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Brazilian Flag
The Menas Associates country fact file page is devised to provide our readers with a checklist of
information about
the history, people, government, economy, geography, military and transnational
issues affecting each one of the
countries we
write about.
Time: UTC-2 to -4/5
Area: 8,514,877 km2
Population: 192, 272,980
Currency: Real (R$) (BRL)
Capital: Brasilia
Official languages: Portuguese
Geography: Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean
Borders: Argentina (1,261 km), Bolivia (3,423 km), Colombia (1,644 km), French Guiana
(730 km), Guyana (1,606 km), Paraguay (1,365 km), Peru (2,995 km), Suriname
(593
km), Uruguay (1,068 km), Venezuela (2,200 km)
Government: Presidential Federal republic
President: Dilma Rousseff (since 2011)
Parliament: bicameral; National Congress (Congresso Nacional) consists of the Federal
Senate or (Senado Federal ), (81 seats; 3 members from each state and federal
district elected according to the principle of majority to serve eight-year
terms;
one-third and two-thirds of members elected every four years, alternately); and
the
Chamber of Deputies (Camara dos Deputados), (513 seats; members are elected by
proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
Military: compulsory military service from 21-45 years of age
Religion: Roman Catholic (73.6%), Protestant (15.4%), Spiritualist (1.3%), Bantu/voodoo
(0.3%), other (1.8%), unspecified (0.2%), none (7.4%)
Demographics: 26 states
Exports: transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos
Export partners: US (13.7%), Argentina (8.7%), China (8.1%), Netherlands
(5.2%), Germany (4.4%)
Imports: machinery, electrical, transport equipment, chemical products, oil,
automotive parts, electronics
Import partners: US (14.9%), China (11.6%), Argentina (7.9%), Germany (7%)
Economy: Brazil's economy is based on the country's industrial and agricultural growth
and exploitation of its vast natural resources, and labour pool. Brazil is
South America's leading economic power and a regional leader.
Electricity consumption/production/exports/imports: 404.3 billion kWh, 438.8 billion kWh, 2.034 billion kWh, 42.06 billion kWh
Oil consumption/production/exports/imports: 2.52 million b/d, 2.422 million b/d, 570,100 b/d, 632,900 b/d
Natural gas consumption/production/exports/imports: 23.65 billion m³, 12.62 billion m³, 0 m³, 11.03 billion m³
Natural resources: bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium,
petroleum, hydropower, timber
Agriculture products: coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus, beef
Concerns: unequal income distribution and crime.
* All the above data is selected from statistical review journals, published in
the latter part of 2008/9. Therefore, please note that some facts/figures may
vary according to source/time of documentation.
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