Comparative area: slightly smaller than the US
Land boundaries: 14,691 km total; 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
Coastline: 7,491 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 200 nm
Disputes: short section of the boundary with Paraguay (just west of Guaira Falls on the Rio Parana) is in dispute; two short sections of boundary with Uruguay are in dispute (Arroyo de la Invernada area of the Rio Quarai and the islands at the confluence of the Rio Quarai and the Uruguay); claims a Zone of Interest in Antarctica
Climate: mostly tropical, but temperate in south
Terrain: mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt
Natural resources: iron ore, manganese, bauxite, nickel, uranium, phosphates, tin, hydropower, gold, platinum, crude oil, timber
Land use: 7% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 19% meadows and pastures; 67% forest and woodland; 6% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: recurrent droughts in northeast; floods and frost in south; deforestation in Amazon basin; air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo
Note: largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador
- People
Population: 152,505,077 (July 1990), growth rate 1.9% (1990)
Birth rate: 26 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 69 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 62 years male, 68 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 3.1 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Brazilian(s); adjective—Brazilian
Ethnic divisions: Portuguese, Italian, German, Japanese, black,
Amerindian; 55% white, 38% mixed, 6% black, 1% other
Religion: 90% Roman Catholic (nominal)
Language: Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
Literacy: 76%
Labor force: 57,000,000 (1989 est.); 42% services, 31% agriculture, 27% industry
Organized labor: 13,000,000 dues paying members (1989 est.)
- Government
Long-form name: Federative Republic of Brazil
Type: federal republic
Capital: Brasilia
Administrative divisions: 24 states (estados, singular—estado), 2 territories* (territorios, singular—territorio), 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; note—the territories of Amapa and Roraima will become states on 15 March 1991
Independence: 7 September 1822 (from Portugal)
Constitution: 5 October 1988
Legal system: based on Latin codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Independence Day, 7 September (1822)
Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congresso Nacional) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camara dos Deputados)
Judicial branch: Supreme Federal Tribunal
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government—President Fernando
Affonso COLLOR de Mello (since 15 March 1990); Vice President
Itamar FRANCO (since 15 March 1990)
Political parties and leaders: National Reconstruction Party (PRN),
Daniel Tourinho, president; Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB),
Ulysses Guimaraes, president; Liberal Front Party (PFL), Hugo
Napoleao, president; Workers' Party (PT), Luis Ignacio (Lula) da
Silva, president; Brazilian Labor Party (PTB), Luiz Gonzaga de Paiva
Muniz, president; Democratic Labor Party (PDT), Doutel de Andrade,
president; Democratic Social Party (PDS), Jarbas Passarinho, president;
Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Mario Covas, president;
Brazilian Communist Party (PCB), Salomao Malina, secretary general;
Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB), Joao Amazonas, president
Suffrage: voluntary at age 16; compulsory between ages 18 and 70; voluntary at age 70
Elections: President—last held 15 November 1989, with runoff on 17 December 1989 (next to be held November 1994); results—Fernando Collor de Mello 53%, Luis Inacio da Silva 47%; first free, direct presidential election since 1960;
Senate—last held 15 November 1986 (next to be held 3 October 1990); results—PMDB 60%, PFL 21%, PDS 8%, PDT 3%, others 8%; seats—(66 total) PMDB 43, PFL 15, PDS 6, PDT 2, others 6; note—as of 1990 Senate has 75 seats;
Chamber of Deputies—last held 15 November 1986 (next to be held 3 October 1990); results—PMDB 53%, PFL 23%, PDS 7%, PDT 5%, other 12%; seats—(495 total) PMDB 258, PFL 114, PDS 33, PDT 24, others 58; note—as of 1990 Chamber of Deputies has 570 seats
Communists: about 30,000
Other political or pressure groups: left wing of the Catholic Church and labor unions allied to leftist Worker's Party are critical of government's social and economic policies
Member of: CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT, Group of Eight, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC,
ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB—Inter-American Development
