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KOSHER DELIGHT - YOUR JEWISH ONLINE MAGAZINE!
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BRAZIL |
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GENERAL
INFORMATION ABOUT BRAZIL:
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Background:
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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.
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Location:
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Eastern
South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean |
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Geographic coordinates:
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10
00 S, 55 00 W |
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Map references:
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South
America |
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Area:
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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 |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly
smaller than the US |
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Land boundaries:
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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 |
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Coastline:
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7,491
km |
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Maritime claims:
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territorial
sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the
continental margin |
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Climate:
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mostly
tropical, but temperate in south |
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Terrain:
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mostly
flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills,
mountains, and narrow coastal belt |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest
point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico da Neblina 3,014 m |
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Natural resources:
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bauxite,
gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum,
tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber |
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Land use:
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arable
land: 6.96%
permanent crops: 0.9%
other: 92.15% (2001) |
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Irrigated land:
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26,560
sq km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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recurring
droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in
south |
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Environment - current issues:
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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 |
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Environment - international
agreements:
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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 |
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Geography - note:
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largest
country in South America; shares common boundaries with
every South American country except Chile and Ecuador
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Population:
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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.) |
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Age structure:
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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.) |
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Median age:
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total:
27.81 years
male: 27.06 years
female: 28.57 years (2005 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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1.06%
(2005 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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16.83
births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Death rate:
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6.15
deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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-0.03
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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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.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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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.) |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 71.69 years
male: 67.74 years
female: 75.85 years (2005 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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1.93
children born/woman (2005 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.7%
(2003 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with
HIV/AIDS:
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660,000
(2003 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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15,000
(2003 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Brazilian(s)
adjective: Brazilian |
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Ethnic groups:
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white
(includes Portuguese, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish)
55%, mixed white and black 38%, black 6%, other (includes
Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 1% |
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Religions:
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Roman
Catholic (nominal) 80%, other 20% |
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Languages:
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Portuguese
(official), Spanish, English, French |
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Literacy:
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definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86.4%
male: 86.1%
female: 86.6% (2003 est.)
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Country name:
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conventional
long form: Federative Republic of Brazil
conventional short form: Brazil
local long form: Republica Federativa do Brasil
local short form: Brasil |
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Government type:
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federative
republic |
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Capital:
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Brasilia |
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Administrative divisions:
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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 |
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Independence:
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7
September 1822 (from Portugal) |
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National holiday:
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Independence
Day, 7 September (1822) |
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Constitution:
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5
October 1988 |
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Legal system:
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based
on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction |
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Suffrage:
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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 |
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Executive branch:
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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% |
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Legislative branch:
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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 |
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Judicial branch:
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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 |
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Political parties and leaders:
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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] |
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Political pressure groups and
leaders:
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Landless
Worker's Movement; labor unions and federations; large
farmers' associations; religious groups including
evangelical christian churches and the Catholic Church |
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International organization
participation:
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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 |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief
of mission: Ambassador Roberto ABDENUR
chancery: 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20008
telephone: [1] | | | |
