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.

Area
Total: 8,511,965 km²
Land: 8,456,510 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than the U.S.
Comparative note: Includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo

Land boundaries: Total 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
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: Mostly tropical, but temperate in south

Terrain: Mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: Pico da Neblina 3,014 m

Natural resources:

Land use
Arable land: 7%
Permanent crops: 1%
Permanent pastures: 19%
Forests and woodland: 67%
Other: 6%

Irrigated land: 27,000 km² (1989 est.)

Population:
Growth rate:

Nationality
Noun: Brazilian(s)
Adjective: Brazilian

Ethnic groups:

Languages: Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French

Religions: Roman Catholic (nominal) 70%

Population growth rate:

Birth rate:

Death rate:

Net migration rate:

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
Current issues Natural hazards: recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south
International agreements: party to_Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, 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_Desertification
International agreements note: Largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador

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: 0.68 male(s)/female
All ages:

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 61.62 years (1996 est.); 61.82 years (1995 est.)
Male: 56.67 years (1996 est.); 56.57 years (1995 est.)
Female: 66.81 years (1996 est.); 67.32 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate:

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over that can read and write (1995 est.)
Total population: 83.3%
Male: 83.3%
Female: 83.2%

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

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
Chief of state and head of government: President Fernando Henrique CARDOSO (since 1 January 1995) was elected for a four-year term by popular vote; election last held 3 October 1994; (next to be held October 1998); results_Fernando Henrique CARDOSO 53%, Luis Inacio LULA da Silva 26%, Eneas CARNEIRO 7%, Orestes QUERCIA 4%, Leonel BRIZOLA 3%, Espiridiao AMIN 3%; note_second direct presidential election since 1960; Vice President Marco MARCIEL (since NA)
Cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president

Legislative branch: Bicameral National Congress (Congresso Nacional) Federal Senate (Senado Federal):Election last held 3 October 1994 for two-thirds of Senate (next to be held October 1996 for one-third of the Senate; results_PMBD 28%, PFL 22%, PSDB 12%, PPR 7%, PDT 7%, PT 6%, PTB 6%, other 12% Chamber of Deputies (Camara Dos Deputados):Election last held 3 October 1994 (next to be held October 1998; results_PMDB 21%, PFL 18%, PDT 7%, PSDB 12%, PPR 10%, PTB 6%, PT 10%, other 16%

Judicial branch: Supreme Federal Tribunal

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MTCR, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Flag description: Green with a large yellow diamond in the center bearing 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 overview: With its large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, Brazil has South America's largest GDP by far and has the potential to become a major player in the world economy. Prior to the institution of a stabilization plan in mid-1994, stratospheric inflation rates had devastated the economy and discouraged foreign investment. Since then, tight monetary policy has apparently brought inflation under control_consumer prices increased by 23% in 1995 compared to more than 1,000% in 1994. At the same time, GDP growth slowed from 5.7% to 4.2% as credit was tightened and the steadily appreciating real encouraged imports while depressing export growth. The increased stability of the Brazilian economy allowed it to weather the fallout from the Mexican peso crisis relatively well, with foreign funds flowing in during the second half of 1995 to swell official foreign exchange reserves past the $50 billion mark. Stock market indices in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, however, ended 26% lower in 1995. President CARDOSO remains committed to further reducing inflation in 1996 while boosting growth, but he faces key challenges. Servicing domestic debt has become dramatically more burdensome for both public and private sector entities because of very high real interest rates which are contributing to growing budget deficits and a surge in bankruptcies. Fiscal reforms, many of which require constitutional amendments, are proceeding at a slow pace through the Brazilian legislature; in their absence, the government is maintaining its strict monetary policy. Brazil's natural resources remain a major, long-run economic strength.

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:

Agriculture products: Accounts for 16% of GDP; 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

Industries:

Industrial production growth rate: Growth rate 3.5% (1995 est.), 9.5% (1993; accounts for 25% of GDP

Labor force: 57 million (1989 est.)
By occupation Services: 42%
By occupation Agriculture: 31%
By occupation Industry: 27%

Unemployment rate:

Budget
Revenues: $58.7 billion (1994); $113 billion (1992)
Expenditures: $54.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994); $109 billion, including capital expenditures of $23 billion (1992)

Fiscal year: Calendar year

Exports:
Commodities:
Partners:

Debt external:

Exchange rates: R$ per US$1_0.975 (January 1996), 0.918 (1995), 0.639 (1994); CR$ per US$1_390.845 (January 1994), 88.449 (1993), 4.513 (1992), 0.407 (1991), 0.068 (1990)
Note: On 1 August 1993 the cruzeiro real (CR$), equal to 1,000 cruzeiros, was introduced; another new currency, the real, was introduced on 1 July 1994, equal to 2,750 cruzeiro reals

Electricity
Capacity: 55,130,000 kW
Production: 241.4 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 1,589 kWh (1993)

Telephone system: 14,426,673 telephones (1992 est.); good working system
Local: NA
Intercity: extensive microwave radio relay systems and 64 domestic satellite earth stations
International: 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations_3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean Region East)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $5.0 billion, 0.9% of GDP (1994)

Airports: 2,950
With paved runways over 3047 m: 5
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 19
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 66
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1,145 (1995 est.)
With paved runways under 914 m: 1,298

Pipelines: Crude oil 2,000 km; petroleum products 3,804 km; natural gas 1,095 km

Waterways: 50,000 km navigable

Merchant marine
Total: 207 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,108,543 GRT/8,477,760 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 48, cargo 29, chemical tanker 11, combination ore/oil 12, container 14, liquefied gas tanker 11, multifunction large-load carrier 1, oil tanker 64, passenger-cargo 5, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 11 (1995 est.)

Illicit drugs: Illicit producer of cannabis, coca cultivation in the Amazon region has diminished in recent years because of its low alkaloid content, mostly 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