BRAZIL IN BRIEF

Holidays:

  • Universal Confraternization Day January 1
  • Carnival February 23-24
  • Good Friday April 10
  • Tiradentes Day-Discovery of Brazil April 21
  • Labor Day May 1
  • Corpus Christi June 11
  • Independence Day September 7
  • Our Lady Aparecida, Patron Saint of Brazil October 12
  • All Souls' Day November 2
  • Proclamation of the Republic November 15
  • Christmas December 25

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than the US

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

Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: The climate is varied; mostly tropical or semitropical with temperate zones. Winters (May to October) are generally mild; and in the summers (November to April) the climate is tropical all over the country. Brazil is unbearably hot from mid-December to the end of February, and the most pleasant months to visit are from April to October. The Amazon Basin is extremely hot, and the southern plateau has a temperate temperature. Winter months in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo are summery, and in the south of Brazil, automney. Humidity is more extreme around the coastal towns. The northern region can suffer from frequent tropical rain from January to April, and the northeastern region has its tropical rainy season from April.


Terrain: mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt

Elevation extremes:
Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Highest point: Pico da Neblina 3,014 m

Natural resources: bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber

Land use:
Arable land: 5%
Permanent crops: 1%
Permanent pastures: 22%
Forests and woodland: 58%
Other: 14% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 28,000 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south

Geography - note: largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador
PEOPLE

Population: 172,860,370
note: Brazil took an intercensal count in August 1996 which reported a population of 157,079,573; that figure was about 5% lower than projections by the US Census Bureau, which 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 2000 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 29% (male 25,607,074; female 24,670,960)
15-64 years: 66% (male 55,793,005; female 57,598,489)
65 years and over: 5% (male 3,727,912; female 5,462,930) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.94% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 18.84 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 9.37 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 38.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
Total population: 62.94 years
Male: 58.54 years
Female: 67.56 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.13 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality:
Noun: Brazilian(s)
Adjective: Brazilian

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

Religions: Roman Catholic (nominal) 80%

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

Literacy:
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 83.3%
Male: 83.3%
Female: 83.2% (1995 est.)