Background: Following three centuries under the rule of Portugal, Brazil became an
independent nation in 1822. By far the largest and most populous country in South America,
Brazil has overcome more than half a century of military intervention in the governance of
the country to pursue industrial and agricultural growth and development of the interior.
Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, Brazil became Latin America's
leading economic power by the 1970s. Highly unequal income distribution remains a pressing
problem.
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- Map:
- Location:
- • Eastern South America, bordering the
Atlantic Ocean
- Area—comparative:
- • slightly smaller than the US
- Land boundaries:
- • total: 14,691 km
• border countries: 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
- Climate:
- • mostly tropical, but temperate in south
- Terrain:
- • mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and
narrow coastal belt
- 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
- Environment—international agreements:
- • party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands,
Whaling
• signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geographic
and Environmental Information from Brazilian Government
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- Population:
- • 174,468,575
note: Brazil took an intercensal count in August 1996 which reported a population
of 157,079,573; that figure was about 5% lower than projections by the US Census Bureau,
which 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 2001 est.)
- Infant mortality rate:
- • 36.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
- Life expectancy at birth:
- • total population: 63.24 years
• male: 58.96 years
• female: 67.73 years (2001 est.)
- Total fertility rate:
- • 2.09 children born/woman (2001 est.)
- Nationality:
- • noun: Brazilian(s)
• adjective: Brazilian
- Ethnic groups:
- • white (includes Portuguese, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish) 55%, mixed white
and black 38%, black 6%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 1%
- Religions:
- • Roman Catholic (nominal) 80%
- Languages:
- • Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
- Literacy:
- • definition: age 15 and over can read and write
• total population: 83.3%
• male: 83.3%
• female: 83.2% (1995 est.)
Demographic
Information from Brazilian Government
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- 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 type:
- • federal republic
- National 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 (Site
in Portuguese Only)
- • chief of state: President Fernando Henrique CARDOSO (since 1 January
1995); Vice President Marco MACIEL (since 1 January 1995); note—the president is both
the chief of state and head of government
• head of government: President Fernando Henrique CARDOSO (since 1 January
1995); Vice President Marco MACIEL (since 1 January 1995); note—the president is both
the chief of state and head of government
• cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
- Legislative branch
(Site in Portuguese Only)
- • bicameral National Congress or Congresso Nacional consists of the Federal Senate
or Senado Federal (81 seats; three members from each state or 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)
- Judicial branch (Site in
Portuguese Only)
- • Supreme Federal Tribunal, 11 judges are appointed for life by the president and
confirmed by the Senate
-
- (For more information on Brazilian government see Chapter Four of Library of Congress Country
Study on Brazil)
-
- Political parties and leaders:
- • Brazilian Democratic Movement Party or PMDB [Jader
BARBALHO, president]; Brazilian Labor Party or PTB [Roberto JEFFERSON]; Brazilian Social
Democracy Party or PSDB [Teotonio VILELA Filno]; Brazilian Socialist Party or PSB [Miguel
ARRAES, president]; Brazilian Progressive Party or PPB [Paulo Salim MALUF]; Communist
Party of Brazil or PCdoB [Sergio Roberto Gomes SOUZA, chairman]; Democratic Labor Party or
PDT [Leonel BRIZOLA, president]; Liberal Front Party or PFL [Jorge BORNHAUSEN, president];
Liberal Party or PL [Francisco Teixeira de OLIVEIRA]; Popular Socialist Party or PPS [Ciro
GOMEZ, president]; Worker's Party or PT [Jose DIRCEU, president]
- Political pressure groups and leaders:
- • left wing of the Catholic Church, Landless Worker's Movement, and labor unions
allied to leftist Workers' Party are critical of government's social and economic policies
- Diplomatic
representation in the US
- chief of mission: Ambassador Luiz Felipe Lampreia
chancery: 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 238-2700
FAX: [1] (202) 238-2827
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New
York, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and San Francisco
- Diplomatic
representation from the US:
- chief of mission: Ambassador Francis X. Taylor
embassy: Avenida das Nacoes, Lote 3, Brasilia, Distrito Federal
mailing address: Unit 3500, APO AA 34030
telephone: (0xx61) 312-7000
FAX: [55] (61) 225-9136
consulate(s) general: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo
consulate(s): Recife
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- Economy—overview:
- • Economy - overview: Possessing large and well-developed agricultural, mining,
manufacturing, and service sectors, Brazil's economy outweighs that of all other South
American countries and is expanding its presence in world markets. In the late eighties
and early nineties, high inflation hindered economic activity and investment. The Real
Plan, instituted in the spring of 1994, sought to break inflationary expectations by
pegging the real to the US dollar. Inflation was brought down to single digit annual
figures, but not fast enough to avoid substantial real exchange rate appreciation during
the transition phase of the Real Plan. This appreciation meant that Brazilian goods were
now more expensive relative to goods from other countries, which contributed to large
current account deficits. However, no shortage of foreign currency ensued because of the
financial community's renewed interest in Brazilian markets as inflation rates stabilized
and the debt crisis of the eighties faded from memory. The maintenance of large current
account deficits via capital account surpluses became problematic as investors became more
risk averse to emerging market exposure as a consequence of the Asian financial crisis in
1997 and the Russian bond default in August 1998. After crafting a fiscal adjustment
program and pledging progress on structural reform, Brazil received a $41.5 billion
IMF-led international support program in November 1998. In January 1999, the Brazilian
Central Bank announced that the real would no longer be pegged to the US dollar. This
devaluation helped moderate the downturn in economic growth in 1999 that investors had
expressed concerns about over the summer of 1998. Brazil's debt to GDP ratio of 48% for
1999 beat the IMF target and helped reassure investors that Brazil will maintain tight
fiscal and monetary policy even with a floating currency. The economy is expected to push
growth up to 3% in 2000.
- GDP:
- • purchasing power parity - $1.13 trillion (2000 est.)
- Budget:
- • revenues: $151 billion
• expenditures: $149 billion, including capital expenditures of $36 billion
(1998)
- Industries:
- • textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor
vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment
- Exports:
- • total value: $55.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000)
• commodities: iron ore, soybean bran, orange juice, footwear, coffee, motor
vehicle parts
• partners: US 18%, Argentina 13%, Germany 5%, Netherlands 5%, Japan 4% (1999)
- Imports:
- • total value: $55.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000)
• commodities: crude oil, capital goods, chemical products, foodstuffs, coal
• partners: US 18%, Argentina 13%, Germany 5%, Netherlands 5%, Japan 4% (1999)
- Debt—external:
- • $200 billion (1999)
- Economic aid:
- • recipient: $1.012 billion (1995)
- Currency:
- • 1 real (R$) = 100 centavos
- Exchange
rates:
- • Reals (R$) per US $1—1.954 (January 2001), 1.804 (January 2000), 1.815
(1999), 1.161 (1998), 1.078 (1997), 1.005 (1996), 0.918 (1995)
Economic Information
from the Brazilian Embassy
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- Military branches:
- • Brazilian Army, Brazilian Navy (includes Marines), Brazilian Air Force, Federal
Police (paramilitary)
- Military manpower—military age:
- • 18 years of age
- Military manpower—availability:
- • males age 15-49: 48,298,486 (2001 est.)
- Military expenditures—dollar figure:
- • $13.408 billion (FY99)
- Military expenditures—percent of GDP:
- • 1.9% (FY99)
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- Disputes—international:
- • 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
- Illicit drugs:
- • limited illicit producer of cannabis, minor coca cultivation in the Amazon
region, mostly used 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; increasingly used by Andean traffickers as a way
station between Peru and Colombia
BRAZIL