NAVIGATION
|
HOME
• FLAG FINDER
• MAP FINDER
• SOURCES
• ADD YOURSELF TO THE ATLAS! COUNTRIES A-D • COUNTRIES E-K • COUNTRIES L-R • COUNTRIES S-Z |
NAVIGATION
Federative Republic of Brazil
Republica Federativa do Brasil
GOVERNMENT
|
Country name:
|
conventional long form: Federative Republic of Brazil
conventional short form: Brazil local short form: Brasil local long form: Republica Federativa do Brasil |
|
Government type:
|
federative republic |
|
Capital:
|
Brasilia |
|
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:
|
7 September 1822 (from Portugal) |
|
National holiday:
|
Independence Day, 7 September (1822) |
|
Constitution:
|
5 October 1988 |
|
Legal system:
|
based on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
|
Suffrage:
|
voluntary between 16 and 18 years of age and over 70; compulsory over 18 and under 70 years of age |
|
Executive branch:
|
chief of state: President Luiz Ignacio 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
election results: in runoff election 27 October 2002, Luiz Ignacio Lula DA SILVA (PT) was elected with 61.3% of the vote; Jose SERRA (PSDB) 38.7% 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 NA October 2006); runoff election held 27 October 2002 cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president head of government: President Luiz Ignacio 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 |
|
Legislative branch:
|
bicameral National Congress or Congresso Nacional consists of the Federal Senate or Senado Federal (81 seats; three members from each state or 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)
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, PPB 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PT 91, PFL 84, PMDB 74, PSDB 71, PPB 49, PL 26, PTB 26, PSB 22, PDT 21, PPS 15, PCdoB 12, PRONA 6, PV 5, other 11 elections: Federal Senate - last held 6 October 2002 for two-thirds of the Senate (next to be held NA October 2006 for one-third of the Senate); Chamber of Deputies - last held 6 October 2002 (next to be held NA October 2006) |
|
Judicial branch:
|
Supreme Federal Tribunal (11 ministers are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate); Higher Tribunal of Justice; Regional Federal Tribunals (judges are appointed for life) |
|
Political parties and leaders:
|
Brazilian Democratic Movement Party or PMDB [Michel TEMER, president]; Brazilian Labor Party or PTB [Jose Carlos MARTINEZ, president]; Brazilian Social Democracy Party or PSDB [Senator Jose ANIBAL, president]; Brazilian Socialist Party or PSB [Miguel ARRAES, president]; Brazilian Progressive Party or PPB [Paulo Salim MALUF]; Communist Party of Brazil or PCdoB [Renato RABELLO, chairman]; Democratic Labor Party or PDT [Leonel BRIZOLA, president]; Green Party or PV [leader NA]; Liberal Front Party or PFL [Jorge BORNHAUSEN, president]; Liberal Party or PL [Deputy Valdemar COSTA Neto, president]; National Order Reconstruction Party or PRONA [Dr. Eneas CARNEIRO]; Popular Socialist Party or PPS [Senator Roberto FREIRE, president]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [leader NA]; Worker's Party or PT [Jose GENOINO, president] |
|
Political pressure groups and leaders:
|
left wing of the Catholic Church; Landless Worker's Movement; labor unions allied to leftist Worker's Party |
|
International organization participation:
|
AfDB, BIS, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOP, UNMOVIC, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
|
Diplomatic representation in the US:
|
chief of mission: Ambassador Rubens Antonio BARBOSA
FAX: [1] (202) 238-2827 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco chancery: 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 238-2700 |
|
Diplomatic representation from the US:
|
chief of mission: Ambassador Donna J. HRINAK
embassy: Avenida das Nacoes, Quadra 801, Lote 3, Distrito Federal Cep 70403-900, Brasilia mailing address: Unit 3500, APO AA 34030 telephone: [55] (61) 312-7000 FAX: [55] (61) 225-9136 consulate(s) general: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo consulate(s): Recife |
|
Flag description:
|
green with a large yellow diamond in the center bearing a blue celestial globe with 27 white five-pointed stars (one for each state and the Federal District) 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) |
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. The maintenance of large current account deficits via capital account surpluses became problematic as investors became more risk averse to emerging market exposure as a consequence of the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and the Russian bond default in August 1998. After crafting a fiscal adjustment program and pledging progress on structural reform, Brazil received a $41.5 billion IMF-led international support program in November 1998. In January 1999, the Brazilian Central Bank announced that the real would no longer be pegged to the US dollar. This devaluation helped moderate the downturn in economic growth in 1999 that investors had expressed concerns about over the summer of 1998, and the country posted moderate GDP growth. Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001 - to less than 2% - because of a slowdown in major markets and the hiking of interest rates by the Central Bank to combat inflationary pressures. Investor confidence was strong at yearend 2001, in part because of the strong recovery in the trade balance. |
|
GDP:
|
purchasing power parity - $1.34 trillion (2001 est.) |
|
GDP - real growth rate:
|
1.9% (2001 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita:
|
purchasing power parity - $7,400 (2000 est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 9%
industry: 32% services: 59% (2000 est.) |
|
Population below poverty line:
|
22% (1998 est.) |
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
|
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 47% (1997) (1997) |
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|
59 (1997) |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
7.7% (2001) (2001) |
|
Labor force:
|
79 million (1999 est.) |
|
Labor force - by occupation:
|
services 53%, agriculture 23%, industry 24% |
|
Unemployment rate:
|
6.4% (2001 est.) |
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $100.6 billion
expenditures: $91.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000) (2000) |
|
Industries:
|
textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment |
|
Industrial production growth rate:
|
1% (2001 est.) |
|
Electricity - production:
|
342.3 billion kWh (2000) |
|
Electricity - production by source:
|
fossil fuel: 6%
other: 4% (2000) hydro: 89% nuclear: 1% |
|
Electricity - consumption:
|
360.64 billion kWh (2000) |
|
Electricity - exports:
|
0 kWh (2000) |
|
Electricity - imports:
|
42.3 billion kWh
note: supplied by Paraguay (2000) |
|
Agriculture - products:
|
coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus; beef |
|
Exports:
|
$57.8 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
|
Exports - commodities:
|
manufactures, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos |
|
Exports - partners:
|
US 24.4%, Argentina 11.2%, Germany 8.7%, Japan 5.5%, Italy 3.9%, Netherlands (2001) |
|
Imports:
|
$57.7 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
|
Imports - commodities:
|
machinery and equipment, chemical products, oil, electricity, autos and auto parts |
|
Imports - partners:
|
US 23.2%, Argentina 11.2%, Germany 8.7%, Japan 5.5%, Italy 3.9% (2001) |
|
Debt - external:
|
$251 billion (2001) (2001) |
|
Economic aid - recipient:
|
NA |
|
Currency:
|
real (BRL) |
|
Currency code:
|
BRL |
|
Exchange rates:
|
reals per US dollar - 2.378 (January 2002), 2.358 (2001), 1.830 (2000), 1.815 (1999), 1.161 (1998), 1.078 (1997)
note: from October 1994 through 14 January 1999, the official rate was determined by a managed float; since 15 January 1999, the official rate floats independently with respect to the US dollar |
|
Fiscal year:
|
calendar year |