%
male: 88.4%
female: 88.8% (2004 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 14 years
male: 14 years
female: 15 years (2005)

Education expenditures:

4% of GDP (2004)

Government
Brazil

Country name:

conventional long form: Federative Republic of Brazil
conventional short form: Brazil
local long form: Republica Federativa do Brasil
local short form: Brasil

Government type:

federal republic

Capital:

name: Brasilia
geographic coordinates: 15 47 S, 47 55 W
time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins third Sunday in October; ends
third Sunday in February
note: Brazil is divided into four time zones, including one for the
Fernando de Noronha Islands

Administrative divisions:

26 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district*
(distrito federal); Acre, Alagoas, Amapa, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceara,
Distrito Federal*, Espirito Santo, Goias, Maranhao, Mato Grosso,
Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Para, Paraiba, Parana, Pernambuco,
Piaui, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul,
Rondonia, Roraima, Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo, Sergipe, Tocantins

Independence:

7 September 1822 (from Portugal)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 7 September (1822)

Constitution:

5 October 1988

Legal system:

based on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:

voluntary between 16 and 18 years of age and over 70; compulsory
over 18 and under 70 years of age; note - military conscripts do not
vote

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Luiz Inacio "LULA" DA SILVA (since 1
January 2003); Vice President Jose ALENCAR (since 1 January 2003);
note - the president is both the chief of state and head of
government
head of government: President Luiz Inacio "LULA" DA SILVA (since 1
January 2003); Vice President Jose ALENCAR (since 1 January 2003)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket
by popular vote for a single four-year term; election last held 1
October 2006 with runoff 29 October 2006 (next to be held 3 October
2010 and, if necessary, 31 October 2010)
election results: Luiz Inacio "LULA" DA SILVA (PT) reelected
president - 60.83%, Geraldo ALCKMIN (PSDB) 39.17%

Legislative branch:

bicameral National Congress or Congresso Nacional consists of