First leg: Brazil
,Xinhua
Updated: 2004-11-11 10:49

Federative Republic of Brazil

National flag of Brazil

National name: República Federativa do Brasil

President: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2003)

Area: 3,286,470 sq mi (8,511,965 sq km)

Population (2003 est.): 182,032,604 (growth rate: 1.2%); birth rate: 17.7/1000; infant mortality rate: 31.7/1000; density per sq mi: 55

Capital (1997 est.): Brasília, 1,800,000

Largest cities: S?o Paulo (2000 est.), 17,900,000 (metro. area); Rio de Janeiro (2000 est.), 10,650,000 (metro. area); Porto Alegre, 3,000,000; Recife, 2,900,999; Salvador, 2,600,000; Belo Horizonte, 2,600,000

Map of Brazil

Monetary unit: Real

Language: Portuguese

Ethnicity/race: white (includes Portuguese, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish) 55%, mixed white and African 38%, African 6%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 1%

Religion: Roman Catholic 90% (nominal)

Literacy rate: 81% (1990)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2001 est.): $1.34 trillion; per capita $7,400. Real growth rate: 1.9%. Inflation: 7.7%. Unemployment: 6.4%. Arable land: 6%. Agriculture: coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus; beef. Labor force: 79 million (1999 est.); services 53%, agriculture 23%, industry 24%. Industries: textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment. Natural resources: bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber. Exports: $57.8 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.): manufactures, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos. Imports: $57.7 billion (f.o.b., 2001): machinery and equipment, chemical products, oil, electricity, autos and auto parts. Major trading partners: U.S., Argentina, Germany, Japan, Italy, Netherlands.

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 17.039 million (1997); mobile cellular: 4.4 million (1997). Radio broadcast stations: AM 1,365, FM 296, shortwave 161 (of which 91 are collocated with AM stations) (1999). Radios: 71 million (1997). Television broadcast stations: 138 (1997). Televisions: 36.5 million (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 50 (2000). Internet users: 11.94 million (2001).

Transportation: Railways: total: 30,875 km (5,679 km electrified); note: excludes urban rail (1999 est.). Highways: total: 1.98 million km; paved: 184,140 km; unpaved: 1,795,860 km (1996). Waterways: 50,000 km navigable. Ports and harbors: Belem, Fortaleza, Ilheus, Imbituba, Manaus, Paranagua, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, Salvador, Santos, Vitoria. Airports: 3,365 (2001).

International disputes: uncontested dispute with Uruguay over islands in the Rio Quarai (Rio Cuareim) and the Arroio Invernada (Arroyo de la Invernada).