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Analysis of the statistical data on the economic and social situation of African descendants in Brazil demonstrates severe racial inequalities, which traditionally have been denied according to the conventional wisdom of the myth of "racial democracy." The absence of reliable statistical data has fueled the force of this myth; statistics produced recently are the result of pressure by the black movement. The demographic presence of African descendants in the Brazilian population is examined and social indices are broken down by color/race, income levels, educational standards, and health conditions. Specific Human Development Index analysis, disaggregating data for African descendants and whites in Brazil, demonstrates the severity of racial inequality in comparison with other countries of the world and Africa. The black population in Brazil is still characterized by the absence of collective social rights and by the wide gap separating its living standards from those of the Brazilian European descendant population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]