Compare Laos (2007) - Brazil (2005)

Compare Laos (2007) z Brazil (2005)

	Laos (2007)	Brazil (2005)

Administrative divisions	15 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural), 1 municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamxai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louangnamtha, Louangphrabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan (Vientiane)*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xekong, Xiangkhoang	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
Age structure	0-14 years: 41.2% (male 1,349,352/female 1,338,252) 15-64 years: 55.7% (male 1,795,029/female 1,835,168) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 90,188/female 114,009) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 26.1% (male 24,789,495/female 23,842,715) 15-64 years: 67.9% (male 62,669,392/female 63,719,631) 65 years and over: 6% (male 4,549,552/female 6,542,009) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry	coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus; beef
Airports	42 (2007)	4,136 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2007)	total: 698 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 23 1,524 to 2,437 m: 158 914 to 1,523 m: 461 under 914 m: 49 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 33 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 23 (2007)	total: 3,438 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 78 914 to 1,523 m: 1,579 under 914 m: 1,780 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km	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
Area - comparative	slightly larger than Utah	slightly smaller than the US
Background	Modern-day Laos has its roots in the ancient Lao kingdom of Lan Xang, established in the 14th Century under King FA NGUM. For three hundred years Lan Xang included large parts of present-day Cambodia and Thailand, as well as all of what is now Laos. After centuries of gradual decline, Laos came under the control of Siam (Thailand) from the late 18th century until the late 19th century when it became part of French Indochina. The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined the current Lao border with Thailand. In 1975, the Communist Pathet Lao took control of the government ending a six-century-old monarchy and instituting a strict socialist regime closely aligned to Vietnam. A gradual return to private enterprise and the liberalization of foreign investment laws began in 1986. Laos became a member of ASEAN in 1997.	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 overcame more than half a century of military intervention in the governance of the country when in 1985 the military regime peacefully ceded power to civilian rulers. Brazil continues to pursue industrial and agricultural growth and development of its interior. Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, it is today South America's leading economic power and a regional leader. Highly unequal income distribution remains a pressing problem.
Birth rate	34.98 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	16.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $392.3 million expenditures: $541.3 million (2006 est.)	revenues: $140.6 billion expenditures: $172.4 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004)
Capital	name: Vientiane geographic coordinates: 17 58 N, 102 36 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Brasilia
Climate	tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April)	mostly tropical, but temperate in south
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	7,491 km
Constitution	promulgated 14 August 1991	5 October 1988
Country name	conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic conventional short form: Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none	conventional long form: Federative Republic of Brazil conventional short form: Brazil local long form: Republica Federativa do Brasil local short form: Brasil
Death rate	11.28 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	6.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$3.179 billion (2006)	$219.8 billion (2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Ravic R. HUSO embassy: 19 Rue Bartholonie, That Dam Road, Vientiane mailing address: American Embassy Vientiane, APO AP 96546 telephone: [856] 21-26-7000 FAX: [856] 21-26-7190	chief of mission: Ambassador John DANILOVICH 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
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador PHIANE Philakone chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923	chief of mission: Ambassador Roberto ABDENUR 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
Disputes - international	Southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; talks continue on completion of demarcation with Thailand but disputes remain over islands in the Mekong River; concern among Mekong Commission members that China's construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels	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
Economic aid - recipient	$379 million (2006 est.)	$30 billion (2002)
Economy - overview	The government of Laos, one of the few remaining official Communist states, began decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise in 1986. The results, starting from an extremely low base, were striking - growth averaged 6% per year in 1988-2006 except during the short-lived drop caused by the Asian financial crisis beginning in 1997. Despite this high growth rate, Laos remains a country with a primitive infrastructure. It has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, and limited external and internal telecommunications, though the government is sponsoring major improvements in the road system with possible support from Japan. Electricity is available in only a few urban areas. Subsistence agriculture, dominated by rice, accounts for about half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. The economy will continue to benefit from aid by the IMF and other international sources and from new foreign investment in hydropower and mining. Construction will be another strong economic driver, especially as hydroelectric dam and road projects gain steam. Several policy changes since 2004 may help spur growth. In late 2004, Laos gained Normal Trade Relations status with the US, allowing Laos-based producers to benefit from lower tariffs on exports. Laos is taking steps to join the World Trade Organization in the next few years; the resulting trade policy reforms will improve the business environment. On the fiscal side, a value-added tax (VAT) regime, slated to begin in 2008, will streamline the government's inefficient tax system.	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. From 2001-03 real wages fell and Brazil's economy grew, on average, only 2.2% per year, as the country absorbed a series of domestic and international economic shocks. That Brazil absorbed these shocks without financial collapse is a tribute to the resiliency of the Brazilian economy and the economic program put in place by former President CARDOSO and strengthened by President LULA DA SILVA. In 2004, Brazil enjoyed more robust growth that yielded increases in employment and real wages. The three pillars of the economic program are a floating exchange rate, an inflation-targeting regime, and tight fiscal policy, all reinforced by a series of IMF programs. The currency depreciated sharply in 2001 and 2002, which contributed to a dramatic current account adjustment: in 2003 and 2004, Brazil ran record trade surpluses and recorded its first current account surpluses since 1992. Productivity gains - particularly in agriculture - also contributed to the surge in exports, and Brazil in 2004 surpassed the previous year's record export level and again posted a current account surplus. While economic management has been good, there remain important economic vulnerabilities. The most significant are debt-related: the government's largely domestic debt increased steadily from 1994 to 2003 - straining government finances - before falling as a percentage of GDP in 2004, while Brazil's foreign debt (a mix of private and public debt) is large in relation to Brazil's small (but growing) export base. Another challenge is maintaining economic growth over a period of time to generate employment and make the government debt burden more manageable.
Electricity - consumption	1.193 billion kWh (2005)	351.9 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	728 million kWh (2005)	7 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	326 million kWh (2005)	36.58 billion kWh; note - supplied by Paraguay (2002)
Electricity - production	1.715 billion kWh (2005)	339 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pico da Neblina 3,014 m
Environment - current issues	unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water	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
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%	white 53.7%, mulatto (mixed white and black) 38.5%, black 6.2%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 0.9%, unspecified 0.7% (2000 census)
Exchange rates	kips per US dollar - 10,235 (2006), 10,820 (2005), 10,585.5 (2004), 10,569 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002)	reals per US dollar - 2.9251 (2004), 3.0771 (2003), 2.9208 (2002), 2.3577 (2001), 1.8301 (2000)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since 8 June 2006); Vice President BOUN-GNANG Volachit (since 8 June 2006) head of government: Prime Minister BOUASONE Bouphavanh (since 8 June 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since May 2002), Maj. Gen. DOUANGCHAI Phichit (since 8 June 2006), SOMSAVAT Lengsavat (since 26 February 1998), and THONGLOUN Sisoulit (since 27 March 2001) cabinet: Ministers appointed by president, approved by National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected by National Assembly for five-year terms; election last held 8 June 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister nominated by president and elected by National Assembly for five-year term election results: CHOUMMALI Saignason elected president; BOUN-GNANG Volachit elected vice president; percent of National Assembly vote - 100%; BOUASONE Bouphavanh elected prime minister; percent of National Assembly vote - 97%	chief of state: President Luiz Inacio 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 Inacio 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 1 October 2006, with a runoff on 29 October 2006 if necessary); runoff election held 27 October 2002 election results: in runoff election 27 October 2002, Luiz Inacio LULA DA SILVA (PT) elected with 61.3% of the vote; Jose SERRA (PSDB) 38.7%
Exports	NA bbl/day	NA
Exports - commodities	garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin	transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos
Exports - partners	Thailand 41%, Vietnam 9.7%, China 4.1%, Malaysia 4% (2006)	US 20.8%, Argentina 7.5%, Netherlands 6.1%, China 5.6%, Germany 4.1%, Mexico 4% (2004)
Fiscal year	1 October - 30 September	calendar year
Flag description	three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band	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)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 42.7% industry: 31% services: 26.2% (2006 est.)	agriculture: 10.1% industry: 38.6% services: 51.3% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $8,100 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	8.3% (2006 est.)	5.1% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	18 00 N, 105 00 E	10 00 S, 55 00 W
Geography - note	landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand	largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador
Heliports	-	417 (2004 est.)
Highways	-	total: 1,724,929 km paved: 94,871 km unpaved: 1,630,058 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 3.4% highest 10%: 28.5% (2002)	lowest 10%: 0.7% highest 10%: 48% (1998)
Illicit drugs	estimated opium poppy cultivation in 2005 was 5,600 hectares, about a 45% decrease from 2004; estimated potential opium production in 2005 was 28 metric tons, a significant decrease from 200 metric tons in 2003; unsubstantiated reports of domestic methamphetamine production; growing domestic methamphetamine problem	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 Bolivian, Colombian, and Peruvian cocaine headed for Europe and the US; 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	NA bbl/day	NA
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods	machinery, electrical and transport equipment, chemical products, oil
Imports - partners	Thailand 68.8%, China 11.3%, Vietnam 5.5% (2006)	US 18.3%, Argentina 8.9%, Germany 8.1%, China 5.9%, Nigeria 5.6%, Japan 4.6% (2004)
Independence	19 July 1949 (from France)	7 September 1822 (from Portugal)
Industrial production growth rate	15.7% (2006 est.)	6% (2004 est.)
Industries	copper, tin, and gypsum mining; timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism, cement	textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment
Infant mortality rate	total: 81.44 deaths/1,000 live births male: 90.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 71.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 29.61 deaths/1,000 live births male: 33.37 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	6.8% (2006 est.)	7.6% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)	AfDB, BIS, CSN, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	1,750 sq km (2003)	26,560 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	People's Supreme Court (the president of the People's Supreme Court is elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the National Assembly Standing Committee; the vice president of the People's Supreme Court and the judges are appointed by the National Assembly Standing Committee)	Supreme Federal Tribunal (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
Labor force	2.1 million (2006 est.)	89 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 80% industry and services: 20% (2005 est.)	agriculture 20%, industry 14%, services 66% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 5,083 km border countries: Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km	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
Land use	arable land: 4.01% permanent crops: 0.34% other: 95.65% (2005)	arable land: 6.96% permanent crops: 0.9% other: 92.15% (2001)
Languages	Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages	Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
Legal system	based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral National Assembly (115 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 30 April 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LPRP 113, independents 2	bicameral National Congress or Congresso Nacional consists of the Federal Senate or Senado Federal (81 seats; three members from each state and 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 October 2006 for one-third of the Senate); Chamber of Deputies - last held 6 October 2002 (next to be held 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, PP 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PT 91, PFL 84, PMDB 74, PSDB 71, PP 49, PL 26, PTB 26, PSB 22, PDT 21, PPS 15, PCdoB 12, PRONA 6, PV 5, other 11; note - many congressmen have changed party affiliation since the most recent election
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 55.89 years male: 53.82 years female: 58.04 years (2007 est.)	total population: 71.69 years male: 67.74 years female: 75.85 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 68.7% male: 77% female: 60.9% (2001 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 86.4% male: 86.1% female: 86.6% (2003 est.)
Location	Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam	Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean
Map references	Southeast Asia	South America
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin
Merchant marine	total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT by type: cargo 1 (2007)	total: 150 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,961,431 GRT/4,725,267 DWT by type: bulk carrier 28, cargo 25, chemical tanker 7, combination ore/oil 2, container 7, liquefied gas 12, passenger/cargo 12, petroleum tanker 48, roll on/roll off 9 foreign-owned: 17 (Chile 2, Germany 7, Norway 1, Spain 7) registered in other countries: 8 (2005)
Military - note	Laos is one of the world's least developed countries; the Lao People's Armed Forces are small, poorly funded, and ineffectively resourced; there is little political will to allocate sparse funding to the military, and the armed forces' gradual degradation is likely to continue; the massive drug production and trafficking industry centered in the Golden Triangle makes Laos an important narcotics transit country, and armed Wa and Chinese smugglers are active on the Lao-Burma border (2005)	-
Military branches	Lao People's Army (LPA; includes Riverine Force), Air Force	Brazilian Army, Brazilian Navy (includes Naval Air and Marines), Brazilian Air Force (FAB)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$11 billion (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.5% (2006)	1.8% (2004)
National holiday	Republic Day, 2 December (1975)	Independence Day, 7 September (1822)
Nationality	noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian	noun: Brazilian(s) adjective: Brazilian
Natural hazards	floods, droughts	recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south
Natural resources	timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones	bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	refined products 540 km (2006)	condensate/gas 244 km; gas 10,739 km; liquid petroleum gas 341 km; oil 5,212 km; refined products 4,755 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [CHOUMMALI Saignason]; other parties proscribed	Brazilian Democratic Movement Party or PMDB [Federal Deputy Michel TEMER]; Brazilian Labor Party or PTB [Federal Deputy Roberto JEFFERSON]; Brazilian Social Democracy Party or PSDB [Senator Eduardo AZAREDO]; Brazilian Socialist Party or PSB [Federal Deputy Miguel ARRAES]; Communist Party of Brazil or PCdoB [Renato RABELO]; Democratic Labor Party or PDT [Carlos LUPI]; Democratic Socialist Party or PSD [Pedro Miguel SANTANA LOPES]; Green Party or PV [Jose Luiz de Franca PENNA]; Liberal Front Party or PFL [Senator Jorge BORNHAUSEN]; Liberal Party or PL [Federal Deputy Valdemar COSTA Neto]; National Order Reconstruction Party or PRONA [Federal Deputy Dr. Eneas CARNEIRO]; Popular Socialist Party or PPS [Federal Deputy Roberto FREIRE]; Progressive Party or PP [Federal Deputy Pedro CORREA]; Social Christian Party or PSC [Vitor Jorge ABDALA NOSSEIS]; Worker's Party or PT [Jose GENOINO]
Political pressure groups and leaders	noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975	Landless Worker's Movement; labor unions and federations; large farmers' associations; religious groups including evangelical christian churches and the Catholic Church
Population	6,521,998 (July 2007 est.)	186,112,794 note: Brazil took a count in August 2000, which reported a population of 169,799,170; that figure was about 3.3% lower than projections by the US Census Bureau, and 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 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	30.7% (2005 est.)	22% (1998 est.)
Population growth rate	2.37% (2007 est.)	1.06% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Gebig, Itaqui, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, San Sebasttiao, Santos, Sepetiba Terminal, Tubarao, Vitoria
Radio broadcast stations	AM 7, FM 14, shortwave 2 (2006)	AM 1,365, FM 296, shortwave 161 (of which 91 are collocated with AM stations) (1999)
Railways	-	total: 29,412 km (1,567 km electrified) broad gauge: 4,907 km 1.600-m gauge (908 km electrified) standard gauge: 194 km 1.440-m gauge narrow gauge: 23,915 km 1.000-m gauge (581 km electrified) dual gauge: 396 km 1.000-m and 1.600-m gauges (three rails) (78 km electrified) (2004)
Religions	Buddhist 65%, animist 32.9%, Christian 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.8% (1995 census)	Roman Catholic (nominal) 73.6%, Protestant 15.4%, Spriritualist 1.3%, Bantu/voodoo 0.3%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.2%, none 7.4% (2000 census)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.008 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.978 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.791 male(s)/female total population: 0.984 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	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: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	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
Telephone system	general assessment: service to general public is poor but improving; the government relies on a radiotelephone network to communicate with remote areas domestic: multiple service providers; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership about 10 per 100 persons international: country code - 856; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region)	general assessment: good working system domestic: extensive microwave radio relay system and a domestic satellite system with 64 earth stations international: country code - 55; 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
Telephones - main lines in use	90,067 (2006)	38.81 million (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	638,200 (2006)	46,373,300 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	7 (includes 1 station relaying Vietnam Television from Hanoi) (2006)	138 (1997)
Terrain	mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus	mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt
Total fertility rate	4.59 children born/woman (2007 est.)	1.93 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	2.4% (2005 est.)	11.5% (2004 est.)
Waterways	4,600 km note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,900 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m (2007)	50,000 km (most in areas remote from industry and population) (2004)

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