Brazil (2001) | Equatorial Guinea (2003) | |
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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 | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
28.57% (male 25,390,039; female 24,449,902) 15-64 years: 65.98% (male 56,603,895; female 58,507,289) 65 years and over: 5.45% (male 3,857,564; female 5,659,886) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.2% (male 108,179; female 107,164)
15-64 years: 54% (male 132,342; female 143,509) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 8,576; female 10,703) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus; beef | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber |
Airports | 3,264 (2000 est.) | 3 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
570 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 21 1,524 to 2,437 m: 141 914 to 1,523 m: 370 under 914 m: 33 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
2,694 1,524 to 2,437 m: 68 914 to 1,523 m: 1,279 under 914 m: 1,347 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total:
8,511,965 sq km land: 8,456,510 sq km water: 55,455 sq km note: includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo |
total: 28,051 sq km
land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the US | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Following three centuries under the rule of Portugal, Brazil became an independent nation in 1822. By far the largest and most populous country in South America, Brazil has overcome more than half a century of military intervention in the governance of the country to pursue industrial and agricultural growth and development of the interior. Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, Brazil became Latin America's leading economic power by the 1970s. Highly unequal income distribution remains a pressing problem. | Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. President OBIANG NGUEM MBASOGO has ruled the tiny country, composed of a mainland portion plus five inhabited islands and one of the smallest countries on the African continent, since he seized power in a coup in 1979. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996 and 2002 presidential elections - as well as the 1999 legislative elections - were widely seen as being flawed. |
Birth rate | 18.45 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 36.94 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$151 billion expenditures: $149 billion, including capital expenditures of $36 billion (1998) |
revenues: $200 million
expenditures: $158 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Brasilia | Malabo |
Climate | mostly tropical, but temperate in south | tropical; always hot, humid |
Coastline | 7,491 km | 296 km |
Constitution | 5 October 1988 | approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Federative Republic of Brazil conventional short form: Brazil local long form: Republica Federativa do Brasil local short form: Brasil |
conventional long form: Republic of Equatorial Guinea
conventional short form: Equatorial Guinea local long form: Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial local short form: Guinea Ecuatorial former: Spanish Guinea |
Currency | real (BRL) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 9.34 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.54 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $232 billion (2000) | $248 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Anthony S. HARRINGTON embassy: Avenida das Nacoes, Quadra 801, Lote 3, Distrito Federal Cep 70403-900, Brasilia mailing address: Unit 3500, APO AA 34030 telephone: [55] (061) 321-7272 FAX: [55] (061) 225-9136 consulate(s) general: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo consulate(s): Recife |
the US does not have an embassy in Equatorial Guinea (embassy closed September 1995); the US ambassador to Cameroon is accredited to Equatorial Guinea; the US State Department is considering opening a Consulate Agency in Malabo |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Rubens Antonio BARBOSA chancery: 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 238-2700 FAX: [1] (202) 238-2827 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco |
chief of mission: Ambassador Teodoro Biyogo NSUE
chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700 FAX: [1] (202) 518-5252 |
Disputes - international | none | in 2002, ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, but states have not yet agreed to abide by the decision; creation of a maritime boundary in hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay with Gabon is hampered by dispute over small islets on Mbane/Mbagne bank, administered and occupied by Gabon since the 1970s |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $33.8 million (1995) |
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. In the late eighties and early nineties, high inflation hindered economic activity and investment. "The Real Plan", instituted in the spring of 1994, sought to break inflationary expectations by pegging the real to the US dollar. Inflation was brought down to single digit annual figures, but not fast enough to avoid substantial real exchange rate appreciation during the transition phase of the "Real Plan". This appreciation meant that Brazilian goods were now more expensive relative to goods from other countries, which contributed to large current account deficits. However, no shortage of foreign currency ensued because of the financial community's renewed interest in Brazilian markets as inflation rates stabilized and the debt crisis of the eighties faded from memory. The maintenance of large current account deficits via capital account surpluses became problematic as investors became more risk averse to emerging market exposure as a consequence of the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and the Russian bond default in August 1998. 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. In January 1999, the Brazilian Central Bank announced that the real would no longer be pegged to the US dollar. This devaluation helped moderate the downturn in economic growth in 1999 that investors had expressed concerns about over the summer of 1998. Brazil's debt to GDP ratio for 1999 beat the IMF target and helped reassure investors that Brazil will maintain tight fiscal and monetary policy even with a floating currency. The economy continued to recover in 2000, with inflation remaining in the single digits and expected growth for 2001 of 4.5%. Foreign direct investment set a record of more than $30 billion in 2000. | The discovery and exploitation of large oil reserves have contributed to dramatic economic growth in recent years. Forestry, farming, and fishing are also major components of GDP. Subsistence farming predominates. Although pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings, the neglect of the rural economy under successive regimes has diminished potential for agriculture-led growth (the government has stated its intention to reinvest some oil revenue into agriculture). A number of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993 because of corruption and mismanagement. No longer eligible for concessional financing because of large oil revenues, the government has been unsuccessfully trying to agree on a "shadow" fiscal management program with the World Bank and IMF. Businesses, for the most part, are owned by government officials and their family members. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Growth will remain strong in 2003, led by oil. |
Electricity - consumption | 353.674 billion kWh (1999) | 21.91 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 5 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 39.86 billion kWh
note: supplied by Paraguay (1999) |
0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 337.44 billion kWh (1999) | 23.56 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
5.28% hydro: 90.66% nuclear: 1.12% other: 2.94% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 94.3%
hydro: 5.7% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pico da Neblina 3,014 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 m |
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
note: President CARDOSO in September 1999 signed into force an environmental crime bill which for the first time defines pollution and deforestation as crimes punishable by stiff fines and jail sentences |
tap water is not potable; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | white (includes Portuguese, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish) 55%, mixed white and black 38%, black 6%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 1% | Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish |
Exchange rates | reals per US dollar - 1.954 (January 2001), 1.830 (2000), 1.815 (1999), 1.161 (1998), 1.078 (1997), 1.005 (1996)
note: 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 dollar |
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998) |
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% |
chief of state: President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979 when he seized power in a military coup)
head of government: Prime Minister Candido Muatetema RIVAS (since 26 February 2001); First Deputy Prime Minister Miguel OYONO NDONG (since NA January 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Demetrio Elo NDONG NZE FUMU (since NA January 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held NA December 2009); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected president; percent of vote - Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO 97.1%, Celestino Bonifacio BACALE 2.2%; elections marred by widespread fraud |
Exports | $55.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | manufactures, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee | petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa |
Exports - partners | US 23%, Argentina 11%, Germany 5%, Netherlands 5%, Japan 5% (1999) | US 28.3%, Spain 25.3%, China 17.4%, Canada 10.6%, France 4.9% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 January - 31 December |
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) | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms has six yellow six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five offshore islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and below which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity, Peace, Justice) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.13 trillion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.27 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
9% industry: 29% services: 62% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 20%
industry: 60% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.2% (2000 est.) | 20% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 10 00 S, 55 00 W | 2 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador | insular and continental regions rather widely separated |
Highways | total:
1.98 million km paved: 184,140 km unpaved: 1,795,860 km (1996) |
total: 2,880 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1% highest 10%: 47.6% (1996) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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; 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 Bolivian, Peruvian, and Colombian cocaine | - |
Imports | $55.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemical products, oil, electricity | petroleum sector equipment, other equipment |
Imports - partners | US 24%, Argentina 12%, Germany 10%, Japan 5%, Italy 5% (1999) | US 29.1%, Spain 15.9%, UK 14.8%, France 10.4%, Norway 7.2%, Netherlands 4.8%, Italy 4.7% (2002) |
Independence | 7 September 1822 (from Portugal) | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.9% (2000 est.) | 30% (2002 est.) |
Industries | textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas |
Infant mortality rate | 36.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 89.02 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 95.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 82.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000) | 6% (2002 est.) |
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, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 50 (2000) | 1 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 28,000 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Federal Tribunal (11 ministers are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate); Higher Tribunal of Justice; Regional Federal Tribunals (judges are appointed for life) | Supreme Tribunal |
Labor force | 79 million (1999 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | services 53.2%, agriculture 23.1%, industry 23.7% | - |
Land boundaries | total:
14,691 km border countries: 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 |
total: 539 km
border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km |
Land use | arable land:
5% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 22% forests and woodland: 58% other: 14% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 4.63%
permanent crops: 3.57% other: 91.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French | Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo |
Legal system | based on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom |
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, PSB 3, PDT 2, PPS 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PFL 106, PSDB 99, PMDB 82, PPB 60, PT 58, PTB 31, PDT 25, PSB 19, PL 12, PCdoB 7, other 14 |
unicameral House of People's Representatives or Camara de Representantes del Pueblo (80 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 7 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - PDGE 80%, UP 6%, CPDS 5%; seats by party - PDGE 75, UP 4 and CPDS 1 note: opposition parties have refused to take up their seats in the House to protest widespread irregularities in the 1999 legislative elections |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
63.24 years male: 58.96 years female: 67.73 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 54.75 years
male: 52.63 years female: 56.93 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83.3% male: 83.3% female: 83.2% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.7% male: 93.3% female: 78.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon |
Map references | South America | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
171 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,788,999 GRT/6,067,314 DWT ships by type: bulk 33, cargo 26, chemical tanker 5, combination ore/oil 9, container 12, liquefied gas 11, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 56, roll on/roll off 12, short-sea passenger 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,571 GRT/9,670 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Brazilian Army, Brazilian Navy (includes naval air and marines), Brazilian Air Force, Federal Police (paramilitary) | Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $13.408 billion (FY99) | $30 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.9% (FY99) | 2.5% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
48,298,486 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 116,496 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
32,388,786 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 59,110 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
1,762,740 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 7 September (1822) | Independence Day, 12 October (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Brazilian(s) adjective: Brazilian |
noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)
adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south | violent windstorms, flash floods |
Natural resources | bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber | oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium, titanium, iron ore |
Net migration rate | -0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 2,980 km; petroleum products 4,762 km; natural gas 4,246 km (1998) | condensate 37 km; gas 39 km; liquid natural gas 4 km; oil 24 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Brazilian Democratic Movement Party or PMDB [Jader BARBALHO, president]; Brazilian Labor Party or PTB [Roberto JEFFERSON]; Brazilian Social Democracy Party or PSDB [Teotonio VILELA Filno]; Brazilian Socialist Party or PSB [Miguel ARRAES, president]; Brazilian Progressive Party or PPB [Paulo Salim MALUF]; Communist Party of Brazil or PCdoB [Sergio Roberto Gomes SOUZA, chairman]; Democratic Labor Party or PDT [Leonel BRIZOLA, president]; Liberal Front Party or PFL [Jorge BORNHAUSEN, president]; Liberal Party or PL [Francisco Teixeira de OLIVEIRA]; Popular Socialist Party or PPS [Ciro GOMEZ, president]; Worker's Party or PT [Jose DIRCEU, president] | Convergence Party for Social Democracy or CPDS [Placido MIKO Abogo]; Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea or PDGE (ruling party) [Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO]; Party for Progress of Equatorial Guinea or PPGE [Severo MOTO]; Popular Action of Equatorial Guinea or APGE [Miguel Esono EMAN]; Popular Union or UP [Andres Moises Bda ADA]; Progressive Democratic Alliance or ADP [Victorino Bolekia BONAY]; Union of Independent Democrats of UDI [Daniel OYONO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | left wing of the Catholic Church, Landless Worker's Movement, and labor unions allied to leftist Worker's Party are critical of government's social and economic policies | NA |
Population | 174,468,575
note: Brazil took an intercensal count in August 1996 which reported a population of 157,079,573; that figure was about 5% lower than projections by the US Census Bureau, which is close to the implied underenumeration of 4.6% for the 1991 census; estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
510,473 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 17.4% (1990 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.91% (2001 est.) | 2.44% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Belem, Fortaleza, Ilheus, Imbituba, Manaus, Paranagua, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, Salvador, Santos, Vitoria | Bata, Luba, Malabo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1,365, FM 296, shortwave 161 (of which 91 are collocated with AM stations) (1999) | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002) |
Radios | 71 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
30,539 km (2,129 km electrified); note - excludes urban rail broad gauge: 5,679 km 1.600-m gauge (1199 km electrified) standard gauge: 194 km 1.440-m gauge narrow gauge: 24,666 km 1.000-m gauge (930 km electrified) dual gauge: 336 km 1.000-m and 1.600-m gauges (three rails) (1999 est.) |
total: 0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic (nominal) 80% | nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices |
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 (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | voluntary between 16 and 18 years of age and over 70; compulsory over 18 and under 70 years of age | 18 years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment:
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), connected by microwave relay system to MERCOSUR Brazilsat B3 satellite earth station |
general assessment: poor system with adequate government services
domestic: NA international: international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 17.039 million (1997) | 6,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.4 million (1997) | 300 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 138 (1997) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt | coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | 2.09 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.75 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.1% (2000 est.) | 30% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | 50,000 km | none |