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Federative Republic of BrazilRepública Federativa do Brasil
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Ordem e Progresso  (Portuguese) "Order and Progress"
Anthem: Hino Nacional Brasileiro
Capital	Brasília
Largest city	São Paulo
Official languages	Portuguese
Demonym(s)	Brazilian
Government	Presidential Federal republic
• President	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
• Vice President	José Alencar Gomes da Silva
Independence from Portugal
• Declared	September 7 1822
• Recognized	August 29 1825
• Republic	November 15 1889
• Water (%)	0.65
Population
• 2007 estimate	190,010,647 (5th)
• 2000 census	169,799,170
GDP (PPP)	2005 estimate
• Total	$1.803 trillion (9th)
• Per capita	$9,488 (68th)
GDP (nominal)	2006 estimate
• Total	$1.067 trillion (10th)
• Per capita	$5,717 (64th)
Gini (2004)	54 high inequality
HDI (2004)	0.792 high (69th)
Currency	Real (R$) (BRL)
Time zone	UTC−2 to −5 (officially −3) (BRT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−2 to −5 (BRST)
Calling code	55
ISO 3166 code	BR
Internet TLD	.br

Brazil (IPA: /bɹə.zɪl/), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Template:Lang-pt or República Federativa do Brasil, Audio file "Brazil.ogg" not found, is the largest and most populous country in Latin America, and the fifth largest in the world in both area and population. Its territory covers 8,514,877 km² between central South America and the Atlantic Ocean, and it is the eastern-most country of the Americas.

It borders Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana and the department of French Guiana to the north, Uruguay to the south, Argentina and Paraguay to the southwest, Bolivia and Peru to the west, and Colombia to the northwest. The only South American countries not bordered by Brazil are Ecuador and Chile. The Brazilian coastline covers 7,367 km to the east. Numerous archipelagos are part of the Brazilian territory, such as Penedos de São Pedro e São Paulo, Fernando de Noronha, Trindade e Martim Vaz and Atol das Rocas.

A tropical climate is predominant. In the south of the country, subtropical climate prevails. Brazil is cut through by the Equator and Tropic of Capricorn. It is home to varied fauna and flora and extensive natural resources.

Brazil was colonized by Portugal from 1500 until its independence in 1822. The republican system has been adopted since 1889, although its parliament dates back to 1824, when the first constitution was ratified. Its current Constitution defines Brazil as a Federative Republic. The Federation is formed by the indissoluble association of the States, the Federal District, and the Municipalities. There are currently 26 States and 5,564 Municipalities.

The Brazilian population tends to concentrate along the coastline in large urban centers. While Brazil has one of the largest populations in the world, population density is low and the inner continental land has large areas of low population. It is a multiracial country composed of European, Amerindian, African and Asian elements. The official language is Portuguese, and it is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas. Catholicism is the predominant religion, though Protestant communities have experienced significant growth in the last decades. Brazil has the largest Roman Catholic population in the world.

Brazil has a diversified middle-income economy with wide variations in development levels, with mature manufacturing, mining and agriculture sectors. Technology and services also play an important role in the economy, and are growing rapidly. Brazil is a net exporter, having gone through free trade and privatization reforms in the 1990s. Brazil's economy outweighs that of any other Latin American country.

Etymology

The etymology of Brazil is somewhat controversial. The major theory states it was renamed after brazilwood, an abundant species in the new-found land, which was valuable in Portuguese commerce. This plant has a strong red color, so "Brasil" is derived from the Portuguese word "brasa", meaning "ember".

History

Colony

Though there are alternative theories, most scholars agree Brazil was discovered on April 22, 1500 by Pedro Álvares Cabral. Initially Portugal had little interest in Brazil, mainly due to high profits gained through commerce with Indochina. After 1530, the Portuguese Crown devised the Hereditary Captaincies system to effectively occupy its new colony, and later took direct control of the failed captaincies. The Portuguese colonists adopted an economy based on the production of agricultural goods that were exported to Europe. Sugar became by far the most important Brazilian colonial product until the early eighteenth century. Even though Brazilian sugar was reputed as being of high quality, the industry faced a crisis during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when the Dutch and the French started producing sugar in the Antilles, located much closer to Europe, causing sugar prices to fall.

During the eighteenth century, private explorers who called themselves the Bandeirantes found gold and diamond deposits in the state of Minas Gerais. The exploration of these mines were mostly used to finance the Portuguese Royal Court's debts. The predatory way in which such deposits were explored by the Portuguese Crown, however, burdened colonial Brazil with excessive taxes. Some popular movements supporting independence came about against the abusive taxes established by the colonial government, such as the Tiradentes incident in 1789, but they were often dismissed with violence by Portugal. Gold production declined towards the end of the eighteenth century, starting a period of relative stagnation of the Brazilian hinterland. Both Amerindian and African slaves' man power were largely used in Brazil's colonial economy.

Empire

In 1808, the Portuguese court, fleeing from Napoleon’s troops which had invaded Portugal, established themselves in the city of Rio de Janeiro. After João VI returned to Portugal in 1821, his heir-apparent Pedro became regent of the Kingdom of Brazil. Following a series of political incidents and disputes, Brazil achieved its independence from Portugal on September 7 1822. On October 12 1822, Dom Pedro became the first Emperor of Brazil, being crowned on December 1 1822.

In 1824, Pedro closed the Constituent Assembly, stating that the body was "endangering liberty". Pedro then produced a constitution modeled on that of Portugal (1822) and France (1814). It specified indirect elections and created the legislative, executive and judiciary branches of government; however, it also added a fourth branch, the "moderating power", to be held by the Emperor. Pedro's government was considered economically and administratively inefficient. Political pressures eventually made the Emperor step down on April 7, 1831. He returned to Portugal leaving behind his five-year-old son Pedro II. Until Pedro II reached maturity, Brazil was governed by regents from 1831 to 1840. The regency period was turbulent and marked by numerous local revolts including the Male Revolt, the largest urban slave rebellion in the Americas, which took place in Bahia in 1835.

On July 23 1840, Pedro II was crowned Emperor. His government was highlighted by a substantial rise in coffee exports, the War of the Triple Alliance, and the end of slave trade from Africa in 1850, although slavery in Brazilian territory would only be abolished in 1888. When slavery was finally abolished, a large influx of European immigrants took place. By the 1870s, the Emperor's grasp on domestic politics had started to deteriorate in face of crises with the Roman Catholic Church, the Army and the slaveholders. The Republican movement slowly gained strength. In the end, the empire fell because the dominant classes no longer needed it to protect their interests. Indeed, imperial centralization ran counter to their desire for local autonomy. By 1889 Pedro II had stepped down and the Republican system had been adopted.

Republic

Pedro II was deposed on November 15, 1889 by a Republican military coup led by general Deodoro da Fonseca, who became the country’s first de facto president through military ascension. The country’s name became the Republic of the United States of Brazil (which in 1967 was changed to Federative Republic of Brazil). From 1889 to 1930, the dominant states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais alternated control of the presidency.

A military junta took control in 1930. Getúlio Vargas took office soon after, and would remain as dictatorial ruler (with a brief democratic period in between), until 1945. He was re-elected in 1951 and stayed in office until his suicide in 1954. After 1930, the successive governments continued industrial and agriculture growth and development of the vast interior of Brazil. Juscelino Kubitschek's office years (1956-1961) were marked by the political campaign motto of plunging "50 anos em 5" (English: fifty years of development in five).

The military forces took office in Brazil in a coup d'état in 1964, and remained in power until March 1985, when it fell from grace because of political struggles between the regime and the Brazilian elites. Just as the Brazilian regime changes of 1889, 1930, and 1945 unleashed competing political forces and caused divisions within the military, so too did the 1964 regime change. Tancredo Neves was elected president in an indirect election in 1985, as Brazil returned to civil government regime. He died before taking office, and the vice-president, José Sarney, was sworn in as president in his place.

Democracy was re-established in 1988 when the current Federal Constitution was enacted. Fernando Collor de Mello was the first president truly elected by popular vote after the military regime. Collor took office in March 1990. In September 1992, the National Congress voted for Collor's impeachment after a sequence of scandals were uncovered by the media. The vice-president, Itamar Franco, assumed the presidency. Assisted by the Minister of Finance at that time, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Itamar Franco's administration implemented the Plano Real economic package, which included a new currency temporarily pegged to the U.S. dollar, the real. In the elections held on October 3, 1994, Fernando Henrique Cardoso ran for president and won, being reelected in 1998.

Government and politics

The Brazilian Federation is based on the indissoluble association of three autonomous political entities: the States, the Municipalities and the Federal District. A fourth entity originated in the aforementioned association: the Union. There is no hierarchy among the political entities. The Federation is set on six fundamental principles: sovereignty, citizenship, dignity of the people, social value of labor, freedom of enterprise, and political pluralism. The classic tripartite division of power, encompassing the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary branches under the checks and balances system, is formally established by the Constitution. The Executive and Legislative are organized independently in all four political entities, while the Judiciary is organized only in the Federal and State levels.

All members of the executive and legislative branches are elected by direct suffrage. Judges and other judicial authorities are appointed after passing entry exams. Voting is compulsory for those aged 18 or older. Four political parties stand out among several small ones: Workers' Party (PT), Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), and Democrats formerly (PFL). Practically all governmental and administrative functions are exercised by authorities and agencies affiliated with the Executive. The form of government is Republican and democratic, and the system of government is Presidential. The President is Head of State and Head of Government of the Union and is elected for a four-year term, with the possibility of re-election for a second successive term. Currently the President of Brazil is Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He was elected on October 27, 2002, and re-elected on October 29, 2006. The President appoints the Ministers of State, who assist in governing. Legislative houses in each political entity are the main source of laws in Brazil. The National Congress is the Federation’s Legislative. It is a bicameral house formed by the House of Representatives and the Federal Senate. Judiciary authorities exercise jurisdictional duties almost exclusively.

Law

Brazilian Law is based on Roman-Germanic traditions. Thus, civil law concepts prevail over common law practices. Most of Brazilian law is codified, although non-codified statutes also represent a substantial part of the system, playing a complementary role. Court decisions set out interpretation guidelines; however, they are not binding towards other specific cases but in very few exceptional situations. Doctrinal works and comments of legal academic pundits have strong influence in law creation and in legal cases.

The Federal Constitution, promulgated on October 5, 1988, is the fundamental law of Brazil and it rules the system. All other legislation and court decisions must conform to its rules. As of April 2007, it has been through 53 Amendments. States also adopt their own Constitutions, but they must also not contradict the Federal Constitution. Municipalities and the Federal District do not have their own Constitutions; instead, they adopt "organic laws" ( Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)). Legislative entities are the main source of statutes, although in certain matters judiciary and executive bodies may also enact legal norms.

Jurisdiction is administered by the judiciary entities, although in rare cases, the Federal Constitution allows the Federal Senate to pass on legal judgments. There are also specialized military, labor, and electoral courts. The highest court is the Supreme Federal Tribunal. This system has met criticism over the last decades in relation to the slow pace at which final decisions are issued. Lawsuits on appeal may take several years to resolve, and in some cases more than a decade to see definitive rulings.

Foreign relations and the military

Brazil is a political and economic leader in Latin America. However, social and economic problems prevent it from becoming an effective global power. Between World War II and 1990, both democratic and military governments sought to expand Brazil's influence in the world by pursuing a state-led industrial policy and an independent foreign policy. More recently, the country has aimed to strengthen ties with other South American countries, engage in multilateral diplomacy through the United Nations and the Organization of American States. Brazil's current foreign policy is based on the country's position as a regional power in Latin America, a leader among developing countries, and an emerging world power. Brazilian foreign policy has generally reflected multilateralism, peaceful dispute settlement, and nonintervention in the affairs of other countries. The Brazilian Constitution also determines the country shall seek the economic, political, social and cultural integration of the nations of Latin America.

The Armed forces of Brazil comprise the Brazilian Army, the Brazilian Navy, and the Brazilian Air Force. The Military Police (State's Military Police) is described as an ancillary force of the Army by constitution, but under the control of each state's governor. The Brazilian armed forces are the largest in Latin America. The Brazilian Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Brazilian armed forces, being the largest air force in Latin America, with about 700 manned aircraft in service. The Brazilian Navy is responsible for naval operations and for guarding Brazilian territorial waters. It is the oldest of the Brazilian Armed forces and the only navy in Latin America that operates an aircraft carrier, the NAeL São Paulo (formerly FS Foch of the French Navy). Finally, the Brazilian Army is responsible for land-based military operations, with a strength of approximately 190,000 soldiers.

Administrative divisions

Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean North Northeast Central-West Southeast South Acre Amazonas Pará Roraima Amapá Rondônia Tocantins Maranhão Bahia Piauí Ceará Rio Grande do Norte Paraíba Pernambuco Alagoas Sergipe Mato Grosso Mato Grosso do Sul Federal District Goiás Minas Gerais São Paulo Rio de Janeiro Espírito Santo Paraná Santa Catarina Rio Grande do Sul Argentina Bolivia Chile Colombia French Guiana Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela

Geographically, mainland Brazil is commonly divided into five regions: North, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast and South. Politically, Brazil is a federation consisting of twenty-six states ( Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)), one federal district ( Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) and 5,564 municipalities.

The North region covers 45.27% of the surface of Brazil, and has the lowest number of inhabitants. With the exception of Manaus, which hosts a tax-free industrial zone, and Belém, the biggest metropolitan area of the region, it is fairly unindustrialized and undeveloped. It accommodates most of the rainforest vegetation of the world and many indigenous tribes. The Northeast region is inhabited by about 30% of Brazil's population. It is culturally diverse, with roots set in the Portuguese colonial period, and in Amerindian and Afro-Brazilian elements. It is also the poorest region of Brazil, and suffers from long periods of dry climate. The largest cities are Salvador, Recife and Fortaleza. The Central-West region has low demographic density when compared to the other regions, mostly because a part of its territory is covered by the world’s largest marshlands area, the Pantanal as well as a small part of the Amazon Rainforest in the northwest. However, much of the region is also covered by Cerrado, the largest savanna in the world. The central-west region contributes significantly towards agriculture. The largest cities of this region are: Brasília (the capital), Goiânia, Campo Grande and Cuiabá.

The Southeast region is the richest and most densely populated. It has more inhabitants than any other South American country, and hosts one of the largest megalopoles of the world, whereof the main cities are the country's two largest; São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The region is very diverse, including the major business center of São Paulo, the historical cities of Minas Gerais and its capital Belo Horizonte, the third-largest metropolitan area in Brazil, the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, and the coast of Espírito Santo. The South region is the wealthiest by GDP per capita, and has the highest standard of living in the country. It is also the coldest region of Brazil, with occasional occurrences of frost and snow in some of the higher altitude areas. It has been settled by European immigrants, mainly of Italian, German, Portuguese and Slavic ancestry, being clearly influenced by these cultures. The largest cities in this region are: Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Florianópolis, Londrina, Caxias do Sul and Joinville.

Geography

Brazilian topography is diverse, including hills, mountains, plains, highlands, scrublands, savannas, rainforests, and a long coastline. The extensive low-lying Amazon Rainforest covers most of Brazil’s terrain in the North, whereas small hills and low mountains occupy the South. Along the Atlantic coast there are several mountain ranges, with a highest altitude of roughly 2,900 meters (9,500 ft). The highest peak is the 3,014 meter (9,735 ft) Pico da Neblina (Misty Peak) in Guiana's highlands. Major rivers include the Amazon, the largest river in terms of volume of water, and the second-longest in the world; the Paraná and its major tributary, the Iguaçu River, where the Iguaçu Falls are located; the Negro, São Francisco, Xingu, Madeira and the Tapajós rivers. Several small islands and atolls in the Atlantic Ocean are part of Brazil: Abrolhos, Atol das Rocas, Penedos de São Pedro e São Paulo, and Trindade and Martim Vaz.

Climate

Brazil's climate has little seasonal variation since most of the country is located within the tropics. However, although 90% of the country is located within the tropical zone, year-long climate varies considerably from the mostly tropical North (the equator traverses the mouth of the Amazon) to temperate zones below the Tropic of Capricorn (23°27' S latitude), which crosses the country at the latitude of the city of São Paulo. Brazil has five climatic regions: equatorial, tropical, semiarid, highland tropical, and subtropical.

Temperatures along the equator are high, with averages above 25 °C (77 °F), and occasionally reaching the summer extremes of up to 40 °C (104 °F) in the temperate zones. Southern Brazil has a subtropical temperate weather, normally experiencing frost in the winter (June-August), and occasional snow in the mountainous areas, such as Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. Temperatures in the cities of São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, and Brasília are moderate, usually ranging between 15 °C (59 °F) and 30 °C (86 °F), due to their altitude of approximately 1,000 m (3,280 ft 10 in). Rio de Janeiro, Recife and Salvador, located in the coast, have warm climates, with average temperatures ranging from 23 °C (73.4 °F) to 27 °C (80.6 °F). The southern cities of Porto Alegre and Curitiba have a subtropical climate similar to that in parts of the United States and Europe, and temperatures can fall under 0 °C (32 °F) in the winter.

Precipitation levels vary widely. They are higher in the humid Amazon Basin, and lower in the somewhat arid landscapes of the northeast. Most of Brazil has moderate rainfall of 1,000 to 1,500 millimeters a year, with most of the rain falling in the summer (between December and April), south of the Equator. The Amazon region is notoriously humid, with rainfall generally of more than 2,000 millimeters per year, getting as high as 3,000 millimeters in parts of the western Amazon and near Belém. Despite high annual precipitation, the Amazon rain forest has a three-to-five-month dry season, the timing of which varies according to location north or south of the equator.

Environment

Brazil's large area comprises different ecosystems, which together sustain some of the world's greatest biodiversity. Due to the country's intense economic and demographic growth, Brazil's ability to protect its environmental habitats has increasingly come under threat. Extensive logging in the nation's forests, particularly the Amazon, both official and unofficial, destroys areas the size of a small country each year, and potentially a diverse variety of plants and animals. Between 2002 and 2006, an area of the Amazon Rainforest equivalent in size to the State of South Carolina was completely decimated, for the purposes of raising cattle and woodlogging. By 2020, at least 50% of the species resident in Brazil may become extinct.

There is a general consensus that Brazil has the highest number of both terrestrial vertebrates and invertebrates of any single country in the world. Also, Brazil has the highest primate diversity, the highest number of mammals, the second highest number of amphibian and butterflies, the third highest number of birds, and fifth highest number of reptiles. There is a high number of endangered species, many of them living in threatened habitats such as the Atlantic Forest.

Economy

Brazil's GDP (PPP) is the highest of Latin America with large and developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, as well as a large labour pool. The country has been expanding its presence in international financial and commodities markets, and is regarded as one of the group of four emerging economies called BRIC. Major export products include aircraft, coffee, automobiles, soybean, iron ore, orange juice, steel, ethanol, textiles, footwear, corned beef and electrical equipment. According to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Brazil has the ninth largest economy in the world by purchasing power parity (PPP) and tenth largest at market exchange rates. Brazil has a diversified middle income economy with wide variations in development levels. Most large industry is agglomerated in the Southern and South East states. The Northeast is the poorest region of Brazil, but it has attracted new investments in infrastructure for the tourism sector and intensive agricultural schemes.

Brazil had pegged its currency, the real, to the U.S. dollar in 1994. However, after the East Asian financial crisis, the Russian default in 1998 and the series of adverse financial events that followed it, the Brazilian central bank has temporarily changed its monetary policy to a managed-float scheme while undergoing a currency crisis, until definitively changing the exchange regime to free-float in January 1999. Brazil received an IMF rescue package in mid-2002 in the amount of USD 30.4 billion, a record sum at that time. The IMF loan was paid off early by Brazil's central bank in 2005 (the due date was scheduled for 2006).

Brazil has a diverse and sophisticated service industry as well. During the early 1990s, the banking sector amounted to as much as 16% of GDP, and has attracted foreign financial institutions and firms by issuing and trading Brazilian Depositary Receipts (BDRs). One of the issues the Brazilian central bank is currently dealing with is the excess of speculative short-term capital inflows to the country in the past few months, which might explain in part the recent downfall of the U.S. dollar against the real in the period. Nonetheless, foreign direct investment (FDI), related to long-term, less speculative investment in production, is estimated to be USD 193.8bn for 2007. Inflation monitoring and control currently plays a major role in Brazil's Central Bank activity in setting out short-term interest rates as a monetary policy measure. The IPCA index, measured and calculated by the IBGE on a monthly basis, is the most commonly used index for inflation, although other indices such as the IPC-Fipe and IGP-M (FGV) are also widely used.

Energy policy

Brazil is the 10th largest energy consumer in the world and the largest in Latin America. At the same time it is also a large oil and gas producer in the region and the world's largest ethanol producer. Due to its ethanol fuel production Brazil has been sometimes described as a bio-energy superpower. Brazil's ethanol fuel is produced from sugar cane, the world's largest crop in both production and export tonnage.

With the 1973 oil crisis the Brazilian government initiated in 1975 the Pró-Álcool program. The Pró-Álcool or Programa Nacional do Álcool (National Alcohol Program) was a nation-wide program financed by the government to replace automobile fuels derived from fossil fuels in favor of ethanol. The program successfully reduced the number of cars running on gasoline in Brazil by 10 million, thereby reducing the country's dependence on oil imports. The domestic gasoline mix itself includes 20-25% of ethanol.

Brazil's production and consumption of biodiesel relative to its energy matrix is expected to reach to 2% of diesel fuel in 2008 and 5% in 2013.

Science and technology

Technological research in Brazil is largely carried out in public universities and research institutes. Despite governmental regulations and incentives, investment in research and development has been growing in private universities and companies as well since the 1990s. Nonetheless, more than 73% of funding for basic research still comes from governmental sources. Some of Brazil's most notables technological hubs are the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, the Butantan Institute, the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica, the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, the General Command for Aerospace Technology and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation.

Brazilian information technology is comparable in quality and positioning to those of India and China, though due to Brazil's larger internal market, software exports are limited. Catering for the internal market, Brazilian IT is particularly efficient in providing solutions to financial services, defense, CRM, eGovernment, and healthcare. The Brazilian government as an institution has plans to switch its operating systems, replacing the current proprietary software scheme for the free software scheme.

The Brazilian Space Agency (Agência Espacial Brasileira) is the civilian authority in Brazil that is in charge of the country's nascent space program. It operates a rocket launch site at Alcântara, Maranhão, utilizing solid-fuel rockets.

Demographics

Brazil's population comprises many races and ethnic groups. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) classifies the Brazilian population in five categories: white, black, pardo (brown), yellow (Asian) or Indigenous, based on skin color or race. The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 93 million White people (49.9%), 80 million Brown people (43.2%), 11.7 million Black people (6.3%), and 1.3 million Asian or Amerindian people (0.7%). The ethnic composition of Brazilians is not uniform across the country. Due to its large influx of European immigrants in the 19th century, the Southern Region has a White majority, consisting of 80.8% of its population. The Northeastern Region, as a result of the large numbers of African slaves working in the sugar cane engenhos, has a majority of brown and black peoples, respectively 63.1% and 7%. Northern Brazil, largely covered by the Amazon Rainforest, is 71.5% brown, due to its strong Amerindian component. Southeastern Brazil and Central-Western Brazil have a more balanced ratio among different ethnic groups.

The largest Brazilian cities are São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, respectively with 11.0, 6.1, and 2.7 million inhabitants. Almost all capitals are the largest city in their corresponding state, except for Vitória, the capital of Espírito Santo, and Florianópolis, the capital of Santa Catarina. There are also non-capital metropolitan areas in the states of São Paulo (Campinas, Santos and the Paraíba Valley), Minas Gerais (Steel Valley), Rio Grande do Sul (Sinos Valley), and Santa Catarina (Itajaí Valley).

Portuguese is the only official language of Brazil. It is spoken by nearly the entire population and is virtually the only language used in schools, newspapers, radio, TV and for all business and administrative purposes. Moreover, Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas, making the language an important part of Brazilian national identity. 180 Amerindian languages are spoken in remote areas. There are important communities of speakers of German (mostly the Hunsrückisch, part of the High German languages) and Italian (mostly the Talian dialect, of Venetian origin) in the south of the country, both largely influenced by the Portuguese language.

Education and health

The Federal Constitution and the 1996 General Law of Education in Brazil (LDB) determine the Federal Government, States, Federal District, and Municipalities will manage and organize their respective education systems. Each of these public educational systems is responsible for its own maintenance, which manages funds as well as mechanisms and sources for financial resources. The new Constitution reserves 25% of state and municipal taxes and 18% of federal taxes for education. Private school programs are available to complement the public school system. In 2003, the literacy rate was at 88 percent of the population, and the youth literacy rate (ages 15–19) was 93.2 percent. However, according to UNESCO Brazil's education still shows very low levels of efficiency by 15-year-old students, particularly in the public school network. Higher education starts with undergraduate or sequential courses, which may offer different specialization choices such as academic or vocational paths. Depending on the choice, students may improve their educational background with Stricto Sensu or Lato Sensu postgraduate courses.

The public health system is managed and provided by all levels of government, whilst private healthcare fulfills a complementary role. Several problems hamper the Brazilian system. In 2003, the most notable health issues were infant mortality, child mortality, maternal mortality, mortality by non-transmissible illness and mortality caused by external causes (transportation, violence and suicide).

Social issues

Brazil has been unable to reflect its recent economic achievements into social development. Poverty, urban violence, astounding social security debts, inefficient public services, and the low value of minimum wages, are some of the main social issues that currently challenge the Brazilian government.

The rate of poverty is in part attributed to the country's economic inequality. Brazil ranks among the world's highest nations in the Gini coefficient index of inequality assessment. According to Fundação Getúlio Vargas, in June 2006 the rate of poverty based on labour income was of 18.57% of the population. Poverty in Brazil is most visually represented by the various favelas, slums in the country's metropolitan areas and remote upcountry regions that suffer with economic underdevelopment and below-par standards of living. There are also great differences in wealth and welfare between regions. While the Northeast region has the worst economic indicators nationwide, many cities in the South and Southeast enjoy First World socioeconomic standards. High levels of violence are a part of life in large urban centers. Analysts generally suggest the alarming social inequality as the major reason behind this problem. Muggings, robberies and kidnappings are common in many cities, and police brutality and corruption are widespread. Inneficient public services, especially those related to security, education and health, severely affect quality of life. Valued at R$ 380,00 as of April 2007, minimum wages fail in guaranteeing a high standard of living for the population. Brazil currently ranks 69th in Human Development Index. The social security system is considered unreliable and has been historically submerged in large debts, which have been steadily increasing along the 1990s.

Culture

A wide variety of elements influenced Brazilian culture. Its major early influence derived from Portuguese culture, due to strong colonial ties with the Portuguese empire. Among other inheritances, the Portuguese introduced the Portuguese language, the Roman-Germanic legal system, and the colonial architectural styles. Other aspects of Brazilian culture are contributions of European and Asian immigrants, Native South American people (such as the Tupi), and African slaves. Thus, Brazil is a multicultural and multiethnic society. Italian, German and other European immigrants came in large numbers and their influences are felt closer to the Southeast and South of Brazil. Amerindian peoples influenced Brazil's language and cuisine and the Africans, brought to Brazil as slaves, influenced Brazil's music, dance, cuisine, religion and language.

In the 1950s, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinícius de Moraes, Baden Powell de Aquino, and João Gilberto popularized the Bossa Nova style in music. Later Elis Regina, Milton Nascimento, Chico Buarque and Nara Leão had an important role in shaping Música Popular Brasileira (literally translated as "Brazilian Popular Music," often abbreviated to MPB). In the late 1960s, tropicalismo was popularized by Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. Brazilian Carnival (Template:Lang-pt) is an annual celebration held 40 days before Easter and marks the beginning of Lent. Brazilian Carnival has distinct regional characteristics. Other regional festivals include the Boi Bumbá and Festa Junina (June Festivals).

Religion

The most popular religion in Brazil is Roman Catholicism and the country has the largest Roman Catholic population in the world. Adepts of Protestantism are rising in number. Until 1970, the majority of Brazilian Protestants were members of "traditional churches", mostly Lutherans, Presbyterians and Baptists. Since then, numbers of Pentecostal and Neopentecostal members have increased significantly. Islam in Brazil was first practiced by African slaves. Today, the Muslim population in Brazil is made up mostly of Arab immigrants. A recent trend has been the increase in conversions to Islam among non-Arab citizens. The largest population of Buddhists in Latin America lives in Brazil, mostly because the country has the largest Japanese population outside Japan.

The latest IBGE census presents the following numbers: 74% of the population is Roman Catholic (about 139 million); 15.4% is Protestant (about 28 million); 7.4% considers itself agnostics or atheists or without a religion (about 12 million); 1.3% follows Spiritism (about 2.2 million); 0.3% follows African traditional religions such as Candomblé and Umbanda and 1.7% are members of other religions. Some of these are Jehovah's Witnesses (1,100,000), Latter-day Saints (600,000), Buddhists (215,000), Jews (150,000), Islamic (27,000) and some practice a mixture of different religions.

Sports

Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in Brazil. The Brazilian national football team (Seleção) has been victorious in the World Cup tournament a record five times, in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. As of July, 2007, it is ranked the best in the world by FIFA. Basketball, volleyball, auto racing, and martial arts also attract large audiences. Though not as regularly followed or practiced as the previously mentioned sports, tennis, team handball, swimming, and gymnastics have found a growing number of enthusiasts over the last decades. In auto racing, Brazilian drivers have won the Formula 1 world championship eight times: Emerson Fittipaldi (1972 and 1974), Nelson Piquet (1981, 1983 and 1987) and Ayrton Senna (1988, 1990 and 1991). The circuit located in São Paulo, Autódromo José Carlos Pace, hosts the annual Grand Prix of Brazil.

Some sport variations have their origins in Brazil. Beach soccer, futsal (official version of indoor soccer) and footvolley emerged in the country as variations of soccer. In martial arts, Brazilians have developed Capoeira, Vale tudo, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Brazil has undertaken the organization of large-scale sporting events: the country organized and hosted the 1950 FIFA World Cup and is organizing a bid to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup event. São Paulo organized the IV Pan American Games in 1963 and Rio de Janeiro hosted the XV Pan American Games in 2007. Brazil also tries for the fourth time to host the Summer Olympics with Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

References

Footnotes

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3. "Official government data "Location and Extension"". IBGE. 2002-10-11. Retrieved 2007-05-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
4. Projeto de Ensino de Geografia. Editora Moderna. 2004. p. 50. ISBN 85-16-02766-X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
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Further reading

1. "Background Note: Brazil". US Department of State.
2. "The World Factbook: Brazil". Central Intelligence Agency.
3. Wagley, Charles (1963). An Introduction to Brazil. New York, New York: Columbia University Press.
4. The World Almanac and Book of Facts: Brazil. New York, NY: World Almanac Books. 2006.
5. Costa, João Cruz (1964). A History of Ideas in Brazil. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.
6. Fausto, Boris (1999). A Concise History of Brazil. Cambridge: CUP.
7. Furtado, Celso. The Economic Growth of Brazil: A Survey from Colonial to Modern Times. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
8. Leal, Victor Nunes (1977). Coronelismo: The Municipality and Representative Government in Brazil. Cambridge: CUP.
9. Prado Júnior, Caio (1967). The Colonial Background of Modern Brazil. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.
10. Schneider, Ronald (1995). Brazil: Culture and Politics in a New Economic Powerhouse. Boulder Westview.
11. Bethell, Leslie (1991). Colonial Brazil. Cambridge: CUP.
12. Alves, Maria Helena Moreira (1985). State and Opposition in Military Brazil. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
13. Amann, Edmund (1990). The Illusion of Stability: The Brazilian Economy under Cardoso. World Development (pp. 1805-1819).
14. Martinez-Lara, Javier (1995). Building Democracy in Brazil: The Politics of Constitutional Change. Macmillan.
15. Costa, João Cruz (1964). A History of Ideas in Brazil. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.
16. Skidmore, Thomas E. (1974). Black Into White: Race and Nationality in Brazilian Thought. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
17. Malathronas, John (2003). Brazil: Life, Blood, Soul. Chichester: Summersdale.

See also

External links

Government and administration

• Brazilian Federal Government
• Presidency of Brazil
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Information and statistics

• Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics
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Economy and business

• Brazilian Central Bank
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