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During its rich and complex history, slavery was a major part of the Brazilian heritage, although this was never formally recorded in the annals of history. Slaves were brought to the country across the Pacific Ocean from Africa. Therefore, there is also a large proportion of Brazilian inhabitants that have an African heritage.
Others of European and Asian descent immigrated to Brazil in the 19th century. Therefore, this country is now a melting pot of ethnic and cultural diversity. Despite such diversity, Brazil maintains strong national pride and religious devotion. Brazil enjoys an extensive coastline that measures almost 7 kilometres or more than 4 miles.
In fact, Ecuador and Chile are the only South American countries with which Brazil does not share its borders. There are various groups of islands that also belong to Brazil, such as Saint Peter, Trindade and Fernando de Noronha, amongst others. Its entire area measures exactly 8 Apart from being geographically large, Brazil is also naturally diverse. It comprises dense rain forests and jungles, expanses of coastline, towering mountains, oceanic archipelagos or clusters of islands , rivers, scrublands and rolling plains.
Because of such a variation in habitats available to plants and animals, Brazil boasts a rich array of fauna and flora. This entry provides the distribution of the population according to age. Information is included by sex and age group as follows: The age structure of a population affects a nation's key socioeconomic issues. Countries with young populations high percentage under age 15 need to invest more in schools, while countries with older population.
This is the population pyramid for Brazil. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top.
The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.
For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab. Dependency ratios are a measure of the age structure of a population. They relate the number of individuals that are likely to be economically "dependent" on the support of others. Changes in the dependency ratio provide an indication of potential social support requirements resulting from changes in population age structures. This entry is the age that divides a population into two numerically equal groups; that is, half the people are younger than this age and half are older.
It is a single index that summarizes the age distribution of a population. Currently, the median age ranges from a low of about 15 in Niger and Uganda to 40 or more in several European countries and Japan. See the entry for "Age structure" for the importance of a young versus an older age structure and, by implication, a low versus a high. The average annual percent change in the population, resulting from a surplus or deficit of births over deaths and the balance of migrants entering and leaving a country. The rate may be positive or negative. The growth rate is a factor in determining how great a burden would be imposed on a country by the changing needs of its people for infrastructure e.
Rapid population growth can be seen as. This entry gives the average annual number of births during a year per 1, persons in the population at midyear; also known as crude birth rate. The birth rate is usually the dominant factor in determining the rate of population growth.
It depends on both the level of fertility and the age structure of the population. This entry gives the average annual number of deaths during a year per 1, population at midyear; also known as crude death rate. The death rate, while only a rough indicator of the mortality situation in a country, accurately indicates the current mortality impact on population growth.
This indicator is significantly affected by age distribution, and most countries will eventually show a rise in the overall death rate, in spite of continued decline in mortality at all ages, as declining. This entry includes the figure for the difference between the number of persons entering and leaving a country during the year per 1, persons based on midyear population. An excess of persons entering the country is referred to as net immigration e. The net migration rate indicates the contribution of migration to the overall level of population chan.
This entry provides two measures of the degree of urbanization of a population. The first, urban population, describes the percentage of the total population living in urban areas, as defined by the country. The second, rate of urbanization, describes the projected average rate of change of the size of the urban population over the given period of time. Additionally, the World entry includes a list of the ten largest urban agglomerations. An urban agglomeration is defined as comprising th.
Brazil officially the Federative Republic of Brazil is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At million square kilometers ( million. The history of Brazil starts with indigenous people in Brazil. Europeans arrived.
Major urban areas - population: This entry provides the population of the capital and up to six major cities defined as urban agglomerations with populations of at least , people. An urban agglomeration is defined as comprising the city or town proper and also the suburban fringe or thickly settled territory lying outside of, but adjacent to, the boundaries of the city. For smaller countries, lacking urban centers of , or more, only the population of the capital is presented. This entry includes the number of males for each female in five age groups - at birth, under 15 years, years, 65 years and over, and for the total population.
Sex ratio at birth has recently emerged as an indicator of certain kinds of sex discrimination in some countries. For instance, high sex ratios at birth in some Asian countries are now attributed to sex-selective abortion and infanticide due to a strong preference for sons. This will affect future marriage patterns and fertilit. The maternal mortality rate MMR is the annual number of female deaths per , live births from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its management excluding accidental or incidental causes.
The MMR includes deaths during pregnancy, childbirth, or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, for a specified year. This entry gives the number of deaths of infants under one year old in a given year per 1, live births in the same year. This rate is often used as an indicator of the level of health in a country. Life expectancy at birth: This entry contains the average number of years to be lived by a group of people born in the same year, if mortality at each age remains constant in the future.
Life expectancy at birth is also a measure of overall quality of life in a country and summarizes the mortality at all ages. It can also be thought of as indicating the potential return on investment in human capital and is necessary for the calculation of various actuarial measures. This entry gives a figure for the average number of children that would be born per woman if all women lived to the end of their childbearing years and bore children according to a given fertility rate at each age. The total fertility rate TFR is a more direct measure of the level of fertility than the crude birth rate, since it refers to births per woman.
This indicator shows the potential for population change in the country. A rate of two children per woman is considered the replaceme. This field gives the percent of women of reproductive age who are married or in union and are using, or whose sexual partner is using, a method of contraception according to the date of the most recent available data. It is also useful in understanding, past, present, and future fertility trends, especially in developing countries.
This entry provides the total expenditure on health as a percentage of GDP. This entry gives the number of medical doctors physicians , including generalist and specialist medical practitioners, per 1, of the population. Medical doctors are defined as doctors that study, diagnose, treat, and prevent illness, disease, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans through the application of modern medicine. They also plan, supervise, and evaluate care and treatment plans by other health care providers. The World Health Organization estimates that f. This entry provides the number of hospital beds per 1, people; it serves as a general measure of inpatient service availability.
Hospital beds include inpatient beds available in public, private, general, and specialized hospitals and rehabilitation centers.
In most cases, beds for both acute and chronic care are included. Because the level of inpatient services required for individual countries depends on several factors - such as demographic issues and the burden of disease - there is. This entry provides information about access to improved or unimproved drinking water sources available to segments of the population of a country. Improved drinking water - use of any of the following sources: Unimproved drinking water - use of any of the following sources: This entry provides information about access to improved or unimproved sanitation facilities available to segments of the population of a country.
Improved sanitation - use of any of the following facilities: Unimproved sanitation - use of any of the following facilities: This entry gives an estimate of all people adults and children alive at yearend with HIV infection, whether or not they have developed symptoms of AIDS. This entry gives an estimate of the number of adults and children who died of AIDS during a given calendar year. This entry lists major infectious diseases likely to be encountered in countries where the risk of such diseases is assessed to be very high as compared to the United States.
These infectious diseases represent risks to US government personnel traveling to the specified country for a period of less than three years. The degree of risk is assessed by considering the foreign nature of these infectious diseases, their severity, and the probability of being affected by the diseases present. Obesity - adult prevalence rate: This entry gives the percent of a country's population considered to be obese.
BMI is calculated by taking a person's weight in kg and dividing it by the person's squared height in meters. This entry provides the public expenditure on education as a percent of GDP. This entry includes a definition of literacy and Census Bureau percentages for the total population, males, and females. There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy. Unless otherwise specified, all rates are based on the most common definition - the ability to read and write at a specified age. Detailing the standards that individual countries use to assess the ability to read and write is beyond the scope of the Factbook.
Information on literacy, while not a perfect measu. School life expectancy primary to tertiary education: School life expectancy SLE is the total number of years of schooling primary to tertiary that a child can expect to receive, assuming that the probability of his or her being enrolled in school at any particular future age is equal to the current enrollment ratio at that age. Caution must be maintained when utilizing this indicator in international comparisons.
For example, a year or grade completed in one country is not necessarily the same in terms of educational content or qualit.
Unemployment, youth ages This entry gives the percent of the total labor force ages unemployed during a specified year. This entry includes all forms of the country's name approved by the US Board on Geographic Names Italy is used as an example: Also see the Terminology note.
Federative Republic of Brazil. Republica Federativa do Brasil. This entry gives the basic form of government. Definitions of the major governmental terms are as follows. Note that for some countries more than one definition applies. Absolute monarchy - a form of government where the monarch rules unhindered, i. Anarchy - a condition of lawlessness or political disorder brought about by the absence of governmental authority.
Authoritarian - a form of government in whic. This entry gives the name of the seat of government, its geographic coordinates, the time difference relative to Coordinated Universal Time UTC and the time observed in Washington, DC, and, if applicable, information on daylight saving time DST. Where appropriate, a special note has been added to highlight those countries that have multiple time zones.
This entry generally gives the numbers, designatory terms, and first-order administrative divisions as approved by the US Board on Geographic Names BGN. Changes that have been reported but not yet acted on by the BGN are noted. Geographic names conform to spellings approved by the BGN with the exception of the omission of diacritical marks and special characters. For most countries, this entry gives the date that sovereignty was achieved and from which nation, empire, or trusteeship. For the other countries, the date given may not represent "independence" in the strict sense, but rather some significant nationhood event such as the traditional founding date or the date of unification, federation, confederation, establishment, fundamental change in the form of government, or state succession.
For a number of countries, the establishment of statehood. This entry gives the primary national day of celebration - usually independence day. Independence Day, 7 September The history subfield includes the dates of previous constitutions and the main steps and dates in formulating and implementing the latest constitution. This entry provides the description of a country's legal system. A statement on judicial review of legislative acts is also included for a number of countries.
The legal systems of nearly all countries are generally modeled upon elements of five main types: International law organization participation: This entry provides information related to the acquisition and exercise of citizenship; it includes four subfields: This entry gives the age at enfranchisement and whether the right to vote is universal or restricted.
This entry includes five subentries: Chief of state includes the name, title, and beginning date in office of the titular leader of the country who represents the state at official and ceremonial functions but may not be involved with the day-to-day activities of the government. Head of government includes the name, title of the top executive designated to manage the executive branch of the government, a.
Cabinet appointed by the president.
This entry has three subfields. The description subfield provides the legislative structure unicameral — single house; bicameral — an upper and a lower house ; formal name s ; number of member seats; types of constituencies or voting districts single seat, multi-seat, nationwide ; electoral voting system s ; and member term of office. The elections subfield includes the dates of the last election and next election.
Federal Senate or Senado Federal 81 seats; 3 members each from 26 states and 3 from the federal district directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 8-year terms, with one-third and two-thirds of the membership elected alternately every 4 years Chamber of Deputies or Camara dos Deputados seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms. Federal Senate - last held on 7 October for two-thirds of the Senate next to be held in October for one-third of the Senate Chamber of Deputies - last held on 7 October next to be held in October The highest court s subfield includes the name s of a country's highest level court s , the number and titles of the judges, and the types of cases heard by the court, which commonly are based on civil, criminal, administrative, and constitutional law.
A number of countries have separate constitutional courts. The judge selection and term of office subfield includes the organizations and associated officials responsible for nominating and appointing j. Political parties and leaders: This entry includes a listing of significant political parties, coalitions, and electoral lists as of each country's last legislative election, unless otherwise noted.
This entry lists in alphabetical order by abbreviation those international organizations in which the subject country is a member or participates in some other way. Diplomatic representation in the US: This entry includes the chief of mission, chancery address, telephone, FAX, consulate general locations, and consulate locations.
Such ambassadors fulfill all diplomatic functions except meeting with or appearing at functions attended by the president until such time as they formally present their credentials at a White Hou. Diplomatic representation from the US: This entry includes the chief of mission, embassy address, mailing address, telephone number, FAX number, branch office locations, consulate general locations, and consulate locations. Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo.
This entry provides a written flag description produced from actual flags or the best information available at the time the entry was written. The flags of independent states are used by their dependencies unless there is an officially recognized local flag. Some disputed and other areas do not have flags. A national symbol is a faunal, floral, or other abstract representation - or some distinctive object - that over time has come to be closely identified with a country or entity. Not all countries have national symbols; a few countries have more than one.
Southern Cross constellation; national colors: A generally patriotic musical composition - usually in the form of a song or hymn of praise - that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions, or struggles of a nation or its people. National anthems can be officially recognized as a national song by a country's constitution or by an enacted law, or simply by tradition.
Although most anthems contain lyrics, some do not. This entry briefly describes the type of economy, including the degree of market orientation, the level of economic development, the most important natural resources, and the unique areas of specialization. It also characterizes major economic events and policy changes in the most recent 12 months and may include a statement about one or two key future macroeconomic trends. GDP purchasing power parity: This entry gives the gross domestic product GDP or value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year.
A nation's GDP at purchasing power parity PPP exchange rates is the sum value of all goods and services produced in the country valued at prices prevailing in the United States in the year noted. This is the measure most economists prefer when looking at per-capita welfare and when comparing living conditions or use of resources across countries. GDP official exchange rate: The measure is simple to compute and gives a precise measure of the value of output. Many economists prefer this measure when gauging the economic power an economy maintains vis-.
GDP - real growth rate: This entry gives GDP growth on an annual basis adjusted for inflation and expressed as a percent. The growth rates are year-over-year, and not compounded. This entry shows GDP on a purchasing power parity basis divided by population as of 1 July for the same year. Gross national saving is derived by deducting final consumption expenditure household plus government from Gross national disposable income, and consists of personal saving, plus business saving the sum of the capital consumption allowance and retained business profits , plus government saving the excess of tax revenues over expenditures , but excludes foreign saving the excess of imports of goods and services over exports.
The figures are presented as a percent of GDP. GDP - composition, by end use: This entry shows who does the spending in an economy: The distribution gives the percentage contribution to total GDP of household consumption, government consumption, investment in fixed capital, investment in inventories, exports of goods and services, and imports of goods and services, and will total percent of GDP if the data are complete. GDP - composition, by sector of origin: This entry shows where production takes place in an economy. The distribution gives the percentage contribution of agriculture, industry, and services to total GDP, and will total percent of GDP if the data are complete.
Agriculture includes farming, fishing, and forestry. Industry includes mining, manufacturing, energy production, and construction. Services cover government activities, communications, transportation, finance, and all other private economic activities that do not prod. This entry is an ordered listing of major crops and products starting with the most important. This entry provides a rank ordering of industries starting with the largest by value of annual output. Industrial production growth rate: This entry gives the annual percentage increase in industrial production includes manufacturing, mining, and construction.
This entry contains the total labor force figure. Labor force - by occupation: This entry lists the percentage distribution of the labor force by sector of occupation. Services cover government activities, communications, transportation, finance, and all other economic activities that do not produce material goods. The distribution will total less than percent if the data are incomplete and may range from percent due to rounding. This entry contains the percent of the labor force that is without jobs. Substantial underemployment might be noted.
Population below poverty line: National estimates of the percentage of the population falling below the poverty line are based on surveys of sub-groups, with the results weighted by the number of people in each group. Definitions of poverty vary considerably among nations. For example, rich nations generally employ more generous standards of poverty than poor nations.
Household income or consumption by percentage share: Data on household income or consumption come from household surveys, the results adjusted for household size. Nations use different standards and procedures in collecting and adjusting the data. Surveys based on income will normally show a more unequal distribution than surveys based on consumption. The quality of surveys is improving with time, yet caution is still necessary in making inter-country comparisons. Distribution of family income - Gini index: This index measures the degree of inequality in the distribution of family income in a country.
The index is calculated from the Lorenz curve, in which cumulative family income is plotted against the number of families arranged from the poorest to the richest. The index is the ratio of a the area between a country's Lorenz curve and the 45 degree helping line to b the entire triangular area under the 45 degree line. The more nearly equal a country's income distribution, the closer its.
This entry includes revenues, expenditures, and capital expenditures. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i. Taxes and other revenues: This entry records total taxes and other revenues received by the national government during the time period indicated, expressed as a percent of GDP.
Taxes include personal and corporate income taxes, value added taxes, excise taxes, and tariffs. Other revenues include social contributions - such as payments for social security and hospital insurance - grants, and net revenues from public enterprises. Normalizing the data, by dividing total revenues by GDP, enables easy comparisons acr. This entry records the difference between national government revenues and expenditures, expressed as a percent of GDP. Normalizing the data, by dividing the budget balance by GDP, enables easy comparisons across countries and indicates whether a national government saves or borrows money.
Countries with high budget deficits relat. This entry records the cumulative total of all government borrowings less repayments that are denominated in a country's home currency. Public debt should not be confused with external debt, which reflects the foreign currency liabilities of both the private and public sector and must be financed out of foreign exchange earnings. This entry identifies the beginning and ending months for a country's accounting period of 12 months, which often is the calendar year but which may begin in any month.
All yearly references are for the calendar year CY unless indicated as a noncalendar fiscal year FY. Inflation rate consumer prices: This entry furnishes the annual percent change in consumer prices compared with the previous year's consumer prices. Central bank discount rate: This entry provides the annualized interest rate a country's central bank charges commercial, depository banks for loans to meet temporary shortages of funds. Commercial bank prime lending rate: This entry provides a simple average of annualized interest rates commercial banks charge on new loans, denominated in the national currency, to their most credit-worthy customers.
Stock of narrow money: This entry, also known as "M1," comprises the total quantity of currency in circulation notes and coins plus demand deposits denominated in the national currency held by nonbank financial institutions, state and local governments, nonfinancial public enterprises, and the private sector of the economy, measured at a specific point in time. National currency units have been converted to US dollars at the closing exchange rate for the date of the information.
Because of exchange rate moveme. Stock of broad money: This entry covers all of "Narrow money," plus the total quantity of time and savings deposits, credit union deposits, institutional money market funds, short-term repurchase agreements between the central bank and commercial deposit banks, and other large liquid assets held by nonbank financial institutions, state and local governments, nonfinancial public enterprises, and the private sector of the economy.
National currency units have been converted to US dollars at the closing exchange r. Stock of domestic credit: This entry is the total quantity of credit, denominated in the domestic currency, provided by financial institutions to the central bank, state and local governments, public non-financial corporations, and the private sector. The national currency units have been converted to US dollars at the closing exchange rate on the date of the information. Market value of publicly traded shares: This entry gives the value of shares issued by publicly traded companies at a price determined in the national stock markets on the final day of the period indicated.
It is simply the latest price per share multiplied by the total number of outstanding shares, cumulated over all companies listed on the particular exchange. This entry records a country's net trade in goods and services, plus net earnings from rents, interest, profits, and dividends, and net transfer payments such as pension funds and worker remittances to and from the rest of the world during the period specified.
This entry provides the total US dollar amount of merchandise exports on an f.