Pacific Ocean (2004) | Brazil (2007) | |
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 |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 25.3% (male 24,554,254/female 23,613,027)
15-64 years: 68.4% (male 64,437,140/female 65,523,447) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 4,880,562/female 7,002,217) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus; beef |
Airports | - | 4,263 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 718
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 25 1,524 to 2,437 m: 167 914 to 1,523 m: 467 under 914 m: 52 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 3,545
1,524 to 2,437 m: 83 914 to 1,523 m: 1,555 under 914 m: 1,907 (2007) |
Area | total: 155.557 million sq km
note: includes Bali Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Tonkin, Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
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 | about 15 times the size of the US; covers about 28% of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world | slightly smaller than the US |
Background | The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world's five oceans (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). Strategically important access waterways include the La Perouse, Tsugaru, Tsushima, Taiwan, Singapore, and Torres Straits. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of 60 degrees south. | Following three centuries under the rule of Portugal, Brazil became an independent nation in 1822 and a republic in 1889. 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 | - | 16.3 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $244 billion
expenditures: $219.9 billion (FY07) |
Capital | - | 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 third Sunday in February note: Brazil is divided into four time zones, including one for the Fernando de Noronha Islands |
Climate | planetary air pressure systems and resultant wind patterns exhibit remarkable uniformity in the south and east; trade winds and westerly winds are well-developed patterns, modified by seasonal fluctuations; tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico from June to October and affect Mexico and Central America; continental influences cause climatic uniformity to be much less pronounced in the eastern and western regions at the same latitude in the North Pacific Ocean; the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian landmass back to the ocean; tropical cyclones (typhoons) may strike southeast and east Asia from May to December | mostly tropical, but temperate in south |
Coastline | 135,663 km | 7,491 km |
Constitution | - | 5 October 1988 |
Country name | - | conventional long form: Federative Republic of Brazil
conventional short form: Brazil local long form: Republica Federativa do Brasil local short form: Brasil |
Death rate | - | 6.19 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $191.2 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador Clifford M. SOBEL
embassy: Avenida das Nacoes, Quadra 801, Lote 3, Distrito Federal Cep 70403-900, Brasilia mailing address: Unit 3500, APO AA 34030 telephone: [55] (61) 3312-7000 FAX: [55] (61) 3225-9136 consulate(s) general: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo consulate(s): Recife |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio de Aguiar PATRIOTA
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, San Francisco |
Disputes - international | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $191.9 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch. It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1996, over 60% of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific Ocean. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of the US, Australia, NZ, China, and Peru. The high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has led to fluctuations in new drillings. | Characterized by 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. Since 2004, Brazil has enjoyed continued 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, initially reinforced by a series of IMF programs. The currency depreciated sharply in 2001 and 2002, which contributed to a dramatic current account adjustment; from 2003 to 2006, 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. 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 beginning in 2003. Brazil improved its debt profile in 2006 by shifting its debt burden toward real denominated and domestically held instruments. LULA DA SILVA restated his commitment to fiscal responsibility by maintaining the country's primary surplus during the 2006 election. Following his second inauguration, LULA DA SILVA announced a package of further economic reforms to reduce taxes and increase public investment. A major challenge will be to maintain sufficient growth to generate employment and reduce the government debt burden. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 368.5 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 160 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 39.2 billion kWh; note - supplied by Paraguay (2005) |
Electricity - production | - | 396.4 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench -10,924 m
highest point: sea level 0 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico da Neblina 3,014 m |
Environment - current issues | endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea | 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: 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 | - | 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 | - | reals per US dollar - 2.1761 (2006), 2.4344 (2005), 2.9251 (2004), 3.0771 (2003), 2.9208 (2002) |
Executive branch | - | 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) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a single four-year term; election last held 1 October 2006 with runoff 29 October 2006 (next to be held 3 October 2010 and, if necessary, 31 October 2010) election results: Luiz Inacio LULA DA SILVA (PT) reelected president - 60.83%, Geraldo ALCKMIN (PSDB) 39.17% |
Exports | - | 278,400 bbl/day (2005) |
Exports - commodities | - | transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos |
Exports - partners | - | US 17.8%, Argentina 8.5%, China 6.1%, Netherlands 4.2%, Germany 4.1% (2006) |
Fiscal 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) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 5.1%
industry: 30.9% services: 64% (2006 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 3.7% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 0 00 N, 160 00 W | 10 00 S, 55 00 W |
Geography - note | the major chokepoints are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean | largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador |
Heliports | - | 16 (2007) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 44.8% (2004) |
Illicit drugs | - | 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 earned in Brazil are often laundered through the financial system; significant illicit financial activity in the Tri-Border Area |
Imports | - | 674,500 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | - | machinery, electrical and transport equipment, chemical products, oil, automotive parts, electronics |
Imports - partners | - | US 16.2%, Argentina 8.8%, China 8.7%, Germany 7.1%, Nigeria 4.3%, Japan 4.2% (2006) |
Independence | - | 7 September 1822 (from Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 3.2% (2006 est.) |
Industries | - | textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 27.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 31.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 4.2% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | - | AfDB, BIS, CAN (associate), CPLP, CSN, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNITAR, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | - | 29,200 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | - | 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 | - | 97.77 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 20%
industry: 14% services: 66% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | - | total: 16,885 km
border countries: Argentina 1,261 km, Bolivia 3,423 km, Colombia 1,644 km, French Guiana 730.4 km, Guyana 1,606 km, Paraguay 1,365 km, Peru 2,995 km, Suriname 593 km, Uruguay 1,068 km, Venezuela 2,200 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 6.93%
permanent crops: 0.89% other: 92.18% (2005) |
Languages | - | Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French |
Legal system | - | based on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | - | bicameral National Congress or Congresso Nacional consists of the Federal Senate or Senado Federal (81 seats; 3 members from each state and federal district elected according to the principle of majority to serve eight-year terms; one-third and two-thirds elected every four years, alternately) 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 1 October 2006 for one-third of the Senate (next to be held in October 2010 for two-thirds of the Senate); Chamber of Deputies - last held 1 October 2006 (next to be held in October 2010) election results: Federal Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PFL 6, PSDB 5, PMDB 4, PTB 3, PT 2, PDT 1, PSB 1, PL 1, PPS 1, PRTB 1, PP 1, PCdoB 1; total seats following election - PFL 18, PMDB 15, PSDB 15, PT 11, PDT 5, PTB 4, PSB 3, PL 3, PCdoB 2, PRB 2, PPS 1, PRTB 1, PP 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PMDB 89, PT 83, PFL 65, PSDB 65, PP 42, PSB 27, PDT 24, PL 23, PTB 22, PPS 21, PCdoB 13, PV 13, PSC 9, other 17 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 72.24 years
male: 68.3 years female: 76.38 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.6% male: 88.4% female: 88.8% (2004 est.) |
Location | body of water between the Southern Ocean, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere | Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean |
Map references | Political Map of the World | South America |
Maritime claims | - | 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: 135 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,020,182 GRT/3,039,015 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 20, cargo 21, carrier 1, chemical tanker 6, container 9, liquefied gas 12, passenger/cargo 12, petroleum tanker 47, roll on/roll off 7 foreign-owned: 16 (Chile 1, Denmark 2, Germany 7, Mexico 1, Norway 1, Spain 4) registered in other countries: 5 (Bahamas 1, Ghana 1, Liberia 3) (2007) |
Military branches | - | Brazilian Army, Brazilian Navy (Marinha do Brasil (MB), includes Naval Air and Marine Corps (Corpo de Fuzileiros Navais)), Brazilian Air Force (Forca Aerea Brasileira, FAB) (2007) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.6% (2006 est.) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 7 September (1822) |
Nationality | - | noun: Brazilian(s)
adjective: Brazilian |
Natural hazards | surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); cyclical El Nino/La Nina phenomenon occurs in the equatorial Pacific, influencing weather in the Western Hemisphere and the western Pacific; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December | recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south |
Natural resources | oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish | bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber |
Net migration rate | - | -0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate/gas 244 km; gas 11,669 km; liquid petroleum gas 341 km; oil 5,212 km; refined products 4,755 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | - | 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 Tasso JEREISSATI]; Brazilian Socialist Party or PSB [Governor Eduardo Henrique Accioly CAMPOS]; Communist Party of Brazil or PCdoB [Jose Renato RABELO]; Democratic Labor Party or PDT [Carlos Roberto LUPI]; Democratic Socialist Party or PSD [Luis Marques MENDES]; Freedom and Socialism Party or PSOL [Heloisa HELENA]; Green Party or PV [Jose Luiz de Franca PENNA]; Humanist Party of Solidarity or PHS; Liberal Front Party or PFL (now known as the Democrats Party or DEM); Liberal Party or PL; Partido Municipalista Renovador or PMR [Natal Wellington Rodrigues FURUCHO]; Party of the Republic or PR [Sergio TAMER]; Popular Socialist Party or PPS [Federal Deputy Roberto FREIRE]; Progressive Party or PP [Federal Deputy Pedro CORREA]; Social Christian Party or PSC; Workers' Party or PT [Ricardo Jose Ribeiro BERZOINI] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | Landless Worker's Movement; labor unions and federations; large farmers' associations; religious groups including evangelical Christian churches and the Catholic Church |
Population | - | 190,010,647
note: Brazil conducted a census 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 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 31% (2005) |
Population growth rate | - | 1.008% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong, Kao-hsiung (Taiwan), Los Angeles (US), Manila (Philippines), Pusan (South Korea), San Francisco (US), Seattle (US), Shanghai (China), Singapore, Sydney (Australia), Vladivostok (Russia), Wellington (NZ), Yokohama (Japan) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 1,365, FM 296, shortwave 161 (of which 91 are collocated with AM stations) (1999) |
Railways | - | total: 29,295 km
broad gauge: 4,932 km 1.600-m gauge (939 km electrified) standard gauge: 194 km 1.440-m gauge narrow gauge: 23,773 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) (2006) |
Religions | - | Roman Catholic (nominal) 73.6%, Protestant 15.4%, Spiritualist 1.3%, Bantu/voodoo 0.3%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.2%, none 7.4% (2000 census) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.983 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.697 male(s)/female total population: 0.976 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 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: good working system; fixed-line connections have remained relatively stable in recent years and stand at about 20 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density has risen to nearly 55 per 100 persons
domestic: 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 international: country code - 55; landing point for a number of submarine cables that provide direct links 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 (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 38.8 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 99.919 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 138 (1997) |
Terrain | surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the Mariana Trench, which is the world's deepest | mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.88 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Transportation - note | Inside Passage offers protected waters from southeast Alaska to Puget Sound (Washington state) | - |
Unemployment rate | - | 9.6% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | - | 50,000 km (most in areas remote from industry and population) (2007) |