LabPesq/IOUSP researchers mapped the conditions of social vulnerability and human development along the Brazilian coast, at the municipal level. Following the coastline from north to south, the 387 municipalities considered were divided into three analytical Atlantic regions. Using the indicators considered in the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and the Municipal Human Development Index (MHDI), the data showed a statistically significant difference between the municipalities of the three regions in terms of the social conditions shown by the indicators.

Of the total number of municipalities of the Northern region, 86.9% showed high and very high social vulnerability, with the worst values found in the state of Maranhão. In the Eastern region, that percentage was 65.7% of the municipalities with high or very high vulnerability. These results contrast with the municipalities of the SE/Southern region where from its 120 coastal municipalities only one revealed such a level of vulnerability.