Give geographical reasons:

Settlements are sparse in north-eastern Brazil.

Human settlements are the organised and structured human habitation in different regions. The concentration of settlement depends upon many important factors like the availability of water, natural resources, climatic conditions and the type of region. The settlements in the north-eastern parts of Brazil are scattered/dispersed in which the habitation regions are isolated or located far away from each other. This is because of the occurrence of severe droughts and famines in the highlands because of the scarcity of water. Thus, agriculture practices will be lesser resulting in sparse settlements.