Brazil

federal republicIndependence 7 September 1822 (from Portugal)

Brazil as the 1991 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 71 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

155.36 million July 1991 · 152.51m in 1990

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 1991 · 3.1 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

68 deaths per 1,000 live births 1991 · 69 in 1990

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

11 fields

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

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

Coastline

7,491 km Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 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);
has noted possible Latin claims 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

Land use

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

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

155,356,073

(July 1991), growth rate 1.8% (1991)

Per 1,000 population(1991)

Birth

26Death

7Net migration

Labor force

57,000,000

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

Literacy

81%

(male 82%, female 80%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Infant mortality rate

68 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Life expectancy at birth

62 years male, 68 years female (1991)

Total fertility rate

3.1 children born/woman (1991)

Nationality

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

Ethnic divisions

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

Religion

Roman Catholic (nominal) 90%

Language

Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French

Organized labor

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

Government

Federal republic

17 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, 81 seats, elected 3 October 1990one dot, one seat

(81 total as of 3 February 1991) PMDB 27PFL 15PSDB 10PTB 8PDT 5other 16

Long-form name

Federative Republic of Brazil

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;
note--the former territories of Amapa and Roraima became states in January 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 Federal Senate (Senado Federal) 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) National Reconstruction Party (PRN), Daniel TOURINHO, president;
Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), Orestes QUERCIA, 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), Leonel BRIZOLA, president;
Democratic Social Party (PDS), Amaral NETTO, 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;
Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Eduardo CAMPOS, 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%;
note--first free, direct presidential election since 1960;
Senate--last held 3 October 1990 (next to be held November 1994);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(81 total as of 3 February 1991) PMDB 27, PFL 15, PSDB 10, PTB 8, PDT 5, other 16;
Chamber of Deputies--last held 3 October 1990 (next to be held November 1994);
results--PMDB 21%, PFL 17%, PDT 9%, PDS 8%, PRN 7.9%, PTB 7%, PT 7%, other 23.1%;
seats--(503 total as of 3 February 1991) PMDB 108, PFL 87, PDT 46, PDS 43, PRN 40, PTB 35, PT 35, other 109;

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

AfDB, AG (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, 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

$388billion

per capita $2,540; real growth rate - 4.6% (1990)

Inflation, consumer prices

1,795%

(December 1990)

Unemployment rate

4.4%

(1990)

External debt

$122billion

(December 1990)

Exports $31.4 billion (1990)commodities, where a share is given

coffee partners--EC

29%US

23%Latin America

10%

also iron ore, soybean bran, orange juice, footwear, Japan 7% (1989)

Budget

Revenues

$36.5 billionExpenditures

$48.2 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $4.6 billion (1988)

Overview

The economy, with large agrarian, mining, and manufacturing sectors, entered the 1990s with declining real growth, runaway inflation, an unserviceable foreign debt of $122 billion, and a lack of policy direction. In addition, the economy remained highly regulated, inward-looking, and protected by substantial trade and investment barriers.

Ownership of major industrial and mining facilities is divided among private interests--including several multinationals--and the government. Most large agricultural holdings are private, with the government channeling financing to this sector. Conflicts between large landholders and landless peasants have produced intermittent violence.

The government is seeking an IMF standby loan despite several failed agreements over the past decade. Relations with foreign commercial banks remain strained because of mounting interest arrears on Brazil's long-term debt. The Collor government, which assumed office in March 1990, is embarked on an ambitious reform program that seeks to modernize and reinvigorate the economy by stabilizing prices, deregulating the economy, and opening it to increased foreign competition. A major long-run strength is Brazil's vast natural resources.

Imports

$20.4 billion (1990);
commodities--crude oil, capital goods, chemical products, foodstuffs, coal;
partners--US 21%, Middle East and Africa 20%, EC 20%, Latin America 18%, Japan 7% (1989)

Industrial production

growth rate - 8.9% (1990); accounts for 35% of GDP

Electricity

55,773,000 kW capacity; 214,116 million kWh produced, 1,400 kWh per capita (1990)

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 a modest eradication program to control cannabis and coca cultivation

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $2.5 billion;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $9.9 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $284 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $1.3 billion

Currency

cruzeiro (plural--cruzeiros); 1 cruzeiro (Cr$) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates

cruzeiros (Cr$) per US$1--193.189 (January 1991), 68.300 (1990), 2.834 (1989), 0.26238 (1988), 0.03923 (1987), 0.01366 (1986), 0.00620 (1985)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

9 fields

Airports, 3,751 total, 3,078 usable

permanent-surface runways

401runways over 3,659 m

2runways 2,240-3,659 m

22runways 1,220-2,439 m

533

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

Ports

Belem, Fortaleza, Ilheus, Manaus, Paranagua, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, Salvador, Santos

Merchant marine

263 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,898,838 GRT/9,975,272 DWT;
includes 2 passenger-cargo, 59 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 13 container, 7 roll-on/roll-off, 60 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 15 chemical tanker, 11 liquefied gas, 14 combination ore/oil, 79 bulk, 2 combination bulk;
additionally, 2 naval tanker and 4 military transport are sometimes used commercially

Civil air

176 major transport aircraft

Telecommunications

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