Brazil

total:

59.3 cu km/yr (20%/18%/62%)

per capita:

318 cu m/yr (2000)

• deforestation in Amazon Basin destroys the habitat and endangers a multitude of plant and animal species indigenous to the area;
• there is a lucrative illegal wildlife trade;
• 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;
• wetland degradation;
• severe oil spills

noun:

Brazilian(s)

adjective:

Brazilian

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:

0.73 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

conventional long form:

Federative Republic of Brazil

conventional short form:

Brazil

local long form:

Republica Federativa do Brasil

local short form:

Brasil

name:

Brasilia

geographic coordinates:

15 47 S, 47 55 W

time difference:

UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins third Sunday in October; ends last Sunday in February

note: Brazil is divided into three time zones, including one for the Fernando de Noronha Islands

• 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

• voluntary between 16 and 18 years of age and over 70;
• compulsory over 18 and under 70 years of age;
• note - military conscripts do not vote

chief of state:

• President Dilma ROUSSEFF (since 1 January 2011);
• Vice President Michel TEMER (since 1 January 2011);
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Dilma ROUSSEFF (since 1 January 2011); Vice President Michel TEMER (since 1 January 2011)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a single four-year term;
• election last held on 3 October 2010 with runoff on 31 October 2010 (next to be held on 5 October 2014 and, if necessary, a runoff election on 2 November 2014)

election results:

Dilma ROUSSEFF (PT) elected president in a runoff election; percent of vote - Dilma ROUSSEFF 56.01%, Jose SERRA (PSDB) 43.99%

• Supreme Federal Tribunal or STF (11 ministers are appointed for life by the president and confirmed by the Senate);
• Higher Tribunal of Justice;
• Regional Federal Tribunals (judges are appointed for life);
• note - though appointed "for life," judges, like all federal employees, have a mandatory retirement age of 70

• Brazilian Democratic Movement Party or PMDB [Federal Deputy Michel TEMER];
• Brazilian Labor Party or PTB [Roberto JEFFERSON];
• Brazilian Renewal Labor Party or PRTB [Jose Levy FIDELIX da Cruz];
• Brazilian Republican Party or PRB [Vitor Paulo Araujo DOS SANTOS];
• Brazilian Social Democracy Party or PSDB [Senator Sergio GUERRA];
• Brazilian Socialist Party or PSB [Governor Eduardo Henrique Accioly CAMPOS];
• Christian Labor Party or PTC [Daniel TOURINHO];
• Communist Party of Brazil or PCdoB [Jose Renato RABELO];
• Democratic Labor Party or PDT [Carlos Roberto LUPI];
• the Democrats or DEM [Federal Deputy Rodrigo MAIA] (formerly Liberal Front Party or PFL);
• Freedom and Socialism Party or PSOL [Heloisa HELENA];
• Green Party or PV [Jose Luiz de Franca PENNA];
• Humanist Party of Solidarity or PHS [Paulo Roberto MATOS];
• Labor Party of Brazil or PTdoB [Luis Henrique de Oliveira RESENDE];
• Liberal Front Party or PFL (now known as the Democrats or DEM);
• National Mobilization Party or PMN [Oscar Noronha FILHO];
• Party of the Republic or PR [Sergio TAMER];
• Popular Socialist Party or PPS [Federal Deputy Fernando CORUJA];
• Progressive Party or PP [Francisco DORNELLES];
• Social Christian Party or PSC [Vitor Jorge Abdala NOSSEIS];
• Workers' Party or PT [Jose Eduardo DUTRA]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Mauro Luiz Iecker VIEIRA

chancery:

3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 238-2805

FAX:

[1] (202) 238-2827

consulate(s) general:

Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco

chief of mission:

Ambassador Thomas A. SHANNON

embassy:

Avenida das Nacoes, Quadra 801, Lote 3, Distrito Federal Cep 70403-900, Brasilia

mailing address:

Unit 7500, DPO, AA 34030

telephone:

[55] (61) 3312-7000

FAX:

[55] (61) 3225-9136

consulate(s) general:

Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo

consulate(s):

Recife

• green with a large yellow diamond in the center bearing a blue celestial globe with 27 white five-pointed stars;
• the globe has a white equatorial band with the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO (Order and Progress);
• the current flag was inspired by the banner of the former Empire of Brazil (1822-1889);
• on the imperial flag, the green represented the House of Braganza of Pedro I, the first Emperor of Brazil, while the yellow stood for the Habsburg Family of his wife;
• on the modern flag the green represents the forests of the country and the yellow rhombus its mineral wealth;
• the blue circle and stars, which replaced the coat of arms of the original flag, depict the sky over Rio de Janeiro on the morning of 15 November 1889 - the day the Republic of Brazil was declared;
• the number of stars has changed with the creation of new states and has risen from an original 21 to the current 27 (one for each state and the Federal District)

name:

"Hino Nacional Brasileiro" (Brazilian National Anthem)

lyrics/music:

Joaquim Osorio Duque ESTRADA/Francisco Manoel DA SILVA

note: music adopted 1890, lyrics adopted 1922; the anthem's music, composed in 1822, was used unofficially for many years before it was adopted

agriculture:

20%

industry:

14%

services:

66% (2003 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.2%

highest 10%:

42.5% (2009)

general assessment:

• good working system including an extensive microwave radio relay system and a domestic satellite system with 64 earth stations;
• mobile-cellular usage has more than tripled in the past 5 years

domestic:

• fixed-line connections have remained relatively stable in recent years and stand at about 20 per 100 persons;
• less expensive mobile-cellular technology has been a major driver in expanding telephone service to the lower-income segments of the population with mobile-cellular teledensity reaching 100 per 100 persons in 2010

international:

• country code - 55;
• landing point for a number of submarine cables, including Americas-1, Americas-2, Atlantis-2, GlobeNet, South Amrica-1, South American Crossing/Latin American Nautilius, and UNISUR that provide direct connectivity to South and Central America, the Caribbean, the US, Africa, and Europe;
• satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region east), connected by microwave relay system to Mercosur Brazilsat B3 satellite earth station (2010)

• state-run Radiobras operates a radio and a television network;
• more than 1,000 radio stations and more than 100 TV channels operating - mostly privately owned;
• private media ownership highly concentrated (2007)

• condensate/gas 62 km;
• gas 13,514 km;
• liquid petroleum gas 352 km;
• oil 3,729 km;
• refined products 4,684 km (2010)

total:

28,538 km

country comparison to the world: 10

broad gauge:

5,627 km 1.600-m gauge (467 km electrified)

standard gauge:

194 km 1.440-m gauge

narrow gauge:

22,717 km 1.000-m gauge (2010)

total:

1,751,868 km

country comparison to the world: 4

paved:

96,353 km

unpaved:

1,655,515 km (2004)

cargo ports (tonnage):

Ilha Grande (Gebig), Paranagua, Rio Grande, Santos, Sao Sebastiao, Tubarao

container ports (TEUs):

Santos (2,677,839), Itajai (693,580)

oil terminals:

DTSE/Gegua oil terminal, Guaiba Island terminal, Guamare oil terminal

• the International Maritime Bureau reports that the territorial and offshore waters in the Atlantic Ocean remain a significant risk for piracy and armed robbery against ships;
• 2010 saw an 80% increase in attacks over 2009;
• numerous commercial vessels were attacked and hijacked both at anchor and while underway;
• crews were robbed and stores or cargoes stolen

• 21-45 years of age for compulsory military service;
• conscript service obligation - 9 to 12 months;
• 17-45 years of age for voluntary service;
• an increasing percentage of the ranks are "long-service" volunteer professionals;
• women were allowed to serve in the armed forces beginning in early 1980s when the Brazilian Army became the first army in South America to accept women into career ranks;
• women serve in Navy and Air Force only in Women's Reserve Corps (2001)

males age 16-49:

53,350,703

females age 16-49:

53,433,918 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

38,993,989

females age 16-49:

44,841,661 (2010 est.)

male:

1,733,168

female:

1,672,477 (2010 est.)

• uncontested boundary dispute between Brazil and Uruguay over Braziliera/Brasiliera Island in the Quarai/Cuareim River leaves the tripoint with Argentina in question;
• smuggling of firearms and narcotics continues to be an issue along the Uruguay-Brazil border;
• Colombian-organized illegal narcotics and paramilitary activities penetrate Brazil's border region with Venezuela

• second-largest consumer of cocaine in the world;
• illicit producer of cannabis;
• trace amounts of coca cultivation in the Amazon region, 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 Europe;
• also used by traffickers as a way station for narcotics air transshipments between Peru and Colombia;
• upsurge in drug-related violence and weapons smuggling;
• important market for Colombian, Bolivian, and Peruvian cocaine;
• illicit narcotics proceeds are often laundered through the financial system;
• significant illicit financial activity in the Tri-Border Area (2008)