LOCATION:

Location: Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean

AREA:

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

POPULATION

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.)

AGE STRUCTURE:

Age structure:
  
0-14 years: 26.1% (male24,789,495/ female 23,842,715)
15-64 years: 67.9% (male62,669,392/ female 63,719,631) 
65 years and over: 6% (male4,549,552/ female 6,542,009)
 
(2005 est.)

MEDIAN AGE:

Median age:
  
total: 27.81 years

male: 27.06 years

female: 28.57 years

(2005 est.)

POPULATION GROWTH:

Population growth rate:
  
1.06%

(2005 est.)

INFANT MORTALITY RATE:

Infant mortality rate:
   
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.)

HIV/AIDS-ADULT PREVALENCE RATE:

HIV/AIDS Adult prevalence rate:

0.6 %

HIV/AIDS- PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS :

ages 15-49
650,000

low estimate:
120,000

high estimate:
1,100,000

HIV/AIDS-DEATH

Adults and Children:
15,000

low estimate:
14,000

high estimate:
22,000

ETHNIC GROUPS:

Ethnic groups:
  
white (includes Portuguese, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish) 55%, mixed white and black 38%, black 6%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 1%

RELIGIONS:

Religions:
  
Roman Catholic (nominal) 80%,
other 20%

LANGUAGES:

Languages:
  
Portuguese (official),
Spanish, English, French

LITERACY:

Literacy:
  
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
 
total population: 86.4%

male: 86.1%
female: 86.6%

(2003 est.)

GOVERNMENT TYPE:

Government type:
  
federative republic

CAPITAL:

Capital:
  
Brasilia

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:

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

INDEPENDENCE:

Independence:
  
7 September 1822
(from Portugal)

ECONOMY:

Economy - overview:
  
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.

GDP:

GDP:
   
purchasing power parity -
$1.492 trillion
(2004 est.)

POPULATION BELOW POVERT LINE:

Population below poverty line:
  
22%

(1998 est.)

INFLATION RATE:

Inflation rate
 (consumer prices): 7.6%

(2004 est.)

UNEMPLOYMENT:

Unemployment rate: 11.5%

(2004 est.)

EXCHANGE RATES:

Exchange rates:
  
reals per US dollar - 2.9249 (2004),
3.0771 (2003),
2.9208 (2002),
2.3577 (2001),
1.8301 (2000)

ILLICIT DRUGS:
  
Illicit drugs:
  
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 .