Brazil

federal republicIndependence 7 September 1822 (from Portugal)

Brazil as the 1990 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 75 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalBrasilia

Area8,511,965 km2

Populationas each edition published it

152.51 million July 1990 · 221.36m in 2025

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 1.35% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 27 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 62.7 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

3.1 children per woman 1990 · 1.73 in 2025

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

69 deaths per 1,000 live births 1990 · 12.7 in 2025

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $2,350 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition -0.2% in 1993

Geography

14 fields

Land useshare of 8,511,965 km2

arable land 7%permanent crops 1%meadows and pastures 19%forest and woodland 67%other 6%includes NEGL% irrigated

Total area

8,511,965km2

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 PauloComparative area: slightly smaller than the US

Coastline

7,491km

Territorial sea: 200 nm

Land boundaries

14,691km total

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

Continental shelf

200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone

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);
claims a Zone of Interest in Antarctica

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

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

People

14 fields

Population

152,505,077

(July 1990), growth rate 1.9% (1990)

Per 1,000 population(1990)

Birth

26Death

7Net migration

Labor force

57,000,000

(1989 est.); 42% services, 31% agriculture, 27% industry

Literacy

76%

Infant mortality rate

69 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth

62 years male, 68 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate

3.1 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality

noun--Brazilian(s); adjective--Brazilian

Ethnic divisions

Portuguese, Italian, German, Japanese, black, Amerindian; 55% white, 38% mixed, 6% black, 1% other

Religion

90% Roman Catholic (nominal)

Language

Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French

Organized labor

13,000,000 dues paying members (1989 est.)

Government

Federal republic

18 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

53%

Fernando Collor de Mello 53%Luis Inacio da Silva 47%15 November 1989, with runoff on 17 December 1989 (next to be held November 1994)

Senate, 66 seats, elected 15 November 1986one dot, one seat

PMDB 43PFL 15PDS 6PDT 2others 6

Percent of vote

PMDB 60%PFL 21%PDS 8%PDT 3%others 8%

Long-form name

Federative Republic of Brazil

Type

federal republic

Capital

Brasilia

Administrative divisions

24 states (estados, singular--estado), 2 territories* (territorios, singular--territorio), 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 territories of Amapa and Roraima will become states on 15 March 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 Senate (Senado) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camara dos Deputados)

Judicial branch

Supreme Federal Tribunal 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), Ulysses Guimaraes, 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), Doutel de Andrade, president;
Democratic Social Party (PDS), Jarbas Passarinho, president;
Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Mario Covas, president;
Brazilian Communist Party (PCB), Salomao Malina, secretary general;
Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB), Joao Amazonas, president

Suffrage

voluntary at age 16;
compulsory between ages 18 and 70;
voluntary at age 70 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%;
first free, direct presidential election since 1960;
Senate--last held 15 November 1986 (next to be held 3 October 1990);
results--PMDB 60%, PFL 21%, PDS 8%, PDT 3%, others 8%;
seats--(66 total) PMDB 43, PFL 15, PDS 6, PDT 2, others 6;
note--as of 1990 Senate has 75 seats;
Chamber of Deputies--last held 15 November 1986 (next to be held 3 October 1990);
results--PMDB 53%, PFL 23%, PDS 7%, PDT 5%, other 12%;
seats--(495 total) PMDB 258, PFL 114, PDS 33, PDT 24, others 58;
note--as of 1990 Chamber of Deputies has 570 seats

Communists

about 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

CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT, Group of Eight, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, IPU, IRC, ISO, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Marcilio Marques MOREIRA;
Chancery at 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 745-2700;
there are Brazilian Consulates General in Atlanta, 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 Nocoes, Lote 3, Brasilia, Distrito Federal (mailing address is APO Miami 34030);
telephone [55] (6) 321-7272;
there are US Consulates General in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, and Consulates in Porto Alegre 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)

Economy

17 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

$377billion

per capita $2,500; real growth rate 3% (1989 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

1,765%

(1989)

Unemployment rate

2.5%

(December 1989)

External debt

$109billion

(December 1989)

Budget

Revenues

$27.8 billionExpenditures

$40.1 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $8.8 billion (1986)

Overview

The economy, a mixture of private enterprises of all sizes and extensive government intervention, experienced enormous difficulties in the late 1980s, notably declining real growth, runaway inflation, foreign debt obligations of more than $100 billion, and uncertain economic policy.

Government intervention includes trade and investment restrictions, wage/price controls, interest and exchange rate controls, and extensive tariff barriers. Ownership of major industrial facilities is divided among private interests, the government, and multinational companies. Ownership in agriculture likewise is varied, with the government intervening in the politically sensitive issues involving large landowners and the masses of poor peasants.

In consultation with the IMF, the Brazilian Government has initiated several programs over the last few years to ameliorate the stagnation and foreign debt problems. None of these has given more than temporary relief. The strategy of the new Collor government is to increase the pace of privatization, encourage foreign trade and investment, and establish a more realistic exchange rate. One long-run strength is the existence of vast natural resources.

Exports

$34.2 billion (1989 est.);
commodities--coffee, metallurgical products, chemical products, foodstuffs, iron ore, automobiles and parts;
partners--US 28%, EC 26%, Latin America 11%, Japan 6% (1987)

Imports

$18.0 billion (1989 est.);
commodities--crude oil, capital goods, chemical products, foodstuffs, coal;
partners--Middle East and Africa 24%, EC 22%, US 21%, Latin America 12%, Japan 6% (1987)

Industrial production

growth rate 3.2% (1989 est.)

Electricity

52,865,000 kW capacity; 202,280 million kWh produced, 1,340 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries

textiles and other consumer goods, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, steel, motor vehicles and auto parts, metalworking, capital goods, tin

Agriculture

accounts for 12% 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

Illicit drugs

illicit producer of cannabis and coca, mostly for domestic consumption; government has an active eradication program to control cannabis and coca cultivation

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $2.5 billion;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $9.5 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $284 million;
Communist countries (1970-88), $1.3 billion

Currency

novo cruzado (plural--novos cruzados); 1 novo cruzado (NCr$) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates

novos cruzados (NCr$) per US$1--2.83392 (1989), 0.26238 (1988), 0.03923 (1987), 0.01366 (1986), 0.00620 (1985); note-- 25 tourist/parallel rate (December 1989)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

9 fields

Merchant marine, 271 ships by type

passenger-cargo 2cargo 68refrigerated cargo 1container 12roll-on/roll-off 9petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker 56chemical tanker 15liquefied gas 10combination ore/oil 14bulk 82combination bulk 2271 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,855,708 GRT/9,909,097 DWT

Airports, 3,774 total, 3,106 usable

permanent-surface runways

386runways over 3,659 m

2runways 2,240-3,659 m

21runways 1,220-2,439 m

503

Networkskm

Highways

1,448,000Railroads

29,694Inland waterways

50,000

Highways: ; 48,000 km paved, 1,400,000 km gravel or earth · Railroads: ; 25,268 km 1.000-meter gauge, 4,339 km 1.600-meter gauge, 74 km mixed 1.600-1.000-meter gauge, 13 km 0.760-meter gauge; 2,308 km electrified

Railroads

29,694 km total;
25,268 km 1.000-meter gauge, 4,339 km 1.600-meter gauge, 74 km mixed 1.600-1.000-meter gauge, 13 km 0.760-meter gauge;
2,308 km electrified

Highways

1,448,000 km total; 48,000 km paved, 1,400,000 km gravel or earth

Pipelines

crude oil, 2,000 km;
refined products, 3,804 km;
natural gas, 1,095 km

good system;
extensive radio relay facilities;
9.86 million telephones;
stations--1,223 AM, no FM, 112 TV, 151 shortwave;
3 coaxial submarine cables 3 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations with total of 3 antennas;
64 domestic satellite stations

Defense Forces

Brazilian Army, Navy of Brazil, Brazilian Air Force

3 fields

Military manpower

males 15-49

39,620,936fit for military service

26,752,307reach military age (18) annually

1,617,378

Defense expenditures

0.6%of GDP

or $2.3 billion (1989 est.)

Branches