Brazil

Airports

total: 3,581 usable: 3,024 with permanent-surface runways: 436 with runways over 3,659 m: 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 22 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 598

Highways

total: 1,670,148 km paved: 161,503 km unpaved: gravel/earth 1,508,645 km (1990)

Inland waterways

50,000 km navigable

Merchant marine

220 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,139,176 GRT/8,695,682 DWT, bulk 53, cargo 40, chemical tanker 14, combination ore/oil 12, container 11, liquified gas 11, oil tanker 62, passenger-cargo 5, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 11 note: in addition, 1 naval tanker is sometimes used commercially

Pipelines

crude oil 2,000 km; petroleum products 3,804 km; natural gas 1,095 km

Ports

Belem, Fortaleza, Ilheus, Manaus, Paranagua, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, Salvador, Santos

Railroads

30,133 km total; 24,690 km 1.000-meter gauge, 5,120 km 1.600-meter gauge, 310 km mixed 1.600-1.000-meter gauge, 13 km 0.760-meter gauge; 2,150 km electrified

Telecommunications

good system; extensive microwave radio relay facilities; 9.86 million telephones; broadcast stations - 1,223 AM, no FM, 112 TV, 151 shortwave; 3 coaxial submarine cables, 3 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations and 64 domestic satellite earth stations

Affiliation

(dependent territory of the UK)

Branches

Brazilian Army, Navy of Brazil (including Marines), Brazilian Air Force, Military Police (paramilitary)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $1.1 billion, 3% of GDP (1990)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 43,489,704; fit for military service 29,286,530; reach military age (18) annually 1,674,930 (1994 est.)

Agriculture

accounts for 11% of GDP; world's largest producer and exporter of coffee and orange juice concentrate and second-largest exporter of soybeans; other products - rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, beef; self-sufficient in food, except for wheat

Budget

revenues: $113 billion expenditures: $109 billion, including capital expenditures of $23 billion (1992)

Currency

1 cruzeiro real (CR$) = 100 centavos

Economic aid

recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $2.5 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $10.2 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $284 million; former Communist countries (1970-89), $1.3 billion

Electricity

capacity: 63,765,000 kW production: 242.184 billion kWh consumption per capita: 1,531 kWh (1992)

Exchange rates

CR$ per US$1 - 390.845 (January 1994), 88.449 (1993), 4.513 (1992), 0.407 (1991), 0.068 (1990), 0.003 (1989) note: on 1 August 1993 the cruzeiro real, equal to 1,000 cruzeiros, was introduced; another new currency, the real, will be introduced on 1 July 1994

Exports

$38.8 billion (f.o.b. 1993) commodities: iron ore, soybean bran, orange juice, footwear, coffee, motor vehicle parts partners: EC 27.6%, Latin America 21.8%, US 17.4%, Japan 6.3% (1993)

External debt

$119 billion (1993)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Illicit drugs

illicit producer of cannabis and coca, mostly for domestic consumption; government has a modest eradication program to control cannabis and coca cultivation; important transshipment country for Bolivian and Colombian cocaine headed for the US and Europe

Imports

$25.7 billion (f.o.b. 1993) commodities: crude oil, capital goods, chemical products, foodstuffs, coal partners: US 23.3%, EC 22.5%, Middle East 13.0%, Latin America 11.8%, Japan 6.5% (1993)

Industrial production

growth rate 9.5% (1993); accounts for 39% of GDP

Industries

textiles and other consumer goods, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, steel, motor vehicles and auto parts, metalworking, capital goods, tin

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2,709% (1993)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $785 billion (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$5,000 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

5% (1993)

Overview

The economy, with large agrarian, mining, and manufacturing sectors, entered the 1990s with declining real growth, runaway inflation, an unserviceable foreign debt of $122 billion, and a lack of policy direction. In addition, the economy remained highly regulated, inward-looking, and protected by substantial trade and investment barriers. Ownership of major industrial and mining facilities is divided among private interests - including several multinationals - and the government. Most large agricultural holdings are private, with the government channeling financing to this sector. Conflicts between large landholders and landless peasants have produced intermittent violence. The COLLOR government, which assumed office in March 1990, launched an ambitious reform program that sought to modernize and reinvigorate the economy by stabilizing prices, deregulating the economy, and opening it to increased foreign competition. The government also obtained an IMF standby loan in January 1992 and reached agreements with commercial bankers on the repayment of interest arrears and on the reduction of debt and debt service payments. Galloping inflation (the rate doubled in 1992 and by March 1994 had risen to 42% per month) continues to undermine economic stability. Itamar FRANCO, who assumed the presidency following President COLLOR'S resignation in December 1992, was out of step with COLLOR'S reform agenda; initiatives to redress fiscal problems, privatize state enterprises, and liberalize trade and investment policies have lost momentum. Brazil's natural resources remain a major, long-term economic strength

Unemployment rate

4.9% (1993)

Area

total area: 8,511,965 sq km land area: 8,456,510 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than the US note: includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo

Climate

mostly tropical, but temperate in south

Coastline

7,491 km

Environment

current issues: deforestation in Amazon Basin; 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 natural hazards: recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Tropical Timber

International disputes

short section of the boundary with Paraguay, just west of Salto das Sete Quedas (Guaira Falls) on the Rio Parana, is in dispute; two short sections of boundary with Uruguay are in dispute - Arroio Invernada (Arroyo de la Invernada) area of the Rio Quarai (Rio Cuareim) and the islands at the confluence of the Rio Quarai and the Uruguay River

Irrigated land

27,000 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

total 14,691 km, 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: 7% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 19% forest and woodland: 67% other: 6%

Location

Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean

Map references

South America, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

iron ore, manganese, bauxite, nickel, uranium, phosphates, tin, hydropower, gold, platinum, petroleum, timber

Note

largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador

Terrain

mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt

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

Capital

Brasilia

Chamber of Deputies (Camara dos Deputados)

election last held 3 October 1990 (next to be held October 1994); results - PMDB 21%, PFL 17%, PDT 9%, PDS 8%, PRN 7.9%, PTB 7%, PT 7%, other 23.1%; seats - (503 total as of 3 February 1991) PMDB 108, PFL 87, PDT 46, PDS 43, PRN 40, PTB 35, PT 35, other 109

Constitution

5 October 1988

Digraph

BR

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Paulo Tarso FLECHA de LIMA chancery: 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 745-2700

Executive branch

chief of state and head of government: President Itamar FRANCO (since 29 December 1992); election last held 15 November 1989, with runoff on 17 December 1989 (next to be held October 1994); results - Fernando COLLOR de Mello 53%, Luis Inacio LULA da Silva 47%; note - first free, direct presidential election since 1960; Fernando COLLOR de Mello was impeached in December 1992 and succeeded by former Vice President Itamar FRANCO cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president

FAX

(202) 745-2827 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Hong Kong (Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands), Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Houston and San Francisco

FAX

[55] (61) 225-9136 consulate(s) general: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo consulate(s): Porto Alegre, Recife

Federal Senate (Senado Federal)

election last held 3 October 1990 (next to be held October 1994); results - percent of vote by party PMBD 33%, PFL 16%, PSDB 12%, PDS 4%, PDT 6%, PT 1%, other 28%; seats - (81 total as of 3 February 1991) PMDB 27, PFL 15, PSDB 10, PTB 8, PDT 5, other 16

Flag

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 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)

Independence

7 September 1822 (from Portugal)

Judicial branch

Supreme Federal Tribunal

Legal system

based on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

bicameral National Congress (Congresso Nacional)

Member of

AfDB, AG (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, MERCOSUR, NAM (observer), OAS, ONUSAL, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOMOZ, UNOMUR, UNPROFOR, UPU, WCL, WHO, WFTU, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Names

conventional long form: Federative Republic of Brazil conventional short form: Brazil local long form: Republica Federativa do Brasil local short form: Brasil

National holiday

Independence Day, 7 September (1822)

Other political or pressure groups

left wing of the Catholic Church and labor unions allied to leftist Workers' Party are critical of government's social and economic policies

Political parties and leaders

National Reconstruction Party (PRN), Daniel TOURINHO, president; Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), Luiz HENRIQUE da Silveira, president; Liberal Front Party (PFL), Jorge BORNHAUSEN, president; Workers' Party (PT), Luis Inacio LULA da Silva, president; Brazilian Workers' Party (PTB), Rodrigues PALMA, president; Democratic Workers' Party (PDT), Leonel BRIZOLA, president; Progressive Renewal Party (PPR), Paulo MALUF, president; Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Tasso JEREISSATI, president; Popular Socialist Party (PPS), Roberto FREIRE, president; Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB), Joao AMAZONAS, secretary general; Liberal Party (PL), Flavio ROCHA, president

Suffrage

voluntary between 16 and 18 years of age and over 70; compulsory over 18 and under 70 years of age

Type

federal republic

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Melvyn LEVITSKY embassy: Avenida das Nacoes, Lote 3, Brasilia, Distrito Federal mailing address: APO AA 34030 telephone: [55] (61) 321-7272

Birth rate

21.48 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate

8.63 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Portuguese, Italian, German, Japanese, Amerindian, black 6%, white 55%, mixed 38%, other 1%

Infant mortality rate

59.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Labor force

57 million (1989 est.) by occupation: services 42%, agriculture 31%, industry 27%

Languages

Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 62.25 years male: 57.41 years female: 67.32 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 81% male: 82% female: 80%

Nationality

noun: Brazilian(s) adjective: Brazilian

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Population

158,739,257 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

1.28% (1994 est.)

Religions

Roman Catholic (nominal) 70%

Total fertility rate

2.44 children born/woman (1994 est.)