Economy - overview:  
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. In 2008, Brazil became a net external creditor and two ratings agencies awarded investment grade status to its debt. After record growth in 2007 and 2008, the onset of the global financial crisis hit Brazil in September 2008. Brazil experienced two quarters of recession, as global demand for Brazil's commodity-based exports dwindled and external credit dried up. However, Brazil was one of the first emerging markets to begin a recovery. In 2010 consumer and investor confidence revived and GDP growth reached 7.5%, the highest growth rate in the past 25 years. Brazil has since then experienced an economic slowdown, driven primarily by a faltering industrial sector and Brazil's fast-rising currency. Brazil's high interest rates make it an attractive destination for foreign investors. Large capital inflows over the past several years have contributed to the rapid appreciation of its currency and led the government to raise taxes on some foreign investments. President Dilma ROUSSEFF has pledged to retain the previous administration's commitment to inflation targeting by the central bank, a floating exchange rate, and fiscal restraint.  

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$2.284 trillion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
$2.222 trillion (2010 est.)
$2.067 trillion (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2011 US dollars       

GDP (official exchange rate): 
$2.518 trillion (2011 est.)      

GDP - real growth rate:         
2.8% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 128
7.5% (2010 est.)
-0.6% (2009 est.)       

GDP - per capita (PPP):        
$11,600 (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 100
$11,300 (2010 est.)
$10,800 (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2011 US dollars       

GDP - composition by sector:          
agriculture: 5.8%
industry: 26.9%
services: 67.3% (2011 est.)    

Labor force:    
104.3 million (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6  

Labor force - by occupation: 
agriculture: 20%
industry: 14%
services: 66% (2003 est.)       

Unemployment rate:  
6.1% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 62
6.7% (2010 est.)        

Population below poverty line:         
26% (2008)    

Household income or consumption by percentage share:     
lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 42.5% (2009)   

Distribution of family income - Gini index:   
53.9 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 13
60.7 (1998)    

Investment (gross fixed):       
19% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 134          

Budget:           
revenues: $1.005 trillion
expenditures: $930.9 billion (2011 est.)        

Taxes and other revenues:      
39.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 42

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-):       
2.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 19

Public debt:    
54.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 46
54.7% of GDP (2010 est.)     

Inflation rate (consumer prices):        
6.9% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 150
5% (2010 est.)           

Central bank discount rate:    
11% (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 28
10.75% (31 December 2010 est.)      

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 
45.6% (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 4
39.992% (31 December 2010 est.)    

Stock of narrow money:        
$204.1 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 19
$169.2 billion (31 December 2010 est.)         

Stock of broad money:           
$1.878 trillion (30 November 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 10
$1.826 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)        

Stock of domestic credit:       
$2.769 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 10
$2.193 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)        

Market value of publicly traded shares:        
$1.546 trillion (31 December 2010)
country comparison to the world: 13
$1.167 trillion (31 December 2009)
$589.4 billion (31 December 2008)   

Agriculture - products:          
coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus; beef    

Industries:      
textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment

Industrial production growth rate:     
4% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 90

Electricity - production:        
461.1 billion kWh (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 10

Electricity - consumption:     
421 billion kWh (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 10

Electricity - exports:  
1.08 billion kWh (2009 est.)  

Electricity - imports: 
39.67 billion kWh; note - supplied by Paraguay (2009 est.) 

Oil - production:        
2.746 million bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 9  

Oil - consumption:     
2.654 million bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6  

Oil - exports:  
699,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 24

Oil - imports: 
720,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 20

Natural gas - production:       
12.41 billion cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 37

Natural gas - consumption:    
25.13 billion cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 30

Natural gas - exports: 
0 cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 67

Natural gas - imports:
12.72 billion cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 20

Natural gas - proved reserves:           
366.4 billion cu m (1 January 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 35

Current account balance:        
-$63.47 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 193
-$47.36 billion (2010 est.)     

Exports:         
$250.8 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 24
$201.9 billion (2010) 

Exports - commodities:          
transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos    

Exports - partners:     
China 15.2%, US 9.6%, Argentina 9.2%, Netherlands 5.1%, Germany 4% (2010) 

Imports:         
$219.6 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 22
$181.7 billion (2010 est.)       

Imports - commodities:         
machinery, electrical and transport equipment, chemical products, oil, automotive parts, electronics        

Imports - partners:    
US 15%, China 14.1%, Argentina 7.9%, Germany 6.9%, South Korea 4.6% (2010)           

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:          
$357.9 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6
$288.6 billion (31 December 2010 est.)         

Debt - external:          
$410 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 26
$346.5 billion (31 December 2010 est.)         

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$426.4 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 13
$368.4 billion (31 December 2010 est.)         

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:  
$113.9 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 26
$128.9 billion (31 December 2010 est.)         

Exchange rates:           
reals (BRL) per US dollar -
1.602 (2011 est.)
1.76 (2010 est.)
2 (2009)
1.8644 (2008)
1.85 (2007)    

Country name:            
conventional long form: Federative Republic of Brazil
conventional short form: Brazil
local long form: Republica Federativa do Brasil
local short form: Brasil          

Government type:
federal republic          

Capital:
name: Brasilia
geographic coordinates: 15 47 S, 47 55 W
time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins third Sunday in October; ends last Sunday in February
note: Brazil is divided into three time zones, including one for the Fernando de Noronha Islands   

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:  
civil law; note - a new Brazilian civil law code was enacted in 2002 replacing the 1916 code          

International law organization participation:  
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Suffrage:          
voluntary between 16 and 18 years of age and over 70; compulsory over 18 and under 70 years of age; note - military conscripts do not vote   

Executive branch:        
chief of state: President Dilma ROUSSEFF (since 1 January 2011);
Vice President Michel TEMER (since 1 January 2011); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Dilma ROUSSEFF (since 1 January 2011);
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a single four-year term; election last held on 3 October 2010 with runoff on 31 October 2010 (next to be held on 5 October 2014 and, if necessary, a runoff election on 2 November 2014)

election results: Dilma ROUSSEFF (PT) elected president in a runoff election; percent of vote - Dilma ROUSSEFF 56.01%, Jose SERRA (PSDB) 43.99%           

Legislative branch:     
bicameral National Congress or Congresso Nacional consists of the Federal Senate or Senado Federal (81 seats; 3 members from each state and federal district elected according to the principle of majority to serve eight-year terms; one-third and two-thirds of members elected every four years, alternately) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara dos Deputados (513 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms)

elections: Federal Senate - last held on 3 October 2010 for two-thirds of the Senate (next to be held in October 2014 for one-third of the Senate); Chamber of Deputies - last held on 3 October 2010 (next to be held in October 2014)

election results: Federal Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PMDB 20, PT 13, PSDB 10, DEM (formerly PFL) 7, PTdoB 6, PP 5, PDT 4, PR 4, PSB 4, PPS 1, PRB 1, other 3; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PT 87, PMDB 80, PSDB 53, DEM (formerly PFL) 43, PP 41, PR 41, PSB 34, PDT 28, PTdoB 21, PSC 17, PCdoB 15, PV 15, PPS 12, other 18    

Judicial branch:          
Supreme Federal Tribunal or STF (11 ministers are appointed for life by the president and confirmed by the Senate); Superior Tribunal of Justice or STJ; Superior Electoral Tribunal or TSE; Regional Federal Tribunals (judges are appointed for life); note - though appointed "for life," judges, like all federal employees, have a mandatory retirement age of 70   

Political parties and leaders:  
Brazilian Democratic Movement Party or PMDB [Michel TEMER]; Brazilian Labor Party or PTB [Roberto JEFFERSON]; Brazilian Renewal Labor Party or PRTB [Jose Levy FIDELIX da Cruz]; Brazilian Republican Party or PRB [Marco Antonio PEREIRA]; Brazilian Social Democracy Party or PSDB [Sergio GUERRA]; Brazilian Socialist Party or PSB [Eduardo Henrique Accioly CAMPOS]; Christian Labor Party or PTC [Daniel TOURINHO]; Communist Party of Brazil or PCdoB [Jose Renato RABELO]; Democratic Labor Party or PDT [Carlos Roberto LUPI]; the Democrats or DEM [Jose AGRIPINO] (formerly Liberal Front Party or PFL); Freedom and Socialism Party or PSOL [Afranio BOPPRE]; Green Party or PV [Jose Luiz PENNA]; Humanist Party of Solidarity or PHS [Paulo Roberto MATOS]; Labor Party of Brazil or PTdoB [Luis Henrique de Oliveira RESENDE]; National Mobilization Party or PMN [Oscar Noronha FILHO]; Party of the Republic or PR [Alfredo PEREIRA DO NASCIMENTO]; Popular Socialist Party or PPS [Roberto Joao PEREIRA FREIRE]; Progressive Party or PP [Francisco DORNELLES]; Social Christian Party or PSC [Vitor Jorge Abdala NOSSEIS]; Social Democracy Party or PSD [Gilberto KASSAB]; Workers' Party or PT [Rui FALCAO]       

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Landless Workers' Movement or MST
other: industrial federations; labor unions and federations; large farmers' associations; religious groups including evangelical Christian churches and the Catholic Church         

International organization participation:       
AfDB (nonregional member), BIS, BRICS, CAN (associate), CELAC, CPLP, FAO, FATF, G-15, G-20, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, LAS (observer), Mercosur, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS, OECD (Enhanced Engagement, OPANAL, OPCW, Paris Club (associate), PCA, SICA (observer), UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNISFA, UNITAR, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO 

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mauro Luiz Iecker VIEIRA
chancery: 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 238-2805
FAX: [1] (202) 238-2827
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco  

Diplomatic representation from the US:       
chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas A. SHANNON
embassy: Avenida das Nacoes, Quadra 801, Lote 3, Distrito Federal Cep 70403-900, Brasilia
mailing address: Unit 7500, DPO, AA 34030
telephone: [55] (61) 3312-7000
FAX: [55] (61) 3225-9136
consulate(s) general: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo
consulate(s): Recife    

Flag description:        
green with a large yellow diamond in the center bearing a blue celestial globe with 27 white five-pointed stars; the globe has a white equatorial band with the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO (Order and Progress); the current flag was inspired by the banner of the former Empire of Brazil (1822-1889); on the imperial flag, the green represented the House of Braganza of Pedro I, the first Emperor of Brazil, while the yellow stood for the Habsburg Family of his wife; on the modern flag the green represents the forests of the country and the yellow rhombus its mineral wealth; the blue circle and stars, which replaced the coat of arms of the original flag, depict the sky over Rio de Janeiro on the morning of 15 November 1889 - the day the Republic of Brazil was declared; the number of stars has changed with the creation of new states and has risen from an original 21 to the current 27 (one for each state and the Federal District)         

National symbol(s):   
Southern Cross constellation 

National anthem:        
name: "Hino Nacional Brasileiro" (Brazilian National Anthem)
lyrics/music: Joaquim Osorio Duque ESTRADA/Francisco Manoel DA SILVA
note: music adopted 1890, lyrics adopted 1922; the anthem's music, composed in 1822, was used unofficially for many years before it was adopted.

Location:
Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean

Geographic coordinates:
10 00 S, 55 00 W

Map references:         
South America

Area:  
total: 8,514,877 sq km
country comparison to the world: 5
land: 8,459,417 sq km
water: 55,460 sq km
note: includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than the US

Land boundaries:
total: 16,885 km
border countries: Argentina 1,261 km, Bolivia 3,423 km, Colombia 1,644 km, French Guiana 730 km, Guyana 1,606 km, Paraguay 1,365 km, Peru 2,995 km, Suriname 593 km, Uruguay 1,068 km, Venezuela 2,200 km

Coastline:
7,491 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin

Climate:        
mostly tropical, but temperate in south

Terrain:          
mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt

Elevation extremes:    
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico da Neblina 2,994 m

Natural resources:      
bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, rare earth elements, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber

Land use:        
arable land: 6.93%
permanent crops: 0.89%
other: 92.18% (2005)

Irrigated land: 
45,000 sq km (2008)

Total renewable water resources:      
8,233 cu km (2000)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):    
total: 59.3 cu km/yr (20%/18%/62%)
per capita: 318 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:         
recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south

Environment - current issues:
deforestation in Amazon Basin destroys the habitat and endangers a multitude of plant and animal species indigenous to the area; there is a lucrative illegal wildlife trade; air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and several other large cities; land degradation and water pollution caused by improper mining activities; wetland degradation; severe oil spills

Environment - international agreements:       
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:      
largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador

Nationality:    
noun: Brazilian(s)
adjective: Brazilian     

Ethnic groups:
white 53.7%, mulatto (mixed white and black) 38.5%, black 6.2%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 0.9%, unspecified 0.7% (2000 census)      

Languages:      
Portuguese (official and most widely spoken language)
note: less common languages include Spanish (border areas and schools), German, Italian, Japanese, English, and a large number of minor Amerindian languages

Religions:
Roman Catholic (nominal) 73.6%, Protestant 15.4%, Spiritualist 1.3%, Bantu/voodoo 0.3%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.2%, none 7.4% (2000 census) 

Population:    
205,716,890 (July 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 5
note: Brazil conducted a census in August 2000, which reported a population of 169,872,855; that figure was about 3.8% lower than projections by the US Census Bureau, and is close to the implied underenumeration of 4.6% for the 1991 census

Age structure:
0-14 years: 26.2% (male 27,219,651/female 26,180,040)
15-64 years: 67% (male 67,524,642/female 68,809,357)
65 years and over: 6.7% (male 5,796,433/female 7,899,650) (2011 est.)      

Median age:    
total: 29.3 years
male: 28.5 years
female: 30.1 years (2011 est.)

Population growth rate:         
1.102% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 108          

Birth rate:       
17.48 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 108          

Death rate:     
6.38 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 152          

Net migration rate:     
-0.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 119          

Urbanization: 
urban population: 87% of total population (2010)
rate of urbanization: 1.1% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)       

Major cities - population:      
Sao Paulo 19.96 million; Rio de Janeiro 11.836 million; Belo Horizonte 5.736 million; Porto Alegre 4.034 million; BRASILIA (capital) 3.789 million (2009)           

Sex ratio:        
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2012 est.)      

Maternal mortality rate:        
58 deaths/100,000 live births (2008)
country comparison to the world: 93

Infant mortality rate: 
total: 20.5 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 94
male: 23.9 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 16.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.)     

Life expectancy at birth:        
total population: 72.79 years
country comparison to the world: 123
male: 69.24 years
female: 76.53 years (2012 est.)          

Total fertility rate:     
2.16 children born/woman (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 106          

Health expenditures:  
9% of GDP (2009)
country comparison to the world: 44

Physicians density:    
1.72 physicians/1,000 population (2007)
country comparison to the world: 75

Hospital bed density:
2.4 beds/1,000 population (2009)
country comparison to the world: 91

Drinking water source:           
improved:
urban: 99% of population
rural: 84% of population
total: 97% of population
unimproved:
urban: 1% of population
rural: 16% of population
total: 3% of population (2008)          

Sanitation facility access:       
improved:
urban: 87% of population
rural: 37% of population
total: 80% of population
unimproved:
urban: 13% of population
rural: 63% of population
total: 20% of population (2008)            

Obesity - adult prevalence rate:         
11.1% (2003)
country comparison to the world: 52

Children under the age of 5 years underweight:         
2.2% (2007)
country comparison to the world: 110          

Education expenditures:         
5.08% of GDP (2007)
country comparison to the world: 55

Literacy:         
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.6%
male: 88.4%
female: 88.8% (2004 est.)      

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):        
total: 14 years
male: 14 years
female: 14 years (2008)         

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24:   
total: 17.8%
country comparison to the world: 65
male: 13.9%
female: 23.1% (2009) 

Following more than three centuries under Portuguese rule, Brazil gained its independence in 1822, maintaining a monarchical system of government until the abolition of slavery in 1888 and the subsequent proclamation of a republic by the military in 1889.Brazilian coffee exporters politically dominated the country until populist leader Getulio VARGAS rose to power in 1930. By far the largest and most populous country in South America, Brazil underwent more than half a century of populist and military government until 1985, when the military regime peacefully ceded power to civilian rulers. Brazil continues to pursue industrial and agricultural growth and development of its interior. Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, it is today South America's leading economic power and a regional leader, one of the first in the area to begin an economic recovery. Highly unequal income distribution and crime remain pressing problems.

When you're in Brazil for pleasure, everyday may feel like DOMINGO (Sunday). But if you're there for business you better know that your Wednesday meeting will happen on a QUARTA-FEIRA.

When we say PLEASE and THANK YOU wonderful things happen. So watch this lesson and learn how a few basic expressions – and delivering them with the right dose of politeness – can make wonderful things happen in Brazil.

Here you'll learn what the letters sound like in Portuguese. Even though some may sound a little funny, a little practice is all it takes to master them.

This citizen of the world is responsible for relations with 200 National Committees and the Village operation

The carmaker is now the Games’ fifth tier one partner and the sixth domestic sponsor overall