Fact Sheet
Quick Facts
Capital: Brasilia
Location: Eastern South America (bordering the Atlantic Ocean)
Land Area: Approx. 8.5 million sq km
Population: Approx. 182 million people
Borders: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela
Climate: Mostly tropical, but temperate towards the south.
Terrain: Mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt.
Natural Resources: bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber
Currency: real (BRL)
Telephone Code: 55
Internet Domain: .br
Culture
Brazil's official language is Portuguese but Spanish, English and French are other primary languages used. The most common religious faith is Roman Catholic (nominal) accounting for about 80% of the population. The country itself is a federative republic with 26 states and 1 federal district. Similar to the United States, Brazil has three branches of government (Executive, Legislative, Judicial) but their legal system is based on Roman codes; Brazil has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction. If you know anything about Brazil, you probably know that Brazilians are fanatic about soccer. Soccer is the national sport. In fact many of soccer's greatest athletes come from Brazil, the most famous being Pele and Ronaldo. Brazil is the only nation to win the World Cup four times. Long recognized as the best in the world, you might say, Brazil is the "spiritual home" of soccer. Brazil is also well known for it's Carnaval celebrations. It happens at the peak of summer, when Cariocas are at their best. Festivities attract thousands of people from all corners of the world. It's a 4-day celebration that starts on Saturday, and ends on Fat Tuesday, or Mardi-Gras. The month can be February or March because Carnaval Sunday is seven weeks before Easter Sunday.
Economy
Brazil is one of the world’s foremost developing economies. It is the largest and most populous country in South America, with vast natural resources and a large labour pool. It is also a global leader in several sectors, possessing large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors. The country ranks first or second in the world production of coffee, soybeans and sugarcane and first in world production of iron ore. In fact, Brazil is an important global source of a number of minerals, including bauxite, nickel, zinc, manganese, semiprecious stones and gold. It is also largely self sufficient in terms of energy production, generating over 80% of its electricity from renewable sources, mainly hydropower. The country ranks 10th among all countries globally in terms of GDP, ahead of resource rich countries Russia and Australia but just below developed countries such as Canada and Italy. In recent years, Brazil has generated large current account surpluses and positive GDP growth in the range of 2-3% per annum. This contrasts with the financial crisis suffered by Brazil, not unlike many other emerging economies, in the late 1990s. 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. Since 2000, Brazil had made steady progress in increasing its trade balance with the rest of the world, leading to record trade surpluses, higher GDP, declining inflation and interest rates and higher foreign exchange reserves.