EI GlobalBrazilBrazil Stats 
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Background: 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 has overcome more than half a century of military intervention in the governance of the country to pursue industrial and agricultural growth and development of the interior. Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, Brazil is today South America's leading economic power and a regional leader. Highly unequal income distribution remains a pressing problem.
Geography
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
Land boundaries: 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
Coastline: 7,491 km
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: bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber
People
Population: 190,010,647 (2007 est.)
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.)
Median age: total: 28.6 years, male: 27.9 years, female: 29.4 years (2007 est. )
Population Growth Rate: 1.008% (2007 est.)
Birth rate: 16.3 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate: 6.19 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 27.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.24 years, male: 68.3 years, female: 76.38 years (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.7% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 660,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 15,000 (2003 est.)
Ethnic groups: white (includes Portuguese, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish) 53.7%, mixed white and black 38.5%, black 6.2%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 1.6%
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)
Languages: Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
Literacy (definition: age 15 and over can read and write): total population: 88.6%, male: 88.4%, female: 88.8% (2004 est.)
Government
Official Name: Federative Republic of Brazil (Republica Federativa do Brasil)
Government type: federative republic
Capital: Brasilia
Independence (from Portugal): September 7, 1822
Economy
Overview: 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.
Annual GDP: $1.655 trillion (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita: $8,800 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 8%, industry: 38%, services: 54% (2006 est.)
Population below poverty line: 31% (2005 est.)
Labor force: 96.34 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: services 66%, agriculture 20%, industry 14% (2003 est.)
Industries: textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment
Agriculture - products: coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus; beef
Exports - commodities: transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos
Communications
Telephone Lines in use: 38.8 million (2006)
Cellular Phones: 99.919 million (2006)
Television Broadcast Stations: 138 (1997)
Internet Users: 42.6 million (2006)
Transportation
Railways: 29,295 km (1,598 km electrified)
Highways: total: 1.76 million km, paved: 96,353 km, unpaved: 1,655,515 km (2004)
Airports - with paved runways: 714 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways: 3,562 (2006)
Transnational Issues
Disputes - International: 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.
Information from the CIA World Factbook 2007
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html
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