nmental
Protocol, Tropical Timber
Note:
largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every
South American country except Chile and Ecuador

@Brazil, People

Population:
158,739,257 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.28% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
21.48 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
8.63 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
59.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
62.25 years
male:
57.41 years
female:
67.32 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.44 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Brazilian(s)
adjective:
Brazilian
Ethnic divisions:
Portuguese, Italian, German, Japanese, Amerindian, black 6%, white
55%, mixed 38%, other 1%
Religions:
Roman Catholic (nominal) 70%
Languages:
Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
81%
male:
82%
female:
80%
Labor force:
57 million (1989 est.)
by occupation:
services 42%, agriculture 31%, industry 27%

@Brazil, Government

Names:
conventional long form:
Federative Republic of Brazil
conventional short form:
Brazil
local long form:
Republica Federativa do Brasil
local short form:
Brasil
Digraph:
BR
Type:
federal republic
Capital:
Brasilia
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
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government:
President Itamar FRANCO (since 29 December 1992); election last held
15 November 1989, with runoff on 17 December 1989 (next to be held
October 1994); results -