| Brazil |
Missionaries
Tom and Laura Fodor
Nelson and Lisa Monteiro
National name: República Federativa do Brasil
President: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2003)
Land area: 3,265,059 sq mi (8,456,511 sq km);total area: 3,286,470 sq mi (8,511,965 sq km)
Population (2007 est.): 190,010,647 (growth rate: 1.0%); birth rate: 16.3/1000; infant mortality rate: 27.6/1000; life expectancy: 72.2; density per sq mi: 58
Capital (2003 est.): Brasília, 2,160,100
Largest cities: São Paulo, 18,333,000 (metro. area), 10,927,985 (city proper); Rio de Janeiro, 11,469,000 (metro. area), 6,094,183 (city proper); Salvador, 2,590,400; Belo Horizonte, 2,347,500; Recife, 1,485,500; Porto Alegre, 1,372,700
Monetary unit: Real
Languages: Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
Ethnicity/race: white 53.7%, mulatto (mixed white and black) 38.5%, black 6.2%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 0.9%, unspecified 0.7% (2000)
Religions: Roman Catholic 74%, Protestant 15%, Spiritualist 1%, none 7% (2000)
Literacy rate: 88.6% (2004 est.)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2006 est.): $1.616 trillion; per capita $8,600.Real growth rate: 2.8%.Inflation: 3%.Unemployment: 9.6%. Arable land: 7%. Agriculture: coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus; beef.Labor force: 96.34 million; agriculture 20%, industry 14%, services 66% (2006 est.).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:$137.5 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos.Imports: $91.4 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): machinery, electrical and transport equipment, chemical products, oil.Major trading partners:U.S., Argentina, China, Netherlands, Germany, Mexico, Nigeria, Japan (2005).
Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 42.382 million (2004); mobile cellular: 86.21 million (2005).Radio broadcast stations: AM 1,365, FM 296, shortwave 161 (of which 91 are collocated with AM stations) (1999).Television broadcast stations: 138 (1997).Internet hosts: 3,163,349 (2003).Internet users: 25.9 million (2005).
Transportation: Railways: total: 29,252 km (1598 km electrified) (2005).Highways: total: 1,751,868 km; paved: 96,353 km; unpaved: 1,655,515 km (2005).Waterways:50,000 km (most in areas remote from industry and population) (2005).Ports and harbors: Gebig, Itaqui, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, San Sebasttiao, Santos, Sepetiba Terminal, Tubarao, Vitoria.Airports: 4,276 (2006 est.).
International disputes: unruly region at convergence of Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay borders is locus of money laundering, smuggling, arms and illegal narcotics trafficking, and fundraising for extremist organizations; uncontested dispute with Uruguay over certain islands in the Quarai/Cuareim and Invernada boundary streams and the resulting tripoint with Argentina; in 2004 Brazil submitted its claims to UNCLOS to extend its maritime continental margin.
