Total area:
8,511,965 km2
Land area:
8,456,510 km2; includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas,
Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo
Comparative area:
slightly smaller than the US
Land boundaries:
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:
Continental shelf:
200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation
Exclusive fishing zone:
200 nm
Territorial sea:
200 nm
Disputes:
short section of the boundary with Paraguay (just west of Guaira Falls on
the Rio Parana) is in dispute; two short sections of boundary with Uruguay
are in dispute (Arroyo de la Invernada area of the Rio Quarai and the
islands at the confluence of the Rio Quarai and the Uruguay)
Climate:
mostly tropical, but temperate in south
Terrain:
mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and
narrow coastal belt
Natural resources:
iron ore, manganese, bauxite, nickel, uranium, phosphates, tin, hydropower,
gold, platinum, crude oil, timber
Land use:
arable land 7%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 19%; forest and
woodland 67%; other 6%; includes irrigated NEGL%
Environment:
recurrent droughts in northeast; floods and frost in south; deforestation in
Amazon basin; air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo
Note:
largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South
American country except Chile and Ecuador
:Brazil People
Population:
158,202,019 (July 1992), growth rate 1.8% (1992)
Birth rate:
25 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
7 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
67 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
62 years male, 69 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
3.0 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Brazilian(s); adjective - Brazilian
Ethnic divisions:
Portuguese, Italian, German, Japanese, black, Amerindian; white 55%, mixed
38%, black 6%, other 1%
Religions:
Roman Catholic (nominal) 90%
Languages:
Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
Literacy:
81% (male 82%, female 80%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
57,000,000 (1989 est.); services 42%, agriculture 31%, industry 27%
Organized labor:
13,000,000 dues paying members (1989 est.)
:Brazil Government
Long-form name:
Federative Republic of Brazil
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; note - the former territories of Amapa and Roraima
became states in January 1991
Independence:
7 September 1822 (from Portugal)
Constitution:
5 October 1988
Legal system:
based on Latin codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
Independence Day, 7 September (1822)
Executive branch:
president, vice president, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
bicameral National Congress (Congresso Nacional) consists of an upper
chamber or Federal Senate (Senado Federal) and a lower chamber or Chamber of
Deputies (Camara dos Deputados)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Federal Tribunal
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government:
President Fernando Affonso COLLOR de Mello (since 15 March 1990); Vice
President Itamar FRANCO (since 15 March 1990)
Political parties and leaders:
National Reconstruction Party (PRN), Daniel TOURINHO, president; Brazilian
Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), Orestes QUERCIA, president; Liberal Front
Party (PFL), Hugo NAPOLEAO, president; Workers' Party (PT), Luis Ignacio
(Lula) da SILVA, president; Brazilian Labor Party (PTB), Luiz GONZAGA de
Paiva Muniz, president; Democratic Labor Party (PDT), Leonel BRIZOLA,
president; Democratic Social Party (PPS), Paulo MALUF, president; Brazilian
Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Tasso JEREISSATI, president; Popular
Socialist Party (PPS), Roberto FREIRE, president; Communist Party of Brazil
(PCdoB), Joao AMAZONAS, secretary general; Christian Democratic Party (PDC),
Siqueira CAMPOS, president
Suffrage:
voluntary at age 16; compulsory between ages 18 and 70; voluntary at age 70
Elections:
Chamber of Deputies:
last held 3 October 1990 (next to be held November 1994); results - PMDB
21%, PFL 17%, PDT 9%, PDS 8%, PRN 7.9%, PTB 7%, PT 7%, other 23.1%; seats -
(503 total as of 3 February 1991) PMDB 108, PFL 87, PDT 46, PDS 43, PRN 40,
PTB 35, PT 35, other 109
Federal Senate:
last held 3 October 1990 (next to be held November 1994); results - percent
of vote by party NA; seats - (81 total as of 3 February 1991) PMDB 27, PFL
15, PSDB 10, PTB 8, PDT 5, other 16
:Brazil Government
President:
last held 15 November 1989, with runoff on 17 December 1989 (next to be held
November 1994); results - Fernando COLLOR de Mello 53%, Luis Inacio da SILVA
47%; note - first free, direct presidential election since 1960
Communists:
less than 30,000
Other political or pressure groups:
left wing of the Catholic Church and labor unions allied to leftist Worker's
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, GATT,
IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS,
MERCOSUR, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WFTU, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador Rubens RICUPERO; Chancery at 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 745-2700; there are Brazilian
Consulates General in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, and New
York, and Consulates in Dallas, Houston, and San Francisco
US:
Ambassador Richard MELTON; Embassy at Avenida das Nacoes, Lote 3, Brasilia,
Distrito Federal (mailing address is APO AA 34030); telephone [55] (61)
321-7272; FAX [55] (61) 225-9136; there are US Consulates General in Rio de
Janeiro and Sao Paulo, and Consulates in PortoAlegre and Recife
Flag:
green with a large yellow diamond in the center bearing a blue celestial
globe with 23 white five-pointed stars (one for each state) 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)
:Brazil Economy
Overview:
The economy, with large agrarian, mining, and manufacturing sectors, entered
the 1990s with declining real growth, runaway inflation, an unserviceable
foreign debt of $122 billion, and a lack of policy direction. In addition,
the economy remained highly regulated, inward-looking, and protected by
substantial trade and investment barriers. Ownership of major industrial and
mining facilities is divided among private interests - including several
multinationals - and the government. Most large agricultural holdings are
private, with the government channeling financing to this sector. Conflicts
between large landholders and landless peasants have produced intermittent
violence. The Collor government, which assumed office in March 1990, is
embarked on an ambitious reform program that seeks to modernize and
reinvigorate the economy by stabilizing prices, deregulating the economy,
and opening it to increased foreign competition. The government in December
1991 signed a letter of intent with the IMF for a 20-month standby loan.
Having reached an agreement on the repayment of interest arrears accumulated
during 1989 and 1990, Brazilian officials and commercial bankers are engaged
in talks on the reduction of medium- and long-term debt and debt service
payments and on the elimination of remaining interest arrears. A major
long-run strength is Brazil's vast natural resources.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $358 billion, per capita $2,300; real growth rate
1.2% (1991)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
478.5% (December 1991, annual rate)
Unemployment rate:
4.3% (1991)
Budget:
revenues $164.3 billion; expenditures $170.6 billion, including capital
expenditures of $32.9 billion (1990)
Exports:
$31.6 billion (1991)
commodities:
iron ore, soybean bran, orange juice, footwear, coffee
partners:
EC 31%, US 24%, Latin America 11%, Japan 8% (1990)
Imports:
$21.0 billion (1991)
commodities:
crude oil, capital goods, chemical products, foodstuffs, coal
partners:
Middle East and Africa 22%, US 21%, EC 21%, Latin America 18%, Japan 6%
(1990)
External debt:
$118 billion (December 1991)
Industrial production:
growth rate—0.5% (1991); accounts for 39% of GDP
Electricity:
58,500,000 kW capacity; 229,824 million kWh produced, 1,479 kWh per capita
(1991)
Industries:
textiles and other consumer goods, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron
ore, steel, motor vehicles and auto parts, metalworking, capital goods, tin
Agriculture:
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
:Brazil Economy