from
CIA World Factbook 2006
Brazil
Introduction
Background: Following three centuries under the rule of Portugal,
Brazil became an independent nation in 1822 and a
republic in 1889. By far the largest and most populous
country in South America, Brazil overcame more than
half a century of military intervention in the
governance of the country when in 1985 the military
regime peacefully ceded power to civilian rulers.
Brazil continues to pursue industrial and agricultural
growth and development of its interior. Exploiting vast
natural resources and a large labor pool, it is today
South America's leading economic power and a regional
leader. Highly unequal income distribution remains a
pressing problem.
Geography
Location: Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean
Geographic 10 00 S, 55 00 W
coordinates:
Map South America
references:
Area: total: 8,511,965 sq km
land: 8,456,510 sq km
water: 55,455 sq km
note: includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol
das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and
Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo
Area - slightly smaller than the US
comparative:
Land total: 16,884.4 km
boundaries: border countries: Argentina 1,261 km, Bolivia 3,423 km,
Colombia 1,644 km, French Guiana 730.4 km, Guyana 1,606
km, Paraguay 1,365 km, Peru 2,995 km, Suriname 593 km,
Uruguay 1,068 km, Venezuela 2,199 km
Coastline: 7,491 km
Maritime territorial sea: 12 nm
claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental
margin
Climate: mostly tropical, but temperate in south
Terrain: mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains,
hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt
Elevation lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
extremes: highest point: Pico da Neblina 3,014 m
Natural bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates,
resources: platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber
Land use: arable land: 6.93%
permanent crops: 0.89%
other: 92.18% (2005)
Irrigated 29,200 sq km (2003)
land:
Natural recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional
hazards: frost in south
Environment - deforestation in Amazon Basin destroys the habitat and
current endangers a multitude of plant and animal species
issues: indigenous to the area; there is a lucrative illegal
wildlife trade; air and water pollution in Rio de
Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and several other large cities;
land degradation and water pollution caused by improper
mining activities; wetland degradation; severe oil
spills
Environment - party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,
international Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals,
agreements: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements
Geography - largest country in South America; shares common
note: boundaries with every South American country except
Chile and Ecuador
People
Population: 188,078,227
note: Brazil conducted a census in August 2000, which
reported a population of 169,799,170; that figure was
about 3.3% lower than projections by the US Census
Bureau, and is close to the implied underenumeration of
4.6% for the 1991 census; estimates for this country
explicitly take into account the effects of excess
mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life
expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates,
lower population and growth rates, and changes in the
distribution of population by age and sex than would
otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 25.8% (male 24,687,656/female 23,742,998)
15-64 years: 68.1% (male 63,548,331/female 64,617,539)
65 years and over: 6.1% (male 4,712,675/female
6,769,028) (2006 est.)
Median age: total: 28.2 years
male: 27.5 years
female: 29 years (2006 est.)
Population 1.04% (2006 est.)
growth rate:
Birth rate: 16.56 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: 6.17 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration -0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
rate:
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: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant total: 28.6 deaths/1,000 live births
mortality male: 32.3 deaths/1,000 live births
rate: female: 24.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life total population: 71.97 years
expectancy at male: 68.02 years
birth: female: 76.12 years (2006 est.)
Total 1.91 children born/woman (2006 est.)
fertility
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 0.7% (2003 est.)
adult
prevalence
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 660,000 (2003 est.)
people living
with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - 15,000 (2003 est.)
deaths:
Nationality: noun: Brazilian(s)
adjective: Brazilian
Ethnic groups: white 53.7%, mulatto (mixed white and black) 38.5%,
black 6.2%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian)
0.9%, unspecified 0.7% (2000 census)
Religions: Roman Catholic (nominal) 73.6%, Protestant 15.4%,
Spiritualist 1.3%, Bantu/voodoo 0.3%, other 1.8%,
unspecified 0.2%, none 7.4% (2000 census)
Languages: Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86.4%
male: 86.1%
female: 86.6% (2003 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: Federative Republic of Brazil
conventional short form: Brazil
local long form: Republica Federativa do Brasil
local short form: Brasil
Government federative republic
type:
Capital: name: Brasilia
geographic coordinates: 15 47 S, 47 55 W
time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC
during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins third Sunday in
October; ends third Sunday in February
note: Brazil is divided into four time zones, including
one for the Fernando de Noronha islands
Administrative 26 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal
divisions: 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 Independence Day, 7 September (1822)
holiday:
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; note -
military conscripts do not vote
Executive chief of state: President Luiz Inacio LULA DA SILVA
branch: (since 1 January 2003); Vice President Jose ALENCAR
(since 1 January 2003); note - the president is both
the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Luiz Inacio LULA DA SILVA
(since 1 January 2003); Vice President Jose ALENCAR
(since 1 January 2003)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president and vice president elected on the
same ticket by popular vote for a single four-year
term; election last held 1 October 2006 with runoff 29
October 2006 (next to be held 3 October 2010 and, if
necessary, 31 October 2010)
election results: Luiz Inacio LULA DA SILVA (PT)
reelected president - 60.83%, Geraldo ALCKMIN (PSDB)
39.17%
Legislative bicameral National Congress or Congresso Nacional
branch: consists of the Federal Senate or Senado Federal (81
seats; 3 members from each state and federal district
elected according to the principle of majority to serve
eight-year terms; one-third elected after a four-year
period, two-thirds elected after the next four-year
period) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara dos
Deputados (513 seats; members are elected by
proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: Federal Senate - last held 1 October 2006
for one-third of the Senate (next to be held October
2010 for two-thirds of the Senate); Chamber of Deputies
- last held 1 October 2006 (next to be held October
2010)
election results: Federal Senate - percent of vote by
party - NA%; seats by party - PFL 6, PSDB 5, PMDB 4,
PTB 3, PT 2, PFL 1, PDT 1, PSB 1, PL 1, PPS 1, PRTB 1,
PP 1, PCdoB 1; total seats following election - PFL 18,
PMDB 15, PSDB 15, PT 11, PDT 5, PTB 4, PSB 3, PL 3,
PCdoB 2, PRB 2, PPS 1, PRTB 1, PP 1; Chamber of
Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by
party - PMDB 89, PT 83, PFL 65, PSDB 65, PP 42, PSB 27,
PDT 24, PL 23, PTB 22, PPS 21, PCdoB 13, PV 13, PSC 9,
other 17
Judicial Supreme Federal Tribunal (11 ministers are appointed
branch: for life by the president and confirmed by the Senate);
Higher Tribunal of Justice; Regional Federal Tribunals
(judges are appointed for life); note - though
appointed "for life," judges, like all federal
employees, have a mandatory retirement age of 70
Political Brazilian Democratic Movement Party or PMDB [Federal
parties and Deputy Michel TEMER]; Brazilian Labor Party or PTB
leaders: [Flavio de CASTRO MARTINEZ]; Brazilian Renewal Labor
Party or PRTB [Jose Levy Fidelix DA CRUZ]; Brazilian
Republican Party or PRB [Vitor Paulo Araujo DOS
SANTOS]; Brazilian Social Democracy Party or PSDB
[Senator Tasso JEREISSATI]; Brazilian Socialist Party
or PSB [Federal Deputy Eduardo Henrique Accioly
CAMPOS]; Communist Party of Brazil or PCdoB [Jose
Renato RABELO]; Democratic Labor Party or PDT [Carlos
Roberto LUPI]; Democratic Socialist Party or PSD [Luis
Marques MENDES]; Green Party or PV [Jose Luiz de Franca
PENNA]; Humanist Party of Solidarity or PHS [leader
NA]; Liberal Party or PL [Federal Deputy Valdemar COSTA
Neto]; National Order Reconstruction Party or PRONA
[Federal Deputy Dr. Eneas Ferreira CARNEIRO]; Partido
Municipalista Renovador or PMR [Natal Wellington
Rodrigues FURUCHO]; Popular Socialist Party or PPS
[Federal Deputy Roberto FREIRE]; Progressive Party or
PP [Federal Deputy Pedro CORREA]; Social Christian
Party or PSC [Vitor Jorge ABDALA NOSSEIS]; Workers'
Party or PT [Ricardo Jose Ribeiro BERZOINI]
Political Landless Worker's Movement; labor unions and
pressure federations; large farmers' associations; religious
groups and groups including evangelical Christian churches and the
leaders: Catholic Church
International AfDB, BIS, CAN (associate), CSN, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77,
organization IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
participation: IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC,
IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA,
MINUSTAH, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA,
RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC,
UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador Roberto P. ABDENUR
representation chancery: 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC
in the US: 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 238-2700
FAX: [1] (202) 238-2827
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los
Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador Clifford M. SOBEL
representation embassy: Avenida das Nacoes, Quadra 801, Lote 3,
from the US: Distrito Federal Cep 70403-900, Brasilia
mailing address: Unit 3500, APO AA 34030
telephone: [55] (61) 3312-7000
FAX: [55] (61) 3225-9136
consulate(s) general: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo
consulate(s): Recife
Flag green with a large yellow diamond in the center bearing
description: 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
Economy - Characterized by large and well-developed agricultural,
overview: mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, Brazil's
economy outweighs that of all other South American
countries and is expanding its presence in world
markets. From 2001-03 real wages fell and Brazil's
economy grew, on average only 2.2% per year, as the
country absorbed a series of domestic and international
economic shocks. That Brazil absorbed these shocks
without financial collapse is a tribute to the
resiliency of the Brazilian economy and the economic
program put in place by former President CARDOSO and
strengthened by President LULA DA SILVA. In 2004,
Brazil enjoyed more robust growth that yielded
increases in employment and real wages. The three
pillars of the economic program are a floating exchange
rate, an inflation-targeting regime, and tight fiscal
policy, all reinforced by a series of IMF programs. The
currency depreciated sharply in 2001 and 2002, which
contributed to a dramatic current account adjustment;
in 2003 to 2005, Brazil ran record trade surpluses and
recorded its first current account surpluses since
1992. Productivity gains - particularly in agriculture
- also contributed to the surge in exports, and Brazil
in 2005 surpassed the previous year's record export
level. While economic management has been good, there
remain important economic vulnerabilities. The most
significant are debt-related: the government's largely
domestic debt increased steadily from 1994 to 2003 -
straining government finances - before falling as a
percentage of GDP in 2005, while Brazil's foreign debt
(a mix of private and public debt) is large in relation
to Brazil's small (but growing) export base. Another
challenge is maintaining economic growth over a period
of time to generate employment and make the government
debt burden more manageable.
GDP $1.536 trillion (2005 est.)
(purchasing
power parity):
GDP (official $619.7 billion (2005 est.)
exchange
rate):
GDP - real 2.3% (2005 est.)
growth rate:
GDP - per $8,300 (2005 est.)
capita (PPP):
GDP - agriculture: 8.4%
composition by industry: 40%
sector: services: 51.6% (2005 est.)
Labor force: 90.41 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - agriculture: 20%
by occupation: industry: 14%
services: 66% (2003 est.)
Unemployment 9.8% (2005 est.)
rate:
Population 22% (1998 est.)
below poverty
line:
Household lowest 10%: 0.7%
income or highest 10%: 31.27% (2002)
consumption by
percentage
share:
Distribution 59.7 (2004)
of family
income - Gini
index:
Inflation rate 6.9% (2005 est.)
(consumer
prices):
Investment 19.9% of GDP (2005 est.)
(gross fixed):
Budget: revenues: $140.6 billion
expenditures: $172.4 billion; including capital
expenditures of $NA (2004)
Public debt: 51.6% of GDP (2005 est.)
Agriculture - coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa,
products: citrus; beef
Industries: textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore,
tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other
machinery and equipment
Industrial 3.4% (2005 est.)
production
growth rate:
Electricity - 387.5 billion kWh (2004)
production:
Electricity - fossil fuel: 8.3%
production by hydro: 82.7%
source: nuclear: 4.4%
other: 4.6% (2001)
Electricity - 359.6 billion kWh (2004)
consumption:
Electricity - 6 million kWh (2004)
exports:
Electricity - 37.4 billion kWh; note - supplied by Paraguay (2004)
imports:
Oil - 2.01 million bbl/day (2005 est.)
production:
Oil - 1.61 million bbl/day (2004)
consumption:
Oil - exports: 241,700 bbl/day NA bbl/day
Oil - imports: 572,600 bbl/day NA bbl/day
Oil - proved 15.12 billion bbl (2005 est.)
reserves:
Natural gas - 15.79 billion cu m (2005 est.)
production:
Natural gas - 21.74 billion cu m (2005 est.)
consumption:
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2005 est.)
exports:
Natural gas - 5.947 billion cu m (2005 est.)
imports:
Natural gas - 240 billion cu m (2005)
proved
reserves:
Current $14.19 billion (2005 est.)
account
balance:
Exports: $115.1 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear,
commodities: coffee, autos
Exports - US 19.6%, China 7.5%, Argentina 6.9%, Germany 5.3%,
partners: Mexico 4.3% (2005)
Imports: $78.02 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - machinery, electrical and transport equipment, chemical
commodities: products, oil
Imports - US 19.7%, Germany 8.7%, Argentina 8.2%, China 6.2%,
partners: Nigeria 6.1% (2005)
Reserves of $53.8 billion (2005 est.)
foreign
exchange and
gold:
Debt - $188 billion (2005 est.)
external:
Economic aid - $30 billion (2002)
recipient:
Currency real (BRL)
(code):
Currency code: BRL
Exchange reals per US dollar - 2.4344 (2005), 2.9251 (2004),
rates: 3.0771 (2003), 2.9208 (2002), 2.3577 (2001)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones - 42.382 million (2004)
main lines in
use:
Telephones - 86.21 million (2005)
mobile
cellular:
Telephone general assessment: good working system
system: domestic: extensive microwave radio relay system and a
domestic satellite system with 64 earth stations
international: country code - 55; 3 coaxial submarine
cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic
Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region east),
connected by microwave relay system to Mercosur
Brazilsat B3 satellite earth station
Radio AM 1,365, FM 296, shortwave 161 (of which 91 are
broadcast collocated with AM stations) (1999)
stations:
Radios: 71 million (1997)
Television 138 (1997)
broadcast
stations:
Televisions: 36.5 million (1997)
Internet .br
country code:
Internet 6,508,431 (2006)
hosts:
Internet 50 (2000)
Service
Providers
(ISPs):
Internet 25.9 million (2005)
users:
Transportation
Airports: 4,276 (2006)
Airports - total: 714
with paved over 3,047 m: 8
runways: 2,438 to 3,047 m: 24
1,524 to 2,437 m: 164
914 to 1,523 m: 464
under 914 m: 54 (2006)
Airports - total: 3,562
with unpaved 1,524 to 2,437 m: 81
runways: 914 to 1,523 m: 1,634
under 914 m: 1,847 (2006)
Heliports: 417 (2006)
Pipelines: condensate/gas 244 km; gas 11,669 km; liquid petroleum
gas 341 km; oil 5,212 km; refined products 4,755 km
(2006)
Railways: total: 29,252 km
broad gauge: 4,877 km 1.600-m gauge (939 km
electrified)
standard gauge: 194 km 1.440-m gauge
narrow gauge: 23,785 km 1.000-m gauge (581 km
electrified)
dual gauge: 396 km 1.000 m and 1.600-m gauges (three
rails) (78 km electrified) (2005)
Roadways: total: 1,724,929 km
paved: 94,871 km
unpaved: 1,630,058 km (2000)
Waterways: 50,000 km (most in areas remote from industry and
population) (2005)
Merchant total: 137 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,038,923 GRT/
marine: 3,057,820 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 21, cargo 21, chemical tanker 8,
container 8, liquefied gas 12, passenger/cargo 12,
petroleum tanker 47, roll on/roll off 8
foreign-owned: 15 (Chile 1, Germany 7, Norway 2, Spain
4, UK 1)
registered in other countries: 5 (Ghana 1, Liberia 3,
Marshall Islands 1) (2006)
Ports and Gebig, Itaqui, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, San
terminals: Sebasttiao, Santos, Sepetiba Terminal, Tubarao, Vitoria
Military
Military Brazilian Army, Brazilian Navy (Marinha do Brasil (MB),
branches: includes Naval Air and Marine Corps (Corpo de
Fuzileiros Navais)), Brazilian Air Force (Forca Aerea
Brasileira, FAB) (2006)
Military 21-45 years of age for compulsory military service;
service age conscript service obligation - nine to 12 months; 17-45
and years of age for voluntary service; an increasing
obligation: percentage of the ranks are "long-service" volunteer
professionals; women were allowed to serve in the armed
forces beginning in early 1980s when the Brazilian Army
became the first army in South America to accept women
into career ranks; women serve in Navy and Air Force
only in Women's Reserve Corps (2001)
Manpower males age 19-49: 45,586,036
available for females age 19-49: 45,728,704 (2005 est.)
military
service:
Manpower fit males age 19-49: 33,119,098
for military females age 19-49: 38,079,722 (2005 est.)
service:
Manpower males age 18-49: 1,785,930
reaching females age 19-49: 1,731,648 (2005 est.)
military
service age
annually:
Military $9.94 billion (2005 est.)
expenditures -
dollar figure:
Military 1.3% (2005 est.)
expenditures -
percent of
GDP:
Transnational
Issues
Disputes - unruly region at convergence of
international: Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay borders is locus of money
laundering, smuggling, arms and illegal narcotics
trafficking, and fundraising for extremist
organizations; uncontested dispute with Uruguay over
certain islands in the Quarai/Cuareim and Invernada
boundary streams and the resulting tripoint with
Argentina; in 2004 Brazil submitted its claims to the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS) to extend its maritime continental margin
Trafficking in current situation: Brazil is a source and destination
persons: country for women and girls trafficked for sexual
exploitation within Brazil and to destinations in South
America, the Caribbean, Western Europe, Japan, the US,
and the Middle East, and for men trafficked within the
country for forced agricultural labor; child sex
tourism is a problem within the country, particularly
in the resort areas and coastal cities of Brazil's
northeast; foreign victims from Bolivia, Peru, China,
and Korea are trafficked to Brazil for labor
exploitation in factories
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Brazil has failed to
show evidence of increasing efforts to fight
trafficking, specifically for its failure to apply
effective criminal penalties against traffickers who
exploit forced labor
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis; trace amounts of coca
cultivation in the Amazon region, used for domestic
consumption; government has a large-scale eradication
program to control cannabis; important transshipment
country for Bolivian, Colombian, and Peruvian cocaine
headed for Europe; also used by traffickers as a way
station for narcotics air transshipments between Peru
and Colombia; upsurge in drug-related violence and
weapons smuggling; important market for Colombian,
Bolivian, and Peruvian cocaine; illicit narcotics
proceeds earned in Brazil are often laundered through
the financial system; significant illicit financial
activity in the Tri-Border Area