There's a joke Brazilians like to tell: When the world was created, one of the archangels peered over God's shoulder at the work in progress and couldn't help noticing that one country had been especially favored. "You've given everything to Brazil," the archangel said. "It has the longest beaches, the largest river, the biggest forest, the best soil. The weather's always warm and sunny, with no floods, hurricanes, or natural disasters at all. Don't you think that's a little unfair?" "Ah," God replied, "just wait until you see the people I'm putting there."
Federative Republic of Brazil
National name:
República Federativa do Brasil
President
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2003)
Current government officials
Land area
3,265,059 sq mi (8,456,511 sq km);
Total area
3,286,470 sq mi (8,511,965 sq km)
Population (2008 est.)
191,908,598 (growth rate: 0.9%); birth rate: 16.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 26.6/1000; life expectancy: 72.5; density per sq mi: 22
Capital (2003 est.)
Brasília, 2,160,100
Largest cities
São Paulo, 18,333,000 (metro. area), 10,927,985 (city proper); Rio de Janeiro, 11,469,000 (metro. area), 6,094,183 (city proper); Salvador, 2,590,400; Belo Horizonte, 2,347,500; Recife, 1,485,500; Porto Alegre, 1,372,700
Monetary unit
Real
Languages
Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
Ethnicity/race
white 53.7%, mulatto (mixed white and black) 38.5%, black 6.2%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 0.9%, unspecified 0.7% (2000)
National Holiday
Independence Day, September 7
Religion
Roman Catholic 74%, Protestant 15%, Spiritualist 1%, none 7% (2000)
Literacy rate
88.6% (2006 est.)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $1.836 trillion; per capita $9,700.
Real growth rate: 5.4%.
Inflation: 3.6%.
Unemployment: 9.3%.
Arable land: 7%.
Agriculture: coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus; beef.
Labor force: 96.34 million; agriculture 20%, industry 14%, services 66% (2006 est.).
Industries: textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment.
Natural resources: bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber.
Exports: $137.5 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos.
Imports: $91.4 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): machinery, electrical and transport equipment, chemical products, oil.
Major trading partners: U.S., Argentina, China, Netherlands, Germany, Mexico, Nigeria, Japan (2005).
Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 42.382 million (2004); mobile cellular: 86.21 million (2005).
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1,365, FM 296, shortwave 161 (of which 91 are collocated with AM stations) (1999). Television broadcast stations: 138 (1997).
Internet hosts: 3,163,349 (2003).
Internet users: 25.9 million (2005).
Transportation: Railways: total: 29,252 km (1598 km electrified) (2005).
Highways: total: 1,751,868 km; paved: 96,353 km; unpaved: 1,655,515 km (2005).
Waterways: 50,000 km (most in areas remote from industry and population) (2005).
Ports and harbors: Gebig, Itaqui, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, San Sebasttiao, Santos, Sepetiba Terminal, Tubarao, Vitoria.
Airports: 4,276 (2006 est.).
International disputes: unruly region at convergence of 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 UNCLOS to extend its maritime continental margin. |
