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:14,691km border
Coastline: 7,491 km
Climate: mostly tropical, but temperate in south.

Terrain: mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt
Natural resources: bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber.

POPULATION

Population 174,468,575 (2001 est)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 28.57% (male 25,390,039; female 24,449,902) 15-64 years: 65.98% (male 56,603,895; female 58,507,289) 65 years and over: 5.45% (male 3,857,564; female 5,659,886) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.91% (2001 est.)
Birth rate: 18.45 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 9.34 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Nationality: noun:Brazilian(s) adjective: Brazilian
Ethnic groups: white (includes Portuguese, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish) 55%, mixed white and black 38%, black 6%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic (nominal) 80%
Languages: Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French

GOVERNMENT

Country name: conventional long form: Federative Republic of Brazil local short form: Brasil
Government type: federative republic
Capital: Brasilia
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