Brazil

Brazil 

Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean

Area

Note: Includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo

Land Boundaries

Total 14,691 km, Argentina 1,224 km, Bolivia 3,400 km, Colombia 1,643 km, French Guiana 673 km, Guyana 1,119 km, Paraguay 1,290 km, Peru 1,560 km, Suriname 597 km, Uruguay 985 km, Venezuela 2,200 km

Coastline

7,491 km

Maritime Claims

International Disputes

Short section of the boundary with Paraguay, just west of Salto das Sete Quedas (Guaira Falls) on t.htmo Parana, is in dispute; two short sections of boundary with Uruguay are in dispute - Arroio Invernada (Arroyo de la Invernada) area of the Rio Quarai (Rio Cuareim) and the islands at the confluence of the Rio Quarai and the Uruguay River

Climate

Mostly tropical, but temperate in south

Terrain

Mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico da Neblina 3,014 m

Natural Resources

Land Use

Irrigated Land

27,000 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment

Note: Largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador

PEOPLE

Population

162,661,214 (July 1996 est.)
160,737,489 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

31% (male 25,286,278; female 24,422,897) (July 1996 est.)
31% (male 25,515,775; female 24,641,868) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 Years

65% (male 52,232,435; female 53,094,724) (July 1996 est.)
64% (male 51,254,165; female 51,966,272) (July 1995 est.)

65 Years and Over

4% (male 3,072,720; female 4,552,160) (July 1996 est.)
5% (male 2,965,879; female 4,393,530) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

1.16% (1996 est.)
1.22% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

20.8 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
21.16 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

9.19 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
8.98 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

55.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
57.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total Fertility Rate

2.34 children born/woman (1996 est.)
2.39 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic Divisions

Religions

Languages

Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French

Literacy

Age 15 and over that can read and write (1995 est.)

Labor Force

57 million (1989 est.)

By occupation:

GOVERNMENT

Names

Digraph

BR

Type

Federal republic

Capital

Brasilia

Administrative Divisions

26 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Acre, Alagoas, Amapa, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceara, Distrito Federal*, Espirito Santo, Goias, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Para, Paraiba, Parana, Pernambuco, Piaui, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondonia, Roraima, Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo, Sergipe, Tocantins

Independence

7 September 1822 (from Portugal)

National Holiday

Independence Day, 7 September (1822)

Constitution

5 October 1988

Legal System

Based on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage

Voluntary between 16 and 18 years of age and over 70; compulsory over 18 and under 70 years of age

Executive Branch

Legislative Branch

Bicameral National Congress (Congresso Nacional)

Federal Senate (Senado Federal)

Election last held 3 October 1994 for two-thirds of Senate (next to be held October 1996 for one-third of the Senate); results - PMBD 28%, PFL 22%, PSDB 12%, PPR 7%, PDT 7%, PT 6%, PTB 6%, other 12%

Chamber of Deputies (Camara Dos Deputados)

Election last held 3 October 1994 (next to be held October 1998); results - PMDB 21%, PFL 18%, PDT 7%, PSDB 12%, PPR 10%, PTB 6%, PT 10%, other 16%

Judicial Branch

Supreme Federal Tribunal

Political Parties and Leaders

National Reconstruction Party (PRN), Daniel TOURINHO, president; Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), Paes DE ANDRADE, president; Liberal Front Party (PFL), Jorge BORNHAUSEN, president; Workers' Party (PT), Jose DIRCEU, president; Brazilian Workers' Party (PTB), Rodrigues PALMA, president; Democratic Labor Party (PDT), Leonel BRIZOLA, president; Brazilian Progressive Party (PPB), Espiridiao AMIN, president; Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Artur DA TAVOLA, president; Popular Socialist Party (PPS), Roberto FREIRE, president; Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB), Joao AMAZONAS, chairman; Liberal Party (PL), Alvaro VALLE, president

Other Political or Pressure Groups

Left wing of the Catholic Church and labor unions allied to leftist Workers' Party are critical of government's social and economic policies

Member of

AfDB, AG (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MTCR, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Flag

Green with a large yellow diamond in the center bearing a blue celestial globe with 27 white five-pointed stars (one for each state and the Federal District) arranged in the same pattern as the night sky over Brazil; the globe has a white equatorial band with the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO (Order and Progress)

ECONOMY

Overview

With its large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, Brazil has South America's largest GDP by far and has the potential to become a major player in the world economy. Prior to the institution of a stabilization plan in mid-1994, stratospheric inflation rates had devastated the economy and discouraged foreign investment. Since then, tight monetary policy has apparently brought inflation under control - consumer prices increased by 23% in 1995 compared to more than 1,000% in 1994. At the same time, GDP growth slowed from 5.7% to 4.2% as credit was tightened and the steadily appreciating real encouraged imports while depressing export growth. The increased stability of the Brazilian economy allowed it to weather the fallout from the Mexican peso crisis relatively well, with foreign funds flowing in during the second half of 1995 to swell official foreign exchange reserves past the $50 billion mark. Stock market indices in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, however, ended 26% lower in 1995. President CARDOSO remains committed to further reducing inflation in 1996 while boosting growth, but he faces key challenges. Servicing domestic debt has become dramatically more burdensome for both public and private sector entities because of very high real interest rates which are contributing to growing budget deficits and a surge in bankruptcies. Fiscal reforms, many of which require constitutional amendments, are proceeding at a slow pace through the Brazilian legislature; in their absence, the government is maintaining its strict monetary policy. Brazil's natural resources remain a major, long-run economic strength.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $976.8 billion (1995 est.); $886.3 billion (1994 est.)

National Product Real Growth Rate

4.2% (1995)
5.3% (1994 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$6,100 (1995 est.)
$5,580 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

23% (1995)

Unemployment Rate

5% (1995 est.)
4.9% (1993)

Budget

Exports

$46.5 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
$43.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)

Commodities:

Partners:

Imports

$49.7 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
$33.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)

Commodities:

Partners:

External Debt

$94 billion (1995 est.)
$134 billion (1994)

Industrial Production

Growth rate 3.5% (1995 est.); 9.5% (1993); accounts for 25% of GDP

Electricity

Industries

Agriculture

Accounts for 16% of GDP; world's largest producer and exporter of coffee and orange juice concentrate and second-largest exporter of soybeans; other products - rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, beef; self-sufficient in food, except for wheat

Illicit Drugs

Illicit producer of cannabis, coca cultivation in the Amazon region has diminished in recent years because of its low alkaloid content, mostly for domestic consumption; government has a large-scale eradication program to control cannabis; important transshipment country for Bolivian and Colombian cocaine headed for the US and Europe

Economic Aid

Currency

1 real (R$) = 100 centavos

Exchange Rates

R$ per US$1 - 0.975 (January 1996), 0.918 (1995), 0.639 (1994); CR$ per US$1 - 390.845 (January 1994), 88.449 (1993), 4.513 (1992), 0.407 (1991), 0.068 (1990)

Note: On 1 August 1993 the cruzeiro real (CR$), equal to 1,000 cruzeiros, was introduced; another new currency, the real, was introduced on 1 July 1994, equal to 2,750 cruzeiro reals

Fiscal Year

Calendar year

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Highways

Inland Waterways

50,000 km navigable

Pipelines

Crude oil 2,000 km; petroleum products 3,804 km; natural gas 1,095 km

Ports

Belem, Fortaleza, Ilheus, Imbituba, Manaus, Paranagua, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, Salvador, Santos, Vitoria

Merchant Marine

Airports

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

14,426,673 telephones (1992 est.); good working system

Radio

Television

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Brazilian Army, Brazilian Navy (includes Marines), Brazilian Air Force, Federal Police (paramilitary)

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 45,091,300; males fit for military service 30,330,711; males reach military age (18) annually 1,734,981 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

Exchange rate conversion - $5.0 billion, 0.9% of GDP (1994)

History
World Atlas

Last modified: 23 december 1997