Brazil
Federative Republic of BrazilRepublica Federativa do Brasil
federal republicIndependence 7 September 1822 (from Portugal)
Brazil as the 1999 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 107 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Geography
Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean
18 fieldsLand useshare of 8,511,965 sq km
Terrain
mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt
Natural resources
bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber
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:
- Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography--note
largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador
People
15 fieldsNote
Per 1,000 population(1999 est.)
Male · female
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 30% (male 26,059,687; female 25,095,236)
- 15-64 years:
- 65% (male 55,037,161; female 56,727,196)
- 65 years and over:
- 5% (male 3,626,893; female 5,306,953) (1999 est.)
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.04 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 0.97 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.68 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 0.97 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Government
Federal republic; President Fernando Henrique CARDOSO (since 1 January 1995); President Fernando Henrique CARDOSO (since 1 January 1995)
19 fieldsLegislature, 405 seatsseats by party
Country name
- conventional long form:
- Federative Republic of Brazil
- conventional short form:
- Brazil
- local long form:
- Republica Federativa do Brasil
- local short form:
- Brasil
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
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:
- 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
- elections:
- president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms;
- election last held 4 October 1998 (next to be held NA October 2002)
- election results:
- Fernando Henrique CARDOSO reelected president; percent of vote--53%
Legislative branch
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)
- elections:
- Federal Senate--last held 4 October 1998 for one-third of Senate (next to be held NA October 2002 for two-thirds of the Senate);
- Chamber of Deputies--last held 4 October 1998 (next to be held NA October 2002)
- election results:
- Federal Senate--percent of vote by party--NA%;
- seats by party--PMDB 27, PFL 20, PSDB 16, PT 7, PPB 5;
- Chamber of Deputies--percent of vote by party--NA%;
- seats by party--PFL 106, PSDB 99, PMDB 82, PPB 60, PT 58
Judicial branch
Supreme Federal Tribunal, 11 judges are appointed for life by the president and confirmed by the Senate
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
International organization participation
AfDB, BIS, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MONUA, MTCR, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMOP, UNPREDEP, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Rubens Antonio BARBOSA
- chancery:
- 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
- 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-designate J. Brian ATWOOD
- embassy:
- Avenida das Nacoes, Quadra 801, Lote 3, Brasilia, Distrito Federal Cep 70403-900 Brazil
- mailing address:
- Unit 3500, APO AA 34030
- consulate(s) general:
- Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo
- consulate(s):
- Recife
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
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.
31 fieldsGDP--composition by sector(1997)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
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. Prior to the institution of a stabilization plan--the Plano Real (Real Plan) in mid-1994, stratospheric inflation rates had disrupted economic activity and discouraged foreign investment.
Since then, tight monetary policy has brought inflation under control--consumer prices increased by 2% in 1998 compared to more than 1,000% in 1994. At the same time, GDP growth slowed from 5.7% in 1994 to about 3.0% in 1997 due to tighter credit. The Real Plan faced its strongest challenge in 1998, as the world financial crisis caused investors to more closely examine the country's structural weaknesses.
The most severe spillover for Brazil--after Russia's debt default in August 1998--created unrelenting pressure on the currency which forced the country to hike annual interest rates to 50%. Approximately $30 billion in capital left the country in August and September. After crafting a fiscal adjustment program and pledging progress on structural reform, Brazil received a $41.5 billion IMF-led international support program in November 1998.
Capital continued to leach out of the country, and investors, concerned about the rising mountain of debt and currency widely-viewed as overvalued, stayed on the sidelines. In January 1999, Brazil made an abrupt shift of course in exchange rate policy, abandoning the strong currency anti-inflation anchor of the Real Plan.
On 13 January 1999, Central Bank officials announced a one-time 8% devaluation of the real, and on 15 January 1999, the currency was declared to be freely floating. President CARDOSO remains committed to limiting inflation and weathering the financial crisis through austerity and sacrifice as the country rides out a deep recession.
He hopes the country will resume economic growth in the second half of 1999, so that he can once again focus on his longer-term goal of reducing poverty and income inequality. CARDOSO still hopes to address mandated revenue sharing with the states and cumbersome procedures to amend the constitution before the end of his second term.
Industries
textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment
Exchange rates
reals (R$) per US$1--1.501 (January 1999), 1.161 (1998), 1.078 (1997), 1.005 (1996), 0.918 (1995), 0.639 (1994); CR$ per US$1--390.845 (January 1994)
note: the real (R$) was introduced on 1 July 1994, equal to 2,750 cruzeiro reais; from October 1994 through 14 January 1999, the official rate was determined by a managed float;
since 15 January 1999, the official rate floats independently with respect to the US$
Communications
6 fieldsTelephone system
good working system
- domestic:
- extensive microwave radio relay system and a domestic satellite system with 64 earth stations
- international:
- 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations--3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean Region East)
Radio broadcast stations
AM 1,627, FM 251, shortwave 114 (of which 91 are associated with AM stations) (1998)
Transportation
9 fieldsMerchant marine, 179 ships by type(1998 est.)
Airports by runway lengthpaved only
Airports by runway lengthunpaved only
Networkskm
Railways
- total:
- 28,862 km (1,187 km electrified)
- broad gauge:
- 4,123 km 1.600-m gauge
- narrow gauge:
- 24,390 km 1.000-m gauge; 13 km 0.760-m gauge
- dual gauge:
- 336 km 1.000-m and 1.600-m gauges (three rails)
Ports and harbors
Belem, Fortaleza, Ilheus, Imbituba, Manaus, Paranagua, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, Salvador, Santos, Vitoria
Military
Brazilian Army, Brazilian Navy (includes naval | air and marines), Brazilian Air Force, Federal Police (paramilitary)
7 fieldsMilitary branches
Brazilian Army, Brazilian Navy (includes naval air and marines), Brazilian Air Force, Federal Police (paramilitary)
Transnational Issues
2 fieldsDisputes--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, Colombian, and Peruvian cocaine headed for the US and Europe;
- increasingly used by traffickers as a way station for narcotics air transshipments between Peru and Colombia
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Brazil.” The World Factbook 1999. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/brazil/1999.