1985 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1985 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Agriculture
main products — coffee, rice, corn, sugarcane, soybeans, cotton, manioc, oranges; nearly self-sufficient
Area
1000km South Atlantic Ocean See regional m»p IV Land 8,512,100 k2m; larger than contiguous US; 60% forest; 23% built-on area, waste, and other; 13% pasture; 4% cultivated
Branches
strong executive with very broad powers; bicameral legislature (National Congress— Senate, Chamber of Deputies; powers of the two bodies have been sharply reduced); 11 -man Supreme Court
Capital
Brasilia
Coastline
7,491 km People
Communists
6,000, less than 1,000 militants
Crude steel
20.0 million metric tons capacity; 14.7 million metric tons produced (1983 est.)
Elections
Tancredo Neves indirectly elected by an electoral college composed of members of congress and delegates from the state legislatures, ending 20 years of military rule; died before assuming office Political parties and leaders: progovernment before 15 March 1985 election — Democratic Social Party (PDS); Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), Ulysses Guimaraes, president; four smaller parties are Workers Party (PT), Brazilian Labor Party (PTB), Democratic Labor Party (PDT), and Liberal Front Party (PFL)
Electric power
41,300,000 kW capacity (1984); 160 billion kWh produced (1984), 1,191 kWh per capita Exports; $21. 9 billion (f.o.b., 1983); soybeans, coffee, transport equipment, iron ore, steel products, chemicals, machinery, orange juice, shoes, sugar
Ethnic divisions
Portuguese, Italian, German, Japanese, black, Amerindian; 55% white, 38% mixed, 6% black, 1% other
Fishing
catch 828,656 metric tons(1981); exports, $162 million (f.o.b., 1982); imports, $80 million (f.o.b., 1982)
Government leader
Jose SARNEY, President (since April 1985)
Imports
$15.4 billion (f.o.b., 1983); petroleum, machinery, chemicals, fertilizers, wheat, copper Brazil (continued)
Labor force
about 50 million in 1982, 29.9% agriculture, livestock, forestry, and fishing; 24.4% industry; 20.3% services, transportation, and communication; 9.4% commerce; 7.0% social activities; 4.1% public administration; 2.9% other; significant underemployment and unemployment
Land boundaries
13,076 km Water
Language
Portuguese (official)
Legal system
based on Latin codes; dual system of courts, state and federal; constitution adopted 1967 and extensively amended in 1969; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
200 nm
Literacy
74%
Major industries
textiles and other consumer goods, chemicals, cement, lumber, steel, motor vehicles, other metalworking industries, capital goods
Member of
FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDE — Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, IPU, IRC, ISO, ITU, IWC— International Wheat Council, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Economy GNP. $21 1 billion, $1,607 per capita (1983 est.); 15% gross investment, 83% consumption, 2% net foreign balance (1983 est.); real growth rate -3.3% (1983 est.)
National holiday
Independence Day, 7 September
Nationality
noun — Brazilian(s); adjective — Brazilian
Official name
Federative Republic of Brazil
Organized labor
about 6 million (1982) Government
Other political or pressure groups
liberal wing of the Catholic Church has been critical of military government's social and economic policies in recent years
Political subdivisions
23 states, 3 territories, federal district (Brasilia)
Population
137,502,000 (July 1985), average annual growth rate 2.3%
Religion
(1980) 89% Roman Catholic (nominal)
Suffrage
compulsory over age 18, except illiterates; approximately 58,200,000 eligible to vote in 1982
Type
federal republic; military-backed presidential regime since April 1964
Voting strength
(November 1982 federal and state elections) 37% then progovernment PDS; 63% divided among four opposition parties (PMDB, PT, PTB, and PDT)