of the history and nature of favelas.	Jeff Wallenfeldt	Jan 05, 2011
	New article added.	Maren Goldberg	Mar 13, 2009