1992 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1992 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
mostly tropical, but temperate in south
Coastline
7,491 km
Comparative area
slightly smaller than the US
Continental shelf
200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation
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)
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
Exclusive fishing zone
200 nm
Land area
8,456,510 km2; includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo
Land boundaries
14,691 km; 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
Land use
arable land 7%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 19%; forest and woodland 67%; other 6%; includes irrigated NEGL%
Natural resources
iron ore, manganese, bauxite, nickel, uranium, phosphates, tin, hydropower, gold, platinum, crude oil, timber
Note
largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador
Terrain
mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt
Territorial sea
200 nm
Total area
8,511,965 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
25 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate
7 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Ethnic divisions
Portuguese, Italian, German, Japanese, black, Amerindian; white 55%, mixed 38%, black 6%, other 1%
Infant mortality rate
67 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Labor force
57,000,000 (1989 est.); services 42%, agriculture 31%, industry 27%
Languages
Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
Life expectancy at birth
62 years male, 69 years female (1992)
Literacy
81% (male 82%, female 80%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Nationality
noun - Brazilian(s); adjective - Brazilian
Net migration rate
0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Organized labor
13,000,000 dues paying members (1989 est.)
Population
158,202,019 (July 1992), growth rate 1.8% (1992)
Religions
Roman Catholic (nominal) 90%
Total fertility rate
3.0 children born/woman (1992)
Government
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; note - the former territories of Amapa and Roraima became states in January 1991
Capital
Brasilia
Chamber of Deputies
last held 3 October 1990 (next to be held November 1994); results - PMDB 21%, PFL 17%, PDT 9%, PDS 8%, PRN 7.9%, PTB 7%, PT 7%, other 23.1%; seats - (503 total as of 3 February 1991) PMDB 108, PFL 87, PDT 46, PDS 43, PRN 40, PTB 35, PT 35, other 109
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)
Communists
less than 30,000
Constitution
5 October 1988
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Rubens RICUPERO; Chancery at 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 745-2700; there are Brazilian Consulates General in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, and New York, and Consulates in Dallas, Houston, and San Francisco US: Ambassador Richard MELTON; Embassy at Avenida das Nacoes, Lote 3, Brasilia, Distrito Federal (mailing address is APO AA 34030); telephone [55] (61) 321-7272; FAX [55] (61) 225-9136; there are US Consulates General in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, and Consulates in PortoAlegre and Recife
Executive branch
president, vice president, Cabinet
Federal Senate
last held 3 October 1990 (next to be held November 1994); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (81 total as of 3 February 1991) PMDB 27, PFL 15, PSDB 10, PTB 8, PDT 5, other 16
Flag
green with a large yellow diamond in the center bearing a blue celestial globe with 23 white five-pointed stars (one for each state) arranged in the same pattern as the night sky over Brazil; the globe has a white equatorial band with the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO (Order and Progress)
Independence
7 September 1822 (from Portugal)
Judicial branch
Supreme Federal Tribunal
Legal system
based on Latin codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
bicameral National Congress (Congresso Nacional) consists of an upper chamber or Federal Senate (Senado Federal) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camara dos Deputados)
Long-form name
Federative Republic of Brazil
Member of
AfDB, AG (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, MERCOSUR, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WFTU, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
Independence Day, 7 September (1822)
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
Political parties and leaders
National Reconstruction Party (PRN), Daniel TOURINHO, president; Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), Orestes QUERCIA, 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), Leonel BRIZOLA, president; Democratic Social Party (PPS), Paulo MALUF, president; Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Tasso JEREISSATI, president; Popular Socialist Party (PPS), Roberto FREIRE, president; Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB), Joao AMAZONAS, secretary general; Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Siqueira CAMPOS, president
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%; note - first free, direct presidential election since 1960
Suffrage
voluntary at age 16; compulsory between ages 18 and 70; voluntary at age 70
Type
federal republic
Economy
Agriculture
world's largest producer and exporter of coffee and orange juice concentrate and second- largest exporter of soybeans; other products - rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, beef; self-sufficient in food, except for wheat
Budget
revenues $164.3 billion; expenditures $170.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $32.9 billion (1990)
Currency
cruzeiro (plural - cruzeiros); 1 cruzeiro (Cr$) = 100 centavos
Economic aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $2.5 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $10.2 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $284 million; former Communist countries (1970-89), $1.3 billion
Electricity
58,500,000 kW capacity; 229,824 million kWh produced, 1,479 kWh per capita (1991)
Exchange rates
cruzeiros (Cr$) per US$1 - 1,197.38 (January 1992), 406.61 (1991), 68.300 (1990), 2.834 (1989), 0.26238 (1988), 0.03923 (1987)
Exports
$31.6 billion (1991) commodities: iron ore, soybean bran, orange juice, footwear, coffee partners: EC 31%, US 24%, Latin America 11%, Japan 8% (1990)
External debt
$118 billion (December 1991)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
exchange rate conversion - $358 billion, per capita $2,300; real growth rate 1.2% (1991)
Illicit drugs
illicit producer of cannabis and coca, mostly for domestic consumption; government has a modest eradication program to control cannabis and coca cultivation; important transshipment country for Bolivian and Colombian cocaine headed for the US and Europe
Imports
$21.0 billion (1991) commodities: crude oil, capital goods, chemical products, foodstuffs, coal partners: Middle East and Africa 22%, US 21%, EC 21%, Latin America 18%, Japan 6% (1990)
Industrial production
growth rate--0.5% (1991); accounts for 39% of GDP
Industries
textiles and other consumer goods, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, steel, motor vehicles and auto parts, metalworking, capital goods, tin
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
478.5% (December 1991, annual rate)
Overview
The economy, with large agrarian, mining, and manufacturing sectors, entered the 1990s with declining real growth, runaway inflation, an unserviceable foreign debt of $122 billion, and a lack of policy direction. In addition, the economy remained highly regulated, inward-looking, and protected by substantial trade and investment barriers. Ownership of major industrial and mining facilities is divided among private interests - including several multinationals - and the government. Most large agricultural holdings are private, with the government channeling financing to this sector. Conflicts between large landholders and landless peasants have produced intermittent violence. The Collor government, which assumed office in March 1990, is embarked on an ambitious reform program that seeks to modernize and reinvigorate the economy by stabilizing prices, deregulating the economy, and opening it to increased foreign competition. The government in December 1991 signed a letter of intent with the IMF for a 20-month standby loan. Having reached an agreement on the repayment of interest arrears accumulated during 1989 and 1990, Brazilian officials and commercial bankers are engaged in talks on the reduction of medium- and long-term debt and debt service payments and on the elimination of remaining interest arrears. A major long-run strength is Brazil's vast natural resources.
Unemployment rate
4.3% (1991)
Communications
Airports
3,563 total, 2,911 usable; 420 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 22 with runways 2,240-3,659 m; 550 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
198 major transport aircraft
Highways
1,448,000 km total; 48,000 km paved, 1,400,000 km gravel or earth
Inland waterways
50,000 km navigable
Merchant marine
245 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,693,500 GRT/9,623,918 DWT; includes 3 passenger-cargo, 49 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 13 container, 9 roll-on/roll-off, 57 petroleum tanker, 15 chemical tanker, 11 liquefied gas, 14 combination ore/oil, 71 bulk, 2 combination bulk; in addition, 2 naval tankers and 4 military transport are sometimes used commercially
Pipelines
crude oil 2,000 km; petroleum products 3,804 km; natural gas 1,095 km
Ports
Belem, Fortaleza, Ilheus, Manaus, Paranagua, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, Salvador, Santos
Railroads
28,828 km total; 24,864 km 1.000-meter gauge, 3,877 km 1.600-meter gauge, 74 km mixed 1.600-1.000-meter gauge, 13 km 0.760-meter gauge; 2,360 km electrified
Telecommunications
good system; extensive radio relay facilities; 9.86 million telephones; broadcast stations - 1,223 AM, no FM, 112 TV, 151 shortwave; 3 coaxial submarine cables, 3 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations and 64 domestic satellite earth stations
Military and Security
Branches
Brazilian Army, Navy of Brazil (including Marines), Brazilian Air Force, Military Police (paramilitary)
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $1.1 billion, 0.3% of GDP (1990)
Manpower availability
males 15-49, 41,515,103; 27,987,257 fit for military service; 1,644,571 reach military age (18) annually