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Geography BRAZIL - GEOGRAPHY Location: Eastern South America,
bordering the Atlantic Ocean Geographic coordinates: 10 00 S,
55 00 W Map references: South America Area: total: 8,511,965 sq km Land: 8,456,510 sq km Water:
55,455 sq km Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than the US Land boundaries: total: 14,691 km
Border countries:
Argentina 1,224 km, Bolivia 3,400 km, Colombia 1,643 km, French Guiana
673 km, Guyana 1,119 km, Paraguay 1,290 km, Peru 1,560 km,Suriname
597 km, Uruguay 985 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 3,014
m Natural resources: bauxite, gold,
iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum,
hydropower, timber Land use: arable land: 6.96% Permanent crops: 0.9% Other: 92.15% (2001) Irrigated land: 26,560 sq km (1998
est.) 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 Geography - note: largest country
in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country
except Chile and Ecuador People Brazil Population: 186,112,794 Age structure: 0-14 years: 26.1% (male 24,789,495/female
23,842,715) Median age: total: 27.81 years male: 27.06 years female: 28.57 years (2005 est.) Population growth rate:
1.06% (2005 est.) Birth rate: 16.83 births/1,000 population
(2005 est.) Death rate: 6.15 deaths/1,000 population
(2005 est.) Net migration rate: -0.03 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2005 est.) Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female
(2005 est.) Infant mortality rate: total: 29.61
deaths/1,000 live births Life expectancy at birth: total population:
71.69 years Total fertility rate: 1.93 children
born/woman (2005 est.) HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.7% (2003
est.) 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)
Religions:
Roman Catholic (nominal) 73.6%, Protestant 15.4%, Spriritualist 1.3%,
Bantu/voodoo 0.3%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.2%, none 7.4% (2000 census)
Languages: Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French Regions or Provinces: 26 estates and one federal district. South: Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Paraná. South-east: Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais. Center-west: Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goiás, Tocantins, and Distrito Federal. North-east: Bahia, Sergipe, Alagoas, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará and Piauí. North: Amazonas, Acre, Rondonia, Roraima, Amapá and Pará.
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