Brazil (2002) | Guinea-Bissau (2001) | |
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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 | 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 28% (male 25,140,954; female 24,199,276)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 57,424,151; female 59,409,928) 65 years and over: 5.6% (male 3,992,017; female 5,863,234) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
42.09% (male 276,312; female 277,536) 15-64 years: 55.05% (male 344,493; female 379,889) 65 years and over: 2.86% (male 16,850; female 20,742) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus; beef | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish |
Airports | 3,365 (2001) | 29 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 665
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 23 1,524 to 2,437 m: 155 914 to 1,523 m: 435 under 914 m: 45 (2002) |
total:
3 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 2,925 2,738
1,524 to 2,437 m: 72 914 to 1,523 m: 1,316 under 914 m: 70 1,350 (2002) |
total:
26 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
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:
36,120 sq km land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the US | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut |
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 is today South America's leading economic power and a regional leader. Highly unequal income distribution remains a pressing problem. | In 1994, 20 years after independence from Portugal, the country's first multiparty legislative and presidential elections were held. An army uprising that triggered a bloody civil war in 1998, created hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. The president was ousted by a military junta in May 1999. An interim government turned over power in February 2000 when opposition leader Koumba YALLA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by a crippled economy devastated by civil war and the military's predilection for governmental meddling. |
Birth rate | 18.08 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 39.29 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $100.6 billion
expenditures: $91.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000) (2000) |
revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | Brasilia | Bissau |
Climate | mostly tropical, but temperate in south | tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds |
Coastline | 7,491 km | 350 km |
Constitution | 5 October 1988 | 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996 |
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 Guinea-Bissau conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau local long form: Republica da Guine-Bissau local short form: Guine-Bissau former: Portuguese Guinea |
Currency | real (BRL) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States; previously the Guinea-Bissau peso (GWP) was used |
Death rate | 9.32 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 15.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $251 billion (2001) (2001) | $964 million (1998 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Donna J. HRINAK
embassy: Avenida das Nacoes, Quadra 801, Lote 3, Distrito Federal Cep 70403-900, Brasilia mailing address: Unit 3500, APO AA 34030 telephone: [55] (61) 312-7000 FAX: [55] (61) 225-9136 consulate(s) general: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo consulate(s): Recife |
the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and military-led junta |
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 Mario LOPES DA ROSA chancery: Suite 519, 1511 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 347-3950 FAX: [1] (202) 347-3954 |
Disputes - international | uncontested dispute with Uruguay over islands in the Rio Quarai (Rio Cuareim) and the Arroio Invernada (Arroyo de la Invernada) | none |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $115.4 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. 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, and the country posted moderate GDP growth. Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001 - to less than 2% - because of a slowdown in major markets and the hiking of interest rates by the Central Bank to combat inflationary pressures. Investor confidence was strong at yearend 2001, in part because of the strong recovery in the trade balance. | One of the 20 poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks sixth in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the major crop and staple food. However, intermittent fighting between Senegalese-backed government troops and a military junta destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and caused widespread damage to the economy in 1998; the civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that year, with partial recovery in 1999-2000. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. However, unexploited offshore oil reserves could provide much-needed revenue in the long run. |
Electricity - consumption | 360.64 billion kWh (2000) | 51.2 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 42.3 billion kWh
note: supplied by Paraguay (2000) |
0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 342.3 billion kWh (2000) | 55 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 6%
hydro: 89% nuclear: 1% other: 4% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico da Neblina 3,014 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Wetlands 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% | African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% |
Exchange rates | reals per US dollar - 2.378 (January 2002), 2.358 (2001), 1.830 (2000), 1.815 (1999), 1.161 (1998), 1.078 (1997)
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 (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); Guinea-Bissauan pesos per US dollar - 26,373 (1996)
note: as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted the CFA franc as the national currency; since 1 January 1999, the CFA franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 CFA francs per euro |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Luiz Ignacio Lula DA SILVA (since 1 January 2003); Vice President Jose ALENCAR (since 1 January 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Luiz Ignacio Lula DA SILVA (since 1 January 2003); Vice President Jose ALENCAR (since 1 January 2003); 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 6 October 2002 (next to be held NA October 2006); runoff election held 27 October 2002 election results: in runoff election 27 October 2002, Luiz Ignacio Lula DA SILVA (PT) was elected with 61.3% of the vote; Jose SERRA (PSDB) 38.7% |
chief of state:
President Koumba YALLA (since 18 February 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Faustino IMBALI (since 20 March 2001) cabinet: NA elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 1999 and 16 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature election results: Koumba YALLA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Koumba YALLA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28% |
Exports | $57.8 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $80 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | manufactures, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos | cashew nuts 70%, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber (1996) |
Exports - partners | US 24.4%, Argentina 11.2%, Germany 8.7%, Japan 5.5%, Italy 3.9%, Netherlands (2001) | India 59%, Singapore 12%, Italy 10% (1998) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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) | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.34 trillion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9%
industry: 32% services: 59% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
54% industry: 15% services: 31% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $850 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.9% (2001 est.) | 7.6% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 10 00 S, 55 00 W | 12 00 N, 15 00 W |
Geography - note | largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador | - |
Highways | total: 1.98 million km
paved: 184,140 km unpaved: 1,795,860 km (1996) |
total:
4,400 km paved: 453 km unpaved: 3,947 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 47% (1997) (1997) |
lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 42.4% (1991) |
Illicit drugs | illicit producer of cannabis; minor coca cultivation in the Amazon region, used for domestic consumption; government has a large-scale eradication program to control cannabis; important transshipment country for 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 Colombian, Bolivian, and Peruvian cocaine; illicit narcotics proceeds earned in Brazil are often laundered through the financial system; significant illicit financial activity in the Tri-Border Area | - |
Imports | $57.7 billion f.o.b. (2001) | $55.2 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemical products, oil, electricity, autos and auto parts | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products (1996) |
Imports - partners | US 23.2%, Argentina 11.2%, Germany 8.7%, Japan 5.5%, Italy 3.9% (2001) | Portugal 26%, France 8%, Senegal 8%, Netherlands 7% (1998) |
Independence | 7 September 1822 (from Portugal) | 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1% (2001 est.) | 2.6% (1997 est.) |
Industries | textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks |
Infant mortality rate | 35.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 110.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.7% (2001) (2001) | 3% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, BIS, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOP, UNMOVIC, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACCT (associate), ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 50 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 26,560 sq km (1998 est.) | 17 sq km (1993 est.) |
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 Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices who are appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at over $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases) |
Labor force | 79 million (1999 est.) | 480,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | services 53%, agriculture 23%, industry 24% | agriculture 78% |
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:
724 km border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
Land use | arable land: 6.3%
permanent crops: 1.42% other: 92.28% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
11% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 38% forests and woodland: 38% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages |
Legal system | based on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | NA |
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 6 October 2002 for two-thirds of the Senate (next to be held NA October 2006 for one-third of the Senate); Chamber of Deputies - last held 6 October 2002 (next to be held NA October 2006) election results: Federal Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party PMBD 19, PFL 19, PT 14, PSDB 11, PDT 5, PSB 4, PL 3, PTB 3, PPS 1, PSD 1, PPB 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PT 91, PFL 84, PMDB 74, PSDB 71, PPB 49, PL 26, PTB 26, PSB 22, PDT 21, PPS 15, PCdoB 12, PRONA 6, PV 5, other 11 |
unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve a maximum of four years)
elections: last held 28 November 1999 (next to be held by NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRS 37, RGB 27, PAIGC 25, 11 remaining seats went to 5 of the remaining 10 parties that fielded candidates |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 63.55 years
male: 59.4 years female: 67.91 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
49.42 years male: 47.12 years female: 51.78 years (2001 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: 53.9% male: 67.1% female: 40.7% (1997 est.) |
Location | Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal |
Map references | South America | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 165 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,662,570 GRT/5,875,933 DWT
ships by type: bulk 32, cargo 25, chemical tanker 5, combination ore/oil 9, container 12, liquefied gas 11, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 54, roll on/roll off 10, short-sea passenger 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Chile 2, Germany 6, Greece 1, Monaco 1 (2002 est.) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Brazilian Army, Brazilian Navy (includes naval air and marines), Brazilian Air Force, Federal Police (paramilitary) | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $13.408 billion (FY99) | $8 million (FY96) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.9% (FY99) | 2.8% (FY96) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 48,859,610 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
305,071 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 32,743,504 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
173,703 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 1,762,740 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 7 September (1822) | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) |
Nationality | noun: Brazilian(s)
adjective: Brazilian |
noun:
Guinean (s) adjective: Guinean |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires |
Natural resources | bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum |
Net migration rate | -0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -1.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 2,980 km; petroleum products 4,762 km; natural gas 4,246 km (1998) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Brazilian Democratic Movement Party or PMDB [Michel TEMER, president]; Brazilian Labor Party or PTB [Jose Carlos MARTINEZ, president]; Brazilian Social Democracy Party or PSDB [Senator Jose ANIBAL, president]; Brazilian Socialist Party or PSB [Miguel ARRAES, president]; Brazilian Progressive Party or PPB [Paulo Salim MALUF]; Communist Party of Brazil or PCdoB [Renato RABELLO, chairman]; Democratic Labor Party or PDT [Leonel BRIZOLA, president]; Green Party or PV [leader NA]; Liberal Front Party or PFL [Jorge BORNHAUSEN, president]; Liberal Party or PL [Deputy Valdemar COSTA Neto, president]; National Order Reconstruction Party or PRONA [Dr. Eneas CARNEIRO]; Popular Socialist Party or PPS [Senator Roberto FREIRE, president]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [leader NA]; Worker's Party or PT [Jose GENOINO, president] | African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Francisco BENANTE]; Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY]; Guinea-Bissau Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder Vaz LOPES]; Guinean Civic Forum or FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; International League for Ecological Protection or LIPE [Alhaje Bubacar DJALO, president]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Abubacer BALDE, secretary general]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Koumba YALLA]; Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Victor Sau'de MARIA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | left wing of the Catholic Church; Landless Worker's Movement; labor unions allied to leftist Worker's Party | NA |
Population | 176,029,560
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 2002 est.) |
1,315,822 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22% (1998 est.) | 50% (1991 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.87% (2002 est.) | 2.23% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Belem, Fortaleza, Ilheus, Imbituba, Manaus, Paranagua, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, Salvador, Santos, Vitoria | Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1,365, FM 296, shortwave 161 (of which 91 are collocated with AM stations) (1999) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 71 million (1997) | 49,000 (1997) |
Railways | total:
broad gauge: 5,679 km 1.600-m gauge (1,199 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) note: in addition to the interurban routes itemized above, Brazil has 247.8 km of suburban railway consisting of 170.8 km of 1.600-m gauge (75 km electrified) and 77 km of 1.000-m gauge (1999 est.) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic (nominal) 80% | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% |
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 (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 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 |
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:
small system domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 17.039 million (1997) | 8,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.4 million (1997) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 138 (1997) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east |
Total fertility rate | 2.05 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 5.2 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.4% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 50,000 km | several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping |