Coastline: 7,491 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: short section of the boundary with Paraguay, just west of Salto das Sete Quedas (Guaira Falls) on the Rio 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
Natural resources: bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel,
phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber
Land use: arable land: 7% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 19% forest and woodland: 67% other: 6%
Irrigated land: 27,000 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: deforestation in Amazon Basin destroys the habitat and
endangers the existence of a multitude of plant and animal species
indigenous to the area; 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
natural hazards: recurring droughts in northeast; floods and
occasional frost in south
international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands,
Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,
Desertification
Note: largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with
every South American country except Chile and Ecuador