A Brazilian woman sits with her children at the door of their house inside inside the Juma Sustainable Development Reserve, 300Km (186 miles) from Manaus, October 17, 2008.[Xinhua/Reuters]

A total of 54 million Brazilians or 34.5 percent of the country's urban population are living in houses lacking basic sanitation, official sources said Tuesday.

The Institute of Applied Economy Research of Brazil (IPEA), under the control of the Brazilian Finance Ministry, published a report saying that from 1992 to 2007 there was a reduction of 15 percent of people living in such conditions, or what it terms "poor houses."

The IPEA considers poor houses those that do not have drainage and are not supplied with water. People share a bathroom and more than three people live in one room in houses with non-durable roofs, the report said.

The living conditions among different races also varies, the report added, noting that it is gradually improving.

The percentage of African-Brazilians and others of mixed race living in adequate conditions increased from 34.8 percent in 1992 to 56 percent in 2007, while among white people it rose from 62.2 percent to 74.1 percent.

(Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2008)