Iguassu Falls, Rio de Janeiro

CAPITAL CITY OF Brazil: Brasilia
LANGUAGE OF Brazil: Portuguese
CURRENCY OF Brazil: Real (BRL)
COMMENTS ABOUT Brazil:
Brazil is the largest country in South America.
Cities : Sao Paulo (capital), Belem, Brasilia, Curitiba, Florianopolis, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador
Best Places : Belo Horizonte, Buzios, Campo Grande, Campos do Jordao, Corumba, Cuiaba, Gramado, Fortaleza, Joao Pessoa, Maceio, Manaus, Natal, Olinda, Ouro Preto, Penedo, Porto Alegre, Sao Luis, Vitoria, Bonito, Brotas, Caldas Novas, Rio Quente, Canoa Quebrada, Chapada dos Veadeiros, Guaruja, Iguacu Falls, Jericoacoara, Minas Gerais, Pantanal, Paraty, Curvelandia
Electricity : 127V/60Hz or 220V/60Hz (North American or European plug)
Calling code : +55
Time Zone : UTC -3 (-2 to -5)
Following three centuries under the rule of Portugal, Brazil became an independent nation in 1822. By far the largest and most populous country in South America, Brazil has overcome more than half a century of military intervention in the governance of the country to pursue industrial and agricultural growth and development of the interior. Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, Brazil is today South America's leading economic power and a regional leader. Highly unequal income distribution remains a pressing problem.
CLIMATE OF Brazil: mostly tropical, but temperate in south
RELIGION OF Brazil: Roman Catholic (nominal) 80%
POPULATION OF Brazil:

184,101,109
white (includes Portuguese, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish) 55%, mixed white and black 38%, black 6%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 1%

note: Brazil took a count in August 2000, which reported a population of 169,799,170; that figure was about 3.3% lower than projections by the US Census Bureau, and is close to the implied underenumeration of 4.6% for the 1991 census; estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2004 est.)

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ECONOMY OVERVIEW OF Brazil: Possessing large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, Brazil's economy outweighs that of all other South American countries and is expanding its presence in world markets. From 2001-03 real wages fell and Brazil's economy grew, on average, only 1.1% per year, as the country absorbed a series of domestic and international economic shocks. That Brazil absorbed these shocks without financial collapse is a tribute to the resiliency of the Brazilian economy and the economic program put in place by former President CARDOSO and strengthened by President Lula DA SILVA. The three pillars of the economic program are a floating exchange rate, an inflation-targeting regime, and tight fiscal policy, which have been reinforced by a series of IMF programs. The currency depreciated sharply in 2001 and 2002, which contributed to a dramatic current account adjustment: in 2003, Brazil ran a record trade surplus and recorded the first current account surplus since 1992. While economic management has been good, there remain important economic vulnerabilities. The most significant are debt-related: the government's largely domestic debt increased steadily from 1994 to 2003, straining government finances, while Brazil's foreign debt (a mix of private and public debt) is large in relation to Brazil's modest (but growing) export base. Another challenge is maintaining economic growth over a period of time to generate employment and make the government debt burden more manageable.