Brazil
in Brief
Official
Name:
República Federativa do Brasil (Federative Republic of Brazil)
Flag: 
Capital: Brasília
Official Language: Portuguese
Political Divisions:
26 states and one Federal District
Currency: Real (R$)
Real Exchange Rate*
R$ 2.40 = US$ 1
US$ 0.42 = R$ 1
R$1.5 = CDN $1
CDN$ 0.67 CAD = R$1
(*) January 27th 2002
Population: 173,790,810 (2000 estimate)
Population Density: 20 persons/sq
km (53 persons/sq mi, 2000 estimate)
Urban/Rural Breakdown: 80% Urban,
20% Rural (1998 estimate)
Largest Cities (population):
São Paulo 9,839,436
Rio de Janeiro 5,551,538
Salvador 2,211,539
Belo Horizonte 2,691,448
Fortaleza 1,965,513
Brasília 1,821,946 (1996 estimate)
Ethnic Groups:
55% European (primarily Portuguese, Italian, and Spanish),
38% Mulatto or Mestizo
6% Black
1% Other (Asian, Arab, and Native American)
Religions:
89% Roman Catholicism, 6% Protestantism and 5% Other
Employment Breakdown: 53% Services,
26% Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing, 20% Industry
Gross Domestic Product: $820.4
billion (1997)
Chief Economic Products: Agriculture
Soybeans, coffee, tobacco, sugarcane, cacao beans, beef and
poultry Fishing Shrimp, lobsters, sardines Mining Iron ore,
tin, gold, phosphates, platinum, bauxite, uranium, manganese,
copper, coal Manufacturing Machinery and transportation equipment,
food products, textiles and clothing, chemicals.
Major Exports: Road vehicles and
parts, coffee and coffee substitutes, metals, feeding-stuff
for animals
Major Imports: Petroleum, road
vehicles and parts, electrical machinery, organic chemicals,
industrial machinery and parts
Major Trading Partners (Exports):
United States, Argentina, Netherlands, Japan, Germany
Major Trading Partners (Imports):United
States, Argentina, Germany, Japan, Italy
Form of Government: Federal republic
Head of State and Government : President (Elected by the voters
to a four-year term)
Legislature: Bicameral legislature
Chamber of Deputies: 513 deputies
elected to 4-year terms
Senate: 81 senators elected to
8-year terms
Voting Qualifications: Compulsory for literate persons aged
18-70; optional for illiterate persons, persons age 70 and older,
or persons age 16 or 17
Highest Court: Supreme Federal
Tribunal
Armed Services: Army, Navy, Air
Force (291,000 active duty personnel; service of 12 to 18 months
compulsory for men aged 18 to 45)
***
INTERNET
USERS:
5.5%
of Brazilian population have access to the Internet - 57% men,
43% women - being 84% from middle class. (Media Metrix)
The average time a Brazilian spends on the Internet is close
to 56 minutes per day, against 60,7 minutes spent by North Americans
***
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