Population configuration has suffered marked changes over the last decade. Currently, the population masculinization and aging are pointed out as characteristic of such reality. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the occurrence and behavior of the masculinization processes and aging of the rural population in different age groups of 27 municipalities in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul. To achieve this purpose, it was used data from the IBGE population Census of 1996 and 2007 related to regional rural population systematized into four bands: 0 to 14 years, 15 to 24, 25 to 59 and 60 or over. Differences between the sexes were submitted to the test for difference between two proportions with 5% probability of error. It was also calculated the percentage difference of the total population and of each sex between 1996 and 2007. The process of rural masculinization consolidates its presence in the Central Region of the RS, with the adult population affected with more intensity. The significant male overlap can be observed in all municipalities, increasing from first to third age. In some municipalities there was an intensification of rural masculinization also among the elderly. It can also be observed, in general, a slowdown in the male predominance among young people. The strong reduction of population aged 0 to 14 years old and the aging population in the period shows a process of aging among the population studied. This population configuration may compromise the succession on farms, interfering in the social and productive rural areas of the Central Region of Brazil.
demographic dynamics; rural masculinization; rural aging; rural exodus
