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República Federativa do
Brasil
|
|
|
| (Flag of
Brazil) |
(Coat of
Arms) | |
National
motto (Portuguese): Ordem e
Progresso
(Translated: Order and Progress) |
 |
| Official
language |
Portuguese |
| Capital |
Brasilia |
| Largest city |
São
Paulo |
Government
•
President
•
Vice
President |
Democratic federal
republic
Luiz
Inácio Lula da Silva
José
Alencar Gomes da Silva |
Area
•
Total
• % water |
Ranked
5th
8,547,403
km²
0.65% |
Population
•
Total (2004)
• Density |
Ranked
5th
186,112,794
22/km² |
Independence
•
Declared:
• Recognized: |
From Portugal
September 7, 1822
August
29, 1825 |
GDP
(2004)
• Total
• GDP/head |
Ranked
9th World Bank
$1.482 trillion (PPP)
$8,049 (PPP) |
| HDI
(2003) |
0.792 (63rd)
– medium |
| Currency |
Real (R$ BRL) |
| Time zone |
UTC -3
to -5 (Official: -3) |
| National
anthem |
Hino Nacional
Brasileiro |
| Internet
TLD |
.br |
| Calling
code |
55 |
The
Federative Republic of Brazil (in Portuguese,
República Federativa do Brasil; pron. IPA
/ʁe.'pu.bli.kɐ fe.de.ɾa.'tʃi.vɐ du
bɾa.'ziw/) is the largest and most
populous country in Latin America, and fifth
largest in the world. Spanning a vast area between central South
America and the Atlantic Ocean, it is the
easternmost country of the Americas and it borders Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French
department of French Guiana — every
South American nation except for Ecuador and Chile. Named after brazilwood,
a tree highly valued by early colonists, Brazil is home to both extensive agricultural lands and rain
forests. Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, it is
South America's leading economic power and a regional leader. As a former colony of Portugal,
Portuguese is its official
language.
History
- Inhabited for at least 10,000 years by semi-nomadic populations when the
first Portuguese explorers, led by
Pedro Álvares
Cabral, disembarked in 1500. Over the next three centuries, it was
resettled by the Portuguese and exploited mainly for brazilwood (Pau-Brasil) at
first, and later for sugarcane(Cana-de-Açúcar)
agriculture and gold mining. Work in the
colony was based on slavery. In 1808, Queen Maria I of
Portugal and her son and regent, the future João VI of
Portugal, fleeing from Napoleon, relocated to Brazil
with the royal family, nobles and government. Though they returned to Portugal
in 1821, the interlude led to the opening of commercial ports to the United Kingdom — at the
time isolated from most European ports by Napoleon — and to the elevation of
Brazil to the status of a Kingdom united to Portugal's Crown. Then prince
regent Dom Pedro I (later
Pedro IV of Portugal) declared independence on 7 September 1822, establishing the
independent Empire of Brazil. As
the crown remained in the hands of the house of Bragança,
this was more the severance of the Portuguese empire in two, than an
independence movement as seen elsewhere in the Americas.
The Brazilian Empire was theoretically a democracy in the British style,
although in practice, the emperor-premier-parliament balance of power more
closely resembled the autocratic Austrian Empire. Slavery
was abolished in 1888, and intensive European immigration created the basis for
industrialization. Pedro I was succeeded by his son, Pedro II — who in old
age was caught by a political dispute between the Army and the Cabinet, a crisis
arising from the Paraguay War.
In order to avoid a civil war between Army and Navy, Pedro II renounced the
throne on 15 November 1889, when a federal republic was established by Field Marshal
Deodoro da Fonseca.
In the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, Brazil attracted over 5 million European and Japanese immigrants.
That period also saw Brazil industrialise, further colonize, and develop its
interior. Brazilian democracy was replaced by dictatorships three times —
1930–1934 and 1937–1945 under Getúlio Vargas, and
1964–1985, under a succession of generals appointed by the military. Today,
Brazil is internationally considered a democracy since 1985,
specifically a presidential democracy, which
was kept after a plebiscite in 1993 where voters had to choose between a
presidential or parliamentary
systems, whilst also choosing if Brazil should reinstate its constitutional
monarchy.
Politics
National
Congress of Brazil
The 1988 constitution grants broad
powers to the federal government. The President has extensive executive
powers; he appoints the Cabinet, and he
is also both head of state and head of government.
The President and
Vice-President are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year
terms.
The Brazilian legislature, the bicameral
National Congress or Congresso
Nacional, includes the Federal Senate or Senado
Federal of 81 seats, of which three members from each state or federal
district are elected according to the principle of majority to serve eight-year
terms; one-third elected after a four-year period, two-thirds elected after the
next four-year period. Beside the Senate there is the Chamber of Deputies
or Câmara dos
Deputados of 513 seats, whose members are elected by proportional
representation to serve four-year terms.
States
Brazil consists of 26 states (estados, singular estado) and 1
federal district (distrito federal):
Brazil and its 26 states and Federal District are divided by IBGE into 5 distinctive regions: North, Northeast, Center-West,
Southeast and
South (Division by
Regions).
See also:
- List of cities in
Brazil (all cities and municipalities)
- List of
major cities in Brazil (metropolitan areas and major regional cities)
Geography
- Brazil is characterized by the extensive low-lying Amazon Rainforest in
the north, and a more open terrain of hills and low mountains to the south —
home to most of Brazil's population and its agricultural base. Along the Atlantic seacoast are
also found several mountain ranges, reaching roughly 2,900 m high. The highest
peak is the Pico da Neblina at
3,014 m, in Guiana's highlands. Major rivers
include the Amazon, the largest river
in the world by volume, and often considered the world's longest; the Paraná and its major
tributary, the Iguaçu River, where the
impressive Iguaçu falls are located;
the Rio
Negro, São
Francisco, Xingu, Madeira and the Tapajós
rivers.
Situated on the equator, Brazil's climate is
predominantly tropical, with little
seasonal variation, although the subtropical south is more temperate, and
occasionally experiences frost and snow. Precipitation
is abundant in the humid Amazon Basin, but more arid
landscapes are found as well, particularly in the northeast.
A number of islands in the Atlantic Ocean are part
of Brazil:
- Saint Peter and
Paul Rocks
- Rocas Atoll
- Fernando de
Noronha
- Trindade and
Martim Vaz
Economy
São Paulo, the second
largest city in the
world
Possessing large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, as well
as a large labor pool, Brazil's GDP (PPP) outweighs that of any other Latin
American country, and the country is expanding its presence in world
markets. Major export products include airplanes, coffee, vehicles, soybean, iron ore, orange
juice, steel,
textiles, footwear and electrical
equipment.
After crafting a fiscal adjustment program, and pledging progress on
structural reform, Brazil received a US$41.5 billion IMF-led international support
program in November 1998. [1]
During the summer of 1998, investors expressed concerns that a downturn in
economic growth was imminent. However, in January 1999, the Brazilian Central
Bank announced that the Real would no longer be
related to the US dollar value. This
devaluation helped moderate the downturn, and the country posted moderate GDP growth.
Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001 — to less than 2% — because of
a slowdown in major markets, the hiking of interest rates by the Central Bank to
reduce inflationary pressures, and
fears over the economic policies of the new government to be elected. Investor
confidence was strong at the end of 2001, in part because of the strong recovery
in the balance of trade. Chronic poverty remains a pressing problem.
After Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
took office on 1 January 2003, there was some fear that his
party radicals might provoke an economic about-face, and that Brazil might
experience a financial crisis. However, the Brazilian economy seems to have
detached itself from politics, and after a GDP increase of 0.5% in 2003, Brazil
has allegedly enjoyed a robust growth in 2004. It is estimated that there will
be moderate growth in 2005 and 2006. Despite this, Brazil has consistently
dropped 11 positions on the WEF Growth Competitiveness Index
ranking from 2003 to 2005 [2][3].
However, as of January 10, 2006, the IMF has shown satisfaction[4] with
Brazil's economic policies.
| Brazil Socioeconomic Rankings |
| Indicator |
World Rank |
Value |
Comparable countries |
| Total Nominal GDP |
14th |
604,855 million USD |
Australia, Russia |
| Total PPP GDP |
9th |
1,461,564 million Int. Dollars |
Italy, Russia |
| Per capita Nominal GDP |
74th |
3,325 USD |
Romania, Dominica |
| Per capita PPP GDP |
70th |
8,049 Int. Dollars |
Bulgaria, Thailand |
| Gini Coefficient |
111th |
59,3 |
Paraguay, Guatemala |
| Human Development Index |
63th |
0.792 |
Russia,
Romania |
Demographics
-
Strong influence from German immigrants in Blumenau,
Southern Brazil
Brazil is a melting-pot of different
ethnicities and origins.
The dominant ancestry among Brazilians is the Portuguese,
descendants of the early colonists or of 19th and 20th centuries Portuguese
immigrants. The settlement of Portuguese started in Brazil after 1532, when the
active process of colonization began since the founding of São
Vicente. Until independence in 1822, the Portuguese were the only European nation
that successfully settled in Brazil, and most of Brazil's culture is based on
that of Portugal. The Dutch
and the French also colonized
Brazil during the 17th century, but their presence lasted only a few
decades.
The original Amerindian population of
Brazil (between 3-5 million) has in large part been exterminated or assimilated
into the Portuguese population.
Since the beginning of Brazil's colonization, intermarriage
between the Portuguese and Native
Brazilians has been common. Nowadays, there are 700.000 Native-Americans in
Brazil, comprising less than 1% of the national population.
Brazil has a large black population, descended from
African slaves brought to
the country from the 16th century until the 19th
century. More than 3 million Africans were brought to Brazil until the end
of slaves traffic, in 1850. They were mainly from Angola, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Gana, Ivory Coast and São Tomé
e Príncipe. Brazil has the largest population of African descended people
after Nigeria. The African population in Brazil has mixed substantially with the
Portuguese, resulting in a large mixed-race population or
"mulatto" that are often still circumstantially black as in the United
States.
Beginning in the 19th century, the Brazilian government stimulated European immigration to substitute
for the manpower of the former slaves. The first non-Portuguese immigrants
to settle in Brazil were Germans, in 1824. In
1869 the first Polish immigrants settled in
Brazil. However, strong European
immigration to Brazil began only after 1875, when immigration from Italy, Portugal and Spain increased.
According to the Memorial do Imigrante,
between 1870 and 1953, Brazil atracted 5 million and 400 thousands immigrants,
Italians (1.550.000),
Portuguese
(1.470.000), Spaniards (650.000),
Germans (210.000), Japanese (190.000),
Poles or Russian (120.000) and
650.000 of many other nationalities. Brazil is home to the largest Italian population
outside of Italy, with 25 million Italians and Italian-descended
Brazilians.
Starting in the early 20th century, Brazil also
received a large number of Asians: Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Japanese immigrants. The
Japanese are the largest Asian minority in Brazil, and Japanese-Brazilians
are the largest Japanese population outside of Japan (1.5 million). Significant
immigration from the Middle-East (Lebanon and Syria) has also
occurred.
Brazil's population is mostly concentrated along the coast, with a lower
population density in the interior. The population of the southern states is
mainly of European descent, while the majority of the inhabitants of the north
and northeast are of mixed ancestry (Amerindians, Africans and Europeans).
Ethnicity and race
According to the 2000 IBGE census:
- white 53.7%
- black/afro-brazilian 48%
- asian 0.6%
- amerindian 0.3%
- unspecified 0.7%
Most white Brazilians are of Portuguese descent,
though Brazilians of Italian descent are
also common. There are large populations of German, Spanish, and Polish descent.
Minoritary ancestries includes Austrian, Hungarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian and
Swiss, among others.
Brazilians of Portuguese ancestry
are found in the entire country, while those of Italian descent are
predominantly in Southern and Southeastern Brazil. The other white ethnic
groups, mainly Brazilians of German, are concentrated
in the extreme South of Brazil. There are entire cities settled by Germans-Brazilians in
Southern Brazil.
Brazilians of mixed-race ancestry are found
in the whole country, although most of them live in the Northern and
Northeastern states. Mixed-race Brazilians include mulatto, caboclo
(or mameluco)
and cafuzo,
however the majority are a mix of Amerindians, whites and blacks.
Black
Brazilians are concentrated mostly in the Northeastern states, although large
black populations can be found throughout the country. The black population in
Brazil is probably higher than 6.2%, since many black Brazilians classify
themselves as mixed-race, due to local cultural and social aspects when
considering the subject of race.
Asian Brazilians (mainly
of Japanese descent) and Arab
Brazilians are concentrated in the Southeastern states (mainly in São
Paulo). The population of Arab descent in Brazil is between
5-8 million people, most of them of Christian Lebanese or Syrian descent.
Amerindian Brazilians are
concentrated in the Northern states, mostly in the Amazon area. 10% of Brazil's
territory are Indian
reservations
All people born in Brazil, no matter their origin, are considerated by the
Brazilian Government as totally Brazilians. Racism in Brazil is an unbailable
crime.
Languages
Portuguese is the
official language, and is spoken by the entire population. Brazil is the only
Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas, giving it a
national culture distinct from its Spanish-speaking
neighbors.
Portuguese is the only official language of Brazil, and there are few
regional variances. It is virtually the only language used in schools,
newspapers, radio and TV, and for all business and administrative
purposes.
The language spoken in Brazil is slightly different from that spoken in Portugal and
other Portuguese-speaking countries. Brazilian
Portuguese is more archaic than European Portuguese,
and has some phonological and orthographic differences, although mutual
comprehension is not affected.
Spanish is understood in various degrees by most people, since it is very
similar to Portuguese and is spoken in the border of Brazil with
Spanish-speaking countries. English is part of the
official high school curriculum, but very few people achieve any usable degree
of fluency.
Many minority languages are spoken daily throughout the vast national
territory of Brazil. Half of these languages are spoken by indigenous peoples,
mostly in Northern Brazil. The main indigenous languages are: Guaraní, Kaingang,
Nadëb,
Carajá,
Caribe,
Tucano, Arára,
Terêna,
Borôro,
Apalaí,
Canela
and many others.
Still others are spoken by communities of descendants of immigrants, who
are for the most part bilingual, in rural areas of Southern Brazil. These
communities speak dialects of Italian, German, Polish or Japanese languages.
The most dominant spoken Brazilian German dialect is Riograndenser
Hunsrückisch, a Brazilian variation of the Hunsrückisch dialect
of German. Talian
is the main spoken Italian dialect in
Brazil, and is based on the Venetian Language,
which has its origin in Northern Italy.
German is spoken as
first language by 1.500.000 people, Italian is spoken by
500.000, Japanese by 400.000
and Korean language by
37.000. However, these non-Portuguese speaking immigrants communities in Brazil
are in full decline, specially among teenagers, who learn primary Portuguese
Ouro Preto, Historical city
of XVIII
century
Religion
Main article: Religion in
Brazil
About 74% of the population in Brazil are Roman Catholic. Followers
of Protestantism are rising
in number, currently at 15.4%. Other Christian groups constitute only 1.3% of
the population. African traditional religions such as Candomblé, Macumba, and
Umbanda are the next largest groups. There are around 120,000 members of the
Jewish community (located mostly in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro but also in
Brasilia, Curitiba, Porto Alegre and other major towns) while Buddhism, Shinto,
and other Asian religions are also sizeable. There are around 28,000 muslims, or
0.01% of the population. Brazilians often practice a mixture of several
different religions, such as Catholicism, Candomble, indigenous American
religion combined.
Brazil is the country with the largest Catholic
population in the world, as well the country with the most members of Asian religions in the
Western world.
