Brazil Country Facts

Country facts

• Official name: Federative Republic of Brazil
• License plate: BR
• ISO-3166: BR, BRA (76)
• Internet domain:.br
• Currency: 1 Real (R $) = 100 Centavos
• Area: 8 515 770 km²
• Population (2018): 209.5 million
• Capital: Brasília
• Official language (s): Portuguese
• Form of government: Presidential Federal Republic
• Administrative division: 26 states and federal district of the capital
• Head of State: President Jair Bolsonaro (since 1.1.2019)
• Religion (s): Christians (Catholics; Protestants), followers of Afro-Brazilian religions
• Time zone: Central European Time –3 to –6 hours
• National holiday: September 7th

Location and infrastructure

• Location (geographical): South America
• Position (coordinates): between 5 ° 16 ‘north and 33 ° 45’ south latitude and 34 ° 46 ‘and 74 ° west longitude
• Climate: Predominantly tropical savanna climate, in the south and southeast subtropical temperate climate, in the highlands winter-dry subtropical climate, in the north tropical rainforest climate
• Highest mountain: Pico da Neblina (2,994 m)
• Road network: (2018) 246,000 km (paved), 2 million km (unpaved)
• Railway network: (2014) 29 850 km

Population

• Annual population growth (2018): 0.71%
• Birth rate (2018): 13.9 per 1,000 residents.
• Death rate (2018): 6.7 per 1,000 residents.
• Average age (2018): 32.4 years
• Average life expectancy (2018): 74.3 years (men 70.7; women 78)
• Age structure (2018): 21.9% younger than 15 years, 8.6% older than 65 years
• Literacy rate (15 year olds and older) (2015): 92%
• Mobile phone contracts (pre-paid and post-paid) (2017): 113 per 100 residents
• Internet users (2016): 61 per 100 residents

Economy

• GDP per capita (2017): US $ 15,603
• Total GDP (2017): US $ 2,015 billion
• GNI per capita (2017): US $ 8,670
• Education expenditure (2014): 5.9% of GDP
• Military expenditure (2017): 1.41% of GDP
• Unemployment rate (15 years and older) (2017): 12.9%

Politics

According to the constitution of October 5, 1988 (modified several times), Brazil is a federal republic with a presidential regime. The head of state and chief executive officer is the president; he heads the government and appoints the members of the cabinet. The president is directly elected for 4 years (re-election possible once). If none of the candidates achieves an absolute majority in the first ballot, the two first-placed candidates will be cast off. The President is supported by the Council of the Republic as a consultative body. the vice-president, the minister of justice and the chairmen of both houses of parliament belong. The legislature lies with the National Congress (Congresso Nacional), consisting of the Chamber of Deputies (C ȃmara dos deputados; 513 MPs, elected for 4 years by proportional representation) and Senate (Senado Federal; 81 members, elected for 8 years by majority vote). The number of members of the House of Representatives depends on the population density of the individual member states; Each state is represented by 3 senators in the Senate. The maintenance of foreign relations, national security, the maintenance of the armed forces, finance and education as well as other important areas are the responsibility of the federal government. The constitution names a number of fundamental freedoms.

The political development of the present is overshadowed by corruption scandals. The trade unionist L. I. Lula da Silva , the first socialist president from 2003–11, was sentenced to a long prison term in 2017 for corruption and money laundering. Dilma Rousseff , his successor and first woman in the top position, lost her post in 2016 on charges of illegal campaign financing and budget manipulation (impeachment by the National Congress). The judiciary is also investigating M. Temer , who was head of state until 2018, on suspicion of corruption. The 2018 presidential election was a voter protest against the established political class. She brought the right-wing populist J. Bolsonaro from the Social Liberal Party into office (from 1.1.2019). The retired army captain advocates the relaxation of gun laws, wants to get out of the Paris climate protection agreement, cut spending on state universities and open up protected areas in the Amazon for cattle breeding and mining.

In 2020, Brazil was one of the countries worldwide that were hardest hit by the corona pandemic. Numerous people protested against President Bolsonaro’s half-hearted course in the fight against the corona virus. He had long denied the danger he posed. He condemned the state governors’ restrictions on public life because they harmed the economy.

Parties

The free formation of political parties has been guaranteed by the constitution since May 1985. The most influential parties are Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT; German Labor Party; founded 1980), Partido de Movimento Democrático Brasileiro (PMDB; German Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement; founded 1980), Partido da Social-Democracia Brasileira (PSDB; German Social Democratic Party of Brazil; founded 1988), Democratas (DEM, German Democrats; until 2007 Partido da Frente Liberal, PFL; founded 1984), Partido Progressista (PP; German Party of Progress; founded 1995, today’s name since 2003), Partido da República (PR; German party of the Republic; created by merging parties in 2006), Partido Socialista Brasileiro (PSB, German Socialist Party of Brazil; founded 1947), German Communist Party of Brazil; founded in 1962) and Partido Verde (PV; German Green Party, founded in 1987). German Communist Party of Brazil; founded in 1962) and Partido Verde (PV; German Green Party, founded in 1987).

Administration

Brazil is divided into 26 states and a federal district, which includes the federal capital Brasília. Each member state has its own constitution and its own parliament, each headed by a directly elected governor. According to populationmonster, Brasília is the capital and largest city in Brazil.

Administrative division in Brazil