Map of Brazil (its capital Brazilia)
Country Comparisons: chart
World Factbook: "Characterized by large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, Brazil's economy outweighs that of all other South American countries, and Brazil is expanding its presence in world markets. Since 2003, Brazil has steadily improved its macroeconomic stability, building up foreign reserves, and reducing its debt profile by shifting its debt burden toward real denominated and domestically held instruments."
Oil production and consumption:
2010: chart
Brazil has a vast amount of land not suited for food crops but that can grow crops for automobile fuel.
In 2011, 5.8% of population was involved in agriculture – high compared to the more highly industrialized countries, which are typically between 2 and 3 percent. Employed in Industry was 26.9%, services 67.3%
Unemployment rate
2011: 6.1%
2010 6.7%
Distribution of family incomes – gini index
Brazil ranks 13th least equal among 140 countries, with a gini score of 53.9. In its middling per capita wealth group $11,600 for 2011, its Corrupt Index figure is common – a not very good 3.8. And its health figures are also commonly not very good. But is revenue to GDP rate is unusually high, at 44%.
Health expenditures for 2009 are about 9% – about average for a wealthy industrialized European nation.
Land in Brazil is said to be largely in the hands of a few wealthy families.
In the two largest cities, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, a third of the people, it is said, live in slums.
Military expenditures as a percentage of GDP
2006: 2.6%
Living in an urban area
2010: 87%
Net migration rate
2012: A net loss of 0.09 persons per 1,000 population per year
Ethnicity
2000 census: white 53.7%, mulatos 38.5%, black 6.2%. Others are Japanese, Arab Amerindian, 0.9%
Religions
2000 census: nominally Roman Catholic, 73.6%, Protestant 15.4 %, Spiritualist 1.3%, Bantu/voodoo 0.3%, none 7.4%
South America. Brazil is 8,456,510 square kilometers of land compared to 9,161,923 square kilometers for the United States.
Chief of state and head of government: Dilma Rousseff (president) since 1 January 2011, Workers' Party, former Marxist guerrilla, now supportive of free enterprise and a conservative regarding abortion and gay marriage.
Brazil is divided into states and has a federal Congress divided between the Chamber of Deputies and Senate. Capital: Brasilia.
In the 1970s, Brazil invested in the production of alcohol to replace gasoline.
2002: Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, elected in 2002∫, is a former shoeshine boy and metal worker. He is commonly described as a man of the Left.
Investment in its economy estimated for 2004 is 18% of GDP compared to 15.2% for the United States. Sweden's is 15.7%.
With help from its alternative fuel production, Brazil expects to be energy sufficient In 2006. Many of its cars use alternative fuels and many of its gas stations have two sets of pumps: one for "alcohol" the other for gasoline. Brazilians and Japanese are engaged in a joint venture for Brazil exporting ethanol (alcohol) to Japan.
In Brazil are desperate people and others willing and able to take advantage of them. The result: slavery. People have been told they could have good jobs in Amazonia. Transported there they are then forced to pay for their transportation, food, tools and housing. According to a report at Antislavery.org, "some 18,000 people have been released from forced labor in Brazil since 1995," and in 2006 "thousands of Brazilians continue to be trafficked from impoverished parts of the country."
Police Corruption and Tourists, July 27, 2007: UPI reports two San Francisco policemen in Brazil during the Pan American Games were stopped by "two uniformed police officers" and searched for drugs. Although no drugs were found the Brazilian cops told the two tourists they would have to pay a bribe or be arrested. The Brazilian cops left the tourists' with $2,200 of their money and an MP3 player.
2007: Brazil has a vast tropical forest area where Indian peoples live. According to the World Factbook, deforestation is destroying the habitat and endangering "a multitude of plant and animal species indigenous to the area," and "there is a lucrative illegal wildlife trade."
Copyright © 2009-2011 by Frank E. Smitha. All rights reserved.
