Brazil at a Glance
Federative Republic of Brazil
National name: República Federativa do Brasil
President: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2003)
Land area: 3,265,059 sq mi (8,456,511 sq km); total area: 3,286,470 sq mi (8,511,965 sq km)
Population (2008 est.): 191,908,598 (growth rate: 0.9%); birth rate: 16.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 26.6/1000; life expectancy: 72.5; density per sq mi: 22
Capital (2003 est.): Brasília, 2,160,100
Largest cities: São Paulo, 18,333,000 (metro. area), 10,927,985 (city proper); Rio de Janeiro, 11,469,000 (metro. area), 6,094,183 (city proper); Salvador, 2,590,400; Belo Horizonte, 2,347,500; Recife, 1,485,500; Porto Alegre, 1,372,700
Monetary unit: Real
Languages: Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
Ethnicity/race: white 53.7%, mulatto (mixed white and black) 38.5%, black 6.2%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 0.9%, unspecified 0.7% (2000)
National Holiday: Independence Day, September 7
Religion: Roman Catholic 74%, Protestant 15%, Spiritualist 1%, none 7% (2000)
Literacy rate: 88.6% (2006 est.)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $1.836 trillion; per capita $9,700. Real growth rate: 5.4%. Inflation: 3.6%. Unemployment: 9.3%. Arable land: 7%.
Agriculture: coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus; beef. Labor force: 96.34 million; agriculture 20%, industry 14%, services 66% (2006 est.).
Industries: textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment.
Natural resources: bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber. Exports: $137.5 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos. Imports: $91.4 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): machinery, electrical and transport equipment, chemical products, oil.
Major trading partners: U.S., Argentina, China, Netherlands, Germany, Mexico, Nigeria, Japan (2005).
Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 42.382 million (2004); mobile cellular: 86.21 million (2005). Radio broadcast stations: AM 1,365, FM 296, shortwave 161 (of which 91 are collocated with AM stations) (1999). Television broadcast stations: 138 (1997). Internet hosts: 3,163,349 (2003). Internet users: 25.9 million (2005).
Transportation: Railways: total: 29,252 km (1598 km electrified) (2005). Highways: total: 1,751,868 km; paved: 96,353 km; unpaved: 1,655,515 km (2005). Waterways: 50,000 km (most in areas remote from industry and population) (2005). Ports and harbors: Gebig, Itaqui, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, San Sebasttiao, Santos, Sepetiba Terminal, Tubarao, Vitoria. Airports: 4,276 (2006 est.).
International disputes: unruly region at convergence of Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay borders is locus of money laundering, smuggling, arms and illegal narcotics trafficking, and fundraising for extremist organizations; uncontested dispute with Uruguay over certain islands in the Quarai/Cuareim and Invernada boundary streams and the resulting tripoint with Argentina; in 2004 Brazil submitted its claims to UNCLOS to extend its maritime continental margin.
Geography
Brazil covers nearly half of South America and is the continent's largest nation. It extends 2,965 mi (4,772 km) north-south, 2,691 mi (4,331 km) east-west, and borders every nation on the continent except Chile and Ecuador. Brazil may be divided into the Brazilian Highlands, or plateau, in the south and the Amazon River Basin in the north. Over a third of Brazil is drained by the Amazon and its more than 200 tributaries. The Amazon is navigable for ocean steamers to Iquitos, Peru, 2,300 mi (3,700 km) upstream. Southern Brazil is drained by the Plata system—the Paraguay, Uruguay, and Paraná rivers.