Brazil
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Brazil is the largest country in Latin America by population and by area (Its world ranking is 7th by population and 5th by area). Brazil is bounded on the north by Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, and French Guiana, in the northeast by the Atlantic Ocean, in the east by the Atlantic Ocean, in the south by Uruguay, and in the west by Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia.
Its major environmental issues include deforestation in the Amazon Basin; habitat destruction and a multitude of endangered plant and animal species indigenous to the area; there is a lucrative illegal wildlife trade; air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and several other large cities; land degradation and water pollution caused by improper mining activities; wetland degradation; and severe oil spills.
Background
Following three centuries under the rule of Portugal, Brazil became an independent nation in 1822 and a republic in 1889. By far the largest and most populous country in South America, Brazil overcame more than half a century of military intervention in the governance of the country when in 1985 the military regime peacefully ceded power to civilian rulers.
Brazil continues to pursue industrial and agricultural growth and development of its interior. Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, it is today South America's leading economic power and a regional leader. Highly unequal income distribution remains a pressing problem.
Arguably, its major environmental challenges include: deforestation in Amazon Basin destroys the habitat and endangers a multitude of plant and animal species indigenous to the area; there is a lucrative illegal wildlife trade; air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and several other large cities; land degradation and water pollution caused by improper mining activities; wetland degradation; severe oil spills
Geography
Location: Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean
Geographic Coordinates: 10 00 S, 55 00 W
Area: 8,511,965 km2 (8,456,510 km2 land and 55,455 km2 water) This includes the Atlantic archipelago Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atol, and the islands Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo
arable land: 6.93%
permanent crops: 0.89%
other: 92.18% (2005)
Land Boundaries: 16,885 km - border countries: 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.
Coastline: 7,491 km
Maritime Claims:
territorial sea: 12 nautical miles
contiguous zone: 24 nautical miles
exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles
continental shelf: 200 nautical miles or to edge of the continental margin
Natural Hazards: recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south
Terrain: Mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt. The highest point is Pico da Neblina (3,014 metres)
Climate: Mostly tropical, but temperate in south
Biodiversity and Ecology
The Atlantic Forest or Mata Atlântica stretches along Brazil's Atlantic coast, from the northern state of Rio Grande do Norte south to Rio Grande do Sul. It extends inland to eastern Paraguay and the province of Misiones in northeastern Argentina, and narrowly along the coast into Uruguay. Also included in this hotspot is the offshore archipelago of Fernando de Noronha and several other islands off the Brazilian coast. Long isolated from other major rainforest blocks in South America, the Atlantic Forest has an extremely diverse and unique mix of vegetation and forest types. The most extensive woodland/savanna region in South America, the Cerrado is also the only hotspot that consists largely of savanna, woodland/savanna and dry forest ecosystems. Within the region, there is a mosaic of different vegetation types, including tree and scrub savanna, grassland with scattered trees, and occasional patches of a dry, closed canopy forest called the cerradão. Gallery forests are found throughout the region, although they are technically not considered part of the typical Cerrado formations.
Ecoregions
Terrestrial:
Marine:
- East Brazil Shelf large marine ecosystem
- North Brazil Shelf large marine ecosystem
- South Brazil Shelf large marine ecosystem
Protected Areas
- Brazilian Atlantic Islands
- Central Amazonian Conservation Complex
- Cerrado Protected Areas
- Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves
- Iguacu National Park
- Jaú National Park
- Pantanal Conservation Complex
- Southeast Atlantic Forest Reserves
International Environmental Agreements
Brazil is party to international agreements on: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, the Convention on Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, and Whaling.
Government
Government Type: Federal republic
Capital: Brasilia
Administrative Divisions: Brazil is organized into 26 states ("Estados") and 1 federal district* (distrito federal). The States/Estados are (see map right): 1. Acre, 2. Alagoas, 3. Amapa, 4. Amazonas, 5. Bahia, 6. [Ceara]], 7. Espirito Santo, 8. Goias, 9. Maranhao, 10. Mato Grosso, 11. Mato Grosso do Sul, 12. Minas Gerais, 13. Para, 14. Paraiba, 15. Parana, 16. Pernambuco, 17. Piaui, 18. Rio de Janeiro, 19. Rio Grande do Norte, 20. Rio Grande do Sul, 21. Rondonia, 22. Roraima, 23. Santa Catarina, 24. Sao Paulo, 25. Sergipe, and 26. Tocantins. Districto Federal is 27 in the map.
Independence Date: 7 September 1822 (from Portugal)
Legal System: based on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
People and Society
Population: 198,739,269 (July 2009 est.) (Note: Brazil conducted a census in August 2000, which reported a population of 169,872,855; that figure was about 3.8% lower than projections by the US Census Bureau, and is close to the implied underenumeration of 4.6% for the 1991 census.)
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 26.7% (male 27,092,880/female 26,062,244)
15-64 years: 66.8% (male 65,804,108/female 67,047,725)
65 years and over: 6.4% (male 5,374,230/female 7,358,082) (2009 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 1.199% (2009 est.)
Birthrate: 18.72 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death Rate: 6.35 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net Migration Rate: -0.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 71.99 years (2009 est.)
Total Fertility Rate: 2.21 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Languages: Portuguese (official and most widely spoken language); note - less common languages include Spanish (border areas and schools), German, Italian, Japanese, English, and a large number of minor Amerindian languages
Literacy: 88.6% (2004 est.)
Water
For general purposes, Brazil can be divided into:
- three river basins namely the Amazons, Tocantins and São Francisco; and
- two basin complexes:
- the Plata river that has three Brazilian sub-river basins (Paraná, Upper Paraguay and Uruguay);
- the remaining rivers flowing into the Atlantic that are divided into several basins.
The Amazon and the Tocantins-Araguaia basins in the north account for 56% of Brazil's total drainage area. The Amazon River, the world's largest river in volume of water and second longest after the Nile, is navigable by ocean steamers as far as Iquitos in Peru. The Paraná-Paraguay river system drains the south-western portion of the state of Minas Gerais. Brazil's two southernmost states are drained through the Uruguay River also into the Plata River. The São Francisco River is the largest river entirely within Brazil, flowing for over 1,609 km northward before it turns eastward into the Atlantic. The last 277 km of the lower river is navigable for ocean-going ships.
Energy
According to Oil and Gas Journal (OGJ), Brazil had 11.2 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in 2006, second-largest in South America only to Venezuela. OGJ reported that Brazil had 11.5 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proven natural gas reserves in 2006. The Campos and Santos Basins hold the majority of reserves, but there are also sizable reserves in the interior stretches of the country. In 2003, Brazil had 11.1 billion short tons of recoverable coal reserves, the second largest in the Western Hemisphere, behind the United States. The country consumed 23.5 million short tons (Mmst) and produced 6.2 Mmst in 2004. Brazil is attempting to reverse its status as a net importer of coal. According to reports, Brazil's national development bank, Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social (BNDES), is developing a plan to expand the country's coal industry. BNDES hopes that the proposed program will make Brazil self-sufficient in coal by 2010 and eventually a net exporter of coal.
Brazil had 86.5 gigawatts of installed generating capacity in 2004, with the single largest share being hydroelectricity. In 2004, the country generated 380.9 billion kilowatt-hours (Bkwh) of electric power, while consuming 391.7 Bkwh. Most imported electricity comes from Argentina.
Conflict
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 boundary dispute with Uruguay over Isla Brasilera at the confluence of the Quarai/Cuareim RiverCuareim and Invernada rivers, that form a tripoint with Argentina; the Itaipú Dam reservoir covers over a once contested section of Brazil-Paraguay boundary west of Guaira Falls on the Rio Parana; an accord placed the long-disputed Isla Suárez/Ilha de Guajará-Mirim, a fluvial island on the Río Mamoré, under Bolivian administration in 1958, but sovereignty remains in dispute
Economy
GDP: (Purchasing Power Parity): $1.99 trillion (2008 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 5.2% (2008 est.)
GDP- per capita (PPP): $10,100 (2008 est.)
GDP- composition by sector:
agriculture: 5.5%
industry: 28.5%
services: 66% (2008 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: $200 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.) transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos
Imports: $176 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.) machinery, electrical and transport equipment, chemical products, oil, automotive parts, electronics
Further Reading
- The CIA World Fact Book.
- Website of the Government of Brazil
- World Wildlife Fund homepage
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
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