{{Infobox Country or territory
| native_name = ''República Federativa do Brasil''
| conventional_long_name = Federative Republic of Brazil
| common_name = Brazil
| image_flag = Flag_of_Brazil.svg
| image_coat = Coat_of_arms_of_Brazil.svg
| image_map = Location_Brazil.svg
| national_motto = ''Ordem e Progresso''(Portuguese)
"Order and Progress"
| national_anthem = Hino Nacional Brasileiro
| official_languages = Portuguese
| capital = Brasília
|latd=15 |latm=45 |latNS=S |longd=47 |longm=57 |longEW=W
| largest_city = São Paulo
| government_type = Presidential Federal republic
| leader_title1 = President
| leader_title2 = Vice President
| leader_name1 = Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
| leader_name2 = José Alencar da Silva
| area_rank = 5th
| area_magnitude = 1 E12
| area_km2 = 8514877
| area_sq_mi = 3287597
| percent_water = 0.65
| population_estimate = 190,010,647
| population_estimate_year = 2007

| population_estimate_rank = 5th
| population_census = 169,799,170
| population_census_year = 2000

| population_density_km2 = 22
| population_density_sq_mi = 57
| population_density_rank = 182nd
| sovereignty_type = Independence
| sovereignty_note = from Portugal
| established_event1 = Declared
| established_event2 = Recognized
| established_event3 = Republic
| established_date1 = September 7 1822
| established_date2 = August 29 1825
| established_date3 = November 15 1889
| currency = Real (R$)
| currency_code = BRL
| time_zone = BRT | utc_offset = -2 to -5
| time_zone_DST = BRST | utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5
| demonym = Brazilian
| cctld = .br
| calling_code = 55
| ISO_3166-1_alpha2 = BR
| ISO_3166-1_alpha3 = BRA
| ISO_3166-1_numeric = 076
| sport_code = BRA
| vehicle_code =
| GDP_PPP_year = 2006 | GDP_PPP = US$1.701 trillion
| GDP_PPP_rank = 10th
| GDP_PPP_per_capita = US$9,488
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 68th
| GDP_nominal = US$1.067 trillion
| GDP_nominal_rank = 10th
| GDP_nominal_year = 2006 | GDP_nominal_per_capita = US$5,717
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 64th
| HDI_year = 2004
| HDI = 0.792
| HDI_rank = 69th
| HDI_category = medium
| footnotes = Data of IBGE.
Estimate of the International Monetary Fund.
Officially UTC−3 (Brasília time).
Officially UTC−2 (Brasília time).
}}
Brazil (), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (or , ), is a country in South America. It is the fifth-largest country by geographical area, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of over 7,367 kilometres. It borders Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana and the ''department'' of French Guiana to the north, Uruguay to the south, Argentina and Paraguay to the southwest, Bolivia and Peru to the west, and Colombia to the northwest. Numerous archipelagos are part of the Brazilian territory, such as Penedos de São Pedro e São Paulo, Fernando de Noronha, Trindade e Martim Vaz and Atol das Rocas.

Brazil is cut through by the Equator and Tropic of Capricorn and is home to varied fauna and flora, as well as extensive natural resources. The Brazilian population tends to concentrate along the coastline in large urban centers. While Brazil has one of the largest populations in the world, population density is low and the inner continental land has large areas of low population. Théry & de Mello; ''Atlas do Brasil''; Editora USP, 2005, p. 90, ISBN 85-314-0869-5 (EDUSP) The official language is Portuguese and Catholicism is the predominant religion.

Brazil was colonized by Portugal from 1500 until its independence in 1822. The country has been a republic since 1889, although the bicameral legislature (now called Congress) dates back to 1824, when the first constitution was ratified. Its current Constitution defines Brazil as a Federative Republic.See also: Brazilian Federal Constitution in English , text translated to English (unofficial). Retrieved on 2007-05-17. The Federation is formed by the indissoluble association of the States, the Federal District, and the Municipalities. There are currently 26 States and 5,564 Municipalities.The table indicates 5,561 municipalities as of 2000, but since then the number increased to 5,564, according to other official sources (Tabela de Municípios )

Brazil is the world's 9th largest economy in terms of purchasing power and the 10th largest economy at market exchange rates. The country has a diversified middle-income economy with wide variations in development levels and mature manufacturing, mining and agriculture sectors. Technology and services also play an important role and are growing rapidly. Brazil is a net exporter, having gone through free trade and privatization reforms in the 1990s. In spite of important economical achievements, many social issues still hamper development.

Colonization

Though there are alternative theories, most scholars agree Brazil was first reached on April 22, 1500 by Pedro Álvares Cabral.Britannica . Encyclopædia Britannica - Concise. Retrieved on August 16 2007 Initially Portugal had little interest in Brazil, mainly because of high profits gained through commerce with Indochina. After 1530, the Portuguese Crown devised the Hereditary Captaincies system to effectively occupy its new colony, and later took direct control of the failed captaincies.Fundação Maria e Oscar Americano website, Colonial Brazil , retrieved 12 June 2007.CasaHistória website, Colonial Brazil , retrieved 12 June 2007. The Portuguese colonists adopted an economy based on the production of agricultural goods that were exported to Europe. Sugar became by far the most important Brazilian colonial product until the early eighteenth century.JSTOR: Anglo-Portuguese Trade, 1700-1770 . JSTOR. Retrieved on August 16, 2007.Janick, Jules. Lecture 34 . Retrieved on August 16, 2007 Even though Brazilian sugar was reputed as being of high quality, the industry faced a crisis during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when the Dutch and the French started producing sugar in the Antilles, located much closer to Europe, causing sugar prices to fall.

During the eighteenth century, private explorers who called themselves the Bandeirantes found gold and diamond deposits in the state of Minas Gerais. The exploration of these mines were mostly used to finance the Portuguese Royal Court's debts. The predatory way in which such deposits were explored by the Portuguese Crown, however, burdened colonial Brazil with excessive taxes. Some popular movements supporting independence came about against the abusive taxes established by the colonial government, such as the Tiradentes incident in 1789, but they were often dismissed with violence by Portugal. Gold production declined towards the end of the eighteenth century, starting a period of relative stagnation of the Brazilian hinterland.Maxwell, Kenneth R. ''Conflicts and Conspiracies: Brazil and Portugal 1750-1808''. Cambridge University Press: 1973. Both Amerindian and African slaves' man power were largely used in Brazil's colonial economy.Slavery in Brazil , retrieved on August 19, 2007.

Empire

In 1808, the Portuguese court, fleeing from Napoleon’s troops which had invaded Portugal, established themselves in the city of Rio de Janeiro. After João VI returned to Portugal in 1821, his heir-apparent Pedro became regent of the Kingdom of Brazil. Following a series of political incidents and disputes, Brazil achieved its independence from Portugal on September 7 1822. On October 12 1822, Dom Pedro became the first Emperor of Brazil, being crowned on December 1 1822.

In 1824, Pedro closed the Constituent Assembly, stating that the body was "endangering liberty". Pedro then produced a constitution modeled on that of Portugal (1822) and France (1814). It specified indirect elections and created the legislative, executive and judiciary branches of government; however, it also added a fourth branch, the "moderating power", to be held by the Emperor. Pedro's government was considered economically and administratively inefficient. Political pressures eventually made the Emperor step down on April 7, 1831. He returned to Portugal leaving behind his five-year-old son Pedro II. Until Pedro II reached maturity, Brazil was governed by regents from 1831 to 1840. The regency period was turbulent and marked by numerous local revolts including the Male Revolt, the largest urban slave rebellion in the Americas, which took place in Bahia in 1835.Reis, João José. ''Slave Rebellion in Brazil - The Muslim Uprising of 1835 in Bahia''. Translated by Arthur Brakel. Johns Hopkins University Press.

On July 23 1840, Pedro II was crowned Emperor. His government was highlighted by a substantial rise in coffee exports, the War of the Triple Alliance, and the end of slave trade from Africa in 1850, although slavery in Brazilian territory would only be abolished in 1888. When slavery was finally abolished, a large influx of European immigrants took place. By the 1870s, the Emperor's grasp on domestic politics had started to deteriorate in face of crises with the Roman Catholic Church, the Army and the slaveholders. The Republican movement slowly gained strength. In the end, the empire fell because the dominant classes no longer needed it to protect their interests. Indeed, imperial centralization ran counter to their desire for local autonomy. By 1889 Pedro II had stepped down and the Republican system had been adopted to Brazil.

Republic

Pedro II was deposed on November 15, 1889 by a Republican military coup led by general Deodoro da Fonseca,U.S. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division, Country Studies: Brazil, The Republican Era, 1889-1985 . Library of Congress. Retrieved on August 16, 2007. who became the country’s first ''de facto'' president through military ascension. The country’s name became the ''Republic of the United States of Brazil'' (which in 1967 was changed to ''Federative Republic of Brazil''). From 1889 to 1930, the dominant states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais alternated control of the presidency.U.S. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division, Country Studies: Brazil, The Era of Getúlio Vargas, 1930-54

A military junta took control in 1930. Getúlio Vargas took office soon after, and would remain as dictatorial ruler (with a brief democratic period in between), until 1945. He was re-elected in 1951 and stayed in office until his suicide in 1954. After 1930, the successive governments continued industrial and agriculture growth and development of the vast interior of Brazil.Valença, Márcio M. Patron-Client Relations and Politics in Brazil: A Historical Overview . Retrieved 16 June 2007 Juscelino Kubitschek's office years (1956-1961) were marked by the political campaign motto of plunging ''"50 anos em 5"'' (English: fifty years of development in five).

The military forces took office in Brazil in a coup d'état in 1964, and remained in power until March 1985, when it fell from grace because of political struggles between the regime and the Brazilian elites. Just as the Brazilian regime changes of 1889, 1930, and 1945 unleashed competing political forces and caused divisions within the military, so too did the 1964 regime change.CasaHistória website, Military Rule , retrieved June 12 2007 Tancredo Neves was elected president in an indirect election in 1985, as Brazil returned to civil government regime. He died before taking office, and the vice-president, José Sarney, was sworn in as president in his place.

Democracy was re-established in 1988 when the current Federal Constitution was enacted. Fernando Collor de Mello was the first president truly elected by popular vote after the military regime. Collor took office in March 1990. In September 1992, the National Congress voted for Collor's impeachment after a sequence of scandals were uncovered by the media. The vice-president, Itamar Franco, assumed the presidency. Assisted by the Minister of Finance at that time, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Itamar Franco's administration implemented the Plano Real economic package, which included a new currency temporarily pegged to the U.S. dollar, the ''real''. In the elections held on October 3, 1994, Fernando Henrique Cardoso ran for president and won, being reelected in 1998.

Government and politics

The Brazilian Federation is based on the indissoluble association of three autonomous political entities: the States, the Municipalities and the Federal District. A fourth entity originated in the aforementioned association: the Union. There is no hierarchy among the political entities. The Federation is set on six fundamental principles: sovereignty, citizenship, dignity of the people, social value of labor, freedom of enterprise, and political pluralism. The classic tripartite division of power, encompassing the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary branches under the checks and balances system, is formally established by the Constitution. The Executive and Legislative are organized independently in all four political entities, while the Judiciary is organized only in the Federal and State levels.

All members of the executive and legislative branches are elected by direct suffrage. Judges and other judicial authorities are appointed after passing entry exams. Voting is compulsory for those aged 18 or older. Four political parties stand out among several small ones: Workers' Party (PT), Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), and Democrats (formerly Liberal Front Party - PFL). Practically all governmental and administrative functions are exercised by authorities and agencies affiliated with the Executive. The form of government is Republican and democratic, and the system of government is Presidential. The President is Head of State and Head of Government of the Union and is elected for a four-year term, with the possibility of re-election for a second successive term. Currently the President of Brazil is Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He was elected on October 27, 2002,Leftist Lula wins Brazil election BBC News. Accessed May 17, 2007 and re-elected on October 29, 2006. Brazil re-elects President Lula BBC News. Accessed May 17, 2007 The President appoints the Ministers of State, who assist in governing. Legislative houses in each political entity are the main source of laws in Brazil. The National Congress is the Federation’s bicameral legislature, consisting of the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate. Judiciary authorities exercise jurisdictional duties almost exclusively.

Law

Brazilian Law is based on Roman-Germanic traditions.The Brazilian Legal System , Organization of American States. Accessed May 17, 2007. Thus, civil law concepts prevail over common law practices. Most of Brazilian law is codified, although non-codified statutes also represent a substantial part of the system, playing a complementary role. Court decisions set out interpretation guidelines; however, they are not binding towards other specific cases but in very few exceptional situations. Doctrinal works and comments of legal academic pundits have strong influence in law creation and in legal cases.

The Federal Constitution, promulgated on October 5, 1988, is the fundamental law of Brazil and it rules the system. All other legislation and court decisions must conform to its rules.Silva, José Afonso da; ''Curso de Direito Constitucional Positivo''; Malheiros, 2004, p. 46, ISBN 85-7420-559-1 As of April 2007, it has been through 53 Amendments. States also adopt their own Constitutions, but they must also not contradict the Federal Constitution.Silva, José Afonso da; ''Curso de Direito Constitucional Positivo''; Malheiros, 2004, p. 592, ISBN 85-7420-559-1 Municipalities and the Federal District do not have their own Constitutions; instead, they adopt "organic laws" ().Government structure Brazilian Government. Accessed May 17, 2007. Legislative entities are the main source of statutes, although in certain matters judiciary and executive bodies may also enact legal norms.

Jurisdiction is administered by the judiciary entities, although in rare cases, the Federal Constitution allows the Federal Senate to pass on legal judgments. There are also specialized military, labor, and electoral courts. The highest court is the Supreme Federal Tribunal. This system has met criticism over the last decades in relation to the slow pace at which final decisions are issued. Lawsuits on appeal may take several years to resolve, and in some cases more than a decade to see definitive rulings.Glugoski, Miguel; Medauar, Odete. Nossos direitos nas suas mãos , USP Journal, 24-30 November, 2003. Retrieved May 17, 2007.

Foreign relations and the military

Brazil is a political and economic leader in Latin America.Lima, Maria Regina Soares; Hirst, Mônica. Brazil as a regional power Blackwell Synergy Journal. Accessed June 22, 2007.Bandeira, Luiz Alberto Moniz. Brazil as a regional power Sage Journals Online. Accessed June 22, 2007. However, social and economic problems prevent it from becoming an effective global power.Zibechi, Raúl Difficult Path Funder's Network on Trade and Globalization. Accessed June 22, 2007. Between World War II and 1990, both democratic and military governments sought to expand Brazil's influence in the world by pursuing a state-led industrial policy and an independent foreign policy. More recently, the country has aimed to strengthen ties with other South American countries, engage in multilateral diplomacy through the United Nations and the Organization of American States. Universia Knowledge at Wharton website, Can Brazil Play a Leadership Role in the Current Round of Global Trade Talks? . Wharton School, Pennsylvania. Accessed June 22, 2007. Brazil's current foreign policy is based on the country's position as a regional power in Latin America, a leader among developing countries, and an emerging world power.Ribando, ClareUS-Brazil relations . Congressional Research Service. Retrieved on August 16, 2007. Brazilian foreign policy has generally reflected multilateralism, peaceful dispute settlement, and nonintervention in the affairs of other countries.Georges D. Landau, "The Decisionmaking Process in Foreign Policy: The Case of Brazil," Center for Strategic and International Studies: Washington DC: March 2003 The Brazilian Constitution also determines the country shall seek the economic, political, social and cultural integration of the nations of Latin America.Zibechi, Raul. Brazil and the Difficult Path to Multilateralism . IRC Americas. Retrieved on August 16, 2007.De Lima, Maria Regina Soares. Hirst, Monica. Brazil as an intermediate state and regional power: action, choice and responsibilities .
International Affairs 82 (1), 21–40. Retrieved on August 16, 2007.Bandeira, Luiz Alberto Moniz.Brazil as a Regional Power and Its Relations with the United States University of Brasília. Retrieved on August 16, 2007.

The Armed forces of Brazil comprise the Brazilian Army, the Brazilian Navy, and the Brazilian Air Force. The Military Police (States' Military Police) is described as an ancillary force of the Army by constitution, but under the control of each state's governor. The Brazilian armed forces are the largest in Latin America. The Brazilian Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Brazilian armed forces, being the largest air force in Latin America, with about 700 manned aircraft in service.Sala de imprensa - FAB em números . Força Aérea Brasileira. Retrieved on August 16, 2007. The Brazilian Navy is responsible for naval operations and for guarding Brazilian territorial waters. It is the oldest of the Brazilian Armed forces and the only navy in Latin America that operates an aircraft carrier, the NAeL ''São Paulo'' (formerly FS ''Foch'' of the French Navy).FAQ . Brazilian Navy Website. Retrieved on August 16,2007. Finally, the Brazilian Army is responsible for land-based military operations, with a strength of approximately 190,000 soldiers.

Administrative divisions

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Politically, Brazil is a Federation of twenty-six states () and one federal district ().

The national territory was divided in 1969 by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), for demographic and statistical purposes, into five main regions: North, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast and South.

The North region covers 45.27% of the surface of Brazil, and has the lowest number of inhabitants. With the exception of Manaus, which hosts a tax-free industrial zone, and Belém, the biggest metropolitan area of the region, it is fairly unindustrialized and undeveloped. It accommodates most of the rainforest vegetation of the world and many indigenous tribes.

The Northeast region is inhabited by about 30% of Brazil's population. It is culturally diverse, with roots set in the Portuguese colonial period, and in Amerindian and Afro-Brazilian elements. It is also the poorest region of Brazil,See also, List of Brazilian states by GDP per capita and suffers from long periods of dry climate.INPE. Retrieved August 16, 2007 The largest cities are Salvador, Recife and Fortaleza.

The Central-West region has low demographic density when compared to the other regions,See List of Brazilian states by population density mostly because a part of its territory is covered by the world's largest marshlands area, the Pantanal as well as a small part of the Amazon Rainforest in the northwest. However, much of the region is also covered by Cerrado, the largest savanna in the world. The central-west region contributes significantly towards agriculture. The largest cities of this region are: Brasília (the capital), Goiânia, Campo Grande, Cuiabá, Anápolis, Dourados, Rondonópolis and Corumbá.

The Southeast region is the richest and most densely populated. It has more inhabitants than any other South American country, and hosts one of the largest megalopolises of the world, whereof the main cities are the country's two largest; São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The region is very diverse, including the major business center of São Paulo, the historical cities of Minas Gerais and its capital Belo Horizonte, the third-largest metropolitan area in Brazil, the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, and the coast of Espírito Santo.

The South region is the wealthiest by GDP per capita, and has the highest standard of living in the country.See List of Brazilian states by HDI It is also the coldest region of Brazil, with occasional occurrences of frost and snow in some of the higher altitude areas. It has been settled by European immigrants, mainly of Italian, German, Portuguese and Slavic ancestry, being clearly influenced by these cultures. The largest cities in this region are: Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Florianópolis, Londrina, Caxias do Sul and Joinville.

Climate

Brazil's climate has little seasonal variation since most of the country is located within the tropics. However, although 90% of the country is located within the tropical zone, year-long climate varies considerably from the mostly tropical North (the equator traverses the mouth of the Amazon) to temperate zones below the Tropic of Capricorn (23°27' S latitude), which crosses the country at the latitude of the city of São Paulo. Brazil has five climatic regions: equatorial, tropical, semiarid, highland tropical, and subtropical.

Temperatures along the equator are high, with averages above 25 °C (77 °F), and occasionally reaching the summer extremes of up to 40 °C (104 °F) in the temperate zones.El-DMC website, Climate in Brazil , retrieved January 3, 2006. Southern Brazil has a subtropical temperate weather, normally experiencing frost in the winter (June-August), and occasional snow in the mountainous areas, such as Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. Temperatures in the cities of São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, and Brasília are moderate, usually ranging between 15 °C (59 °F) and 30 °C (86 °F), because of their altitude of approximately . Rio de Janeiro, Recife and Salvador, located in the coast, have warm climates, with average temperatures ranging from 23 °C (73.4 °F) to 27 °C (80.6 °F). The southern cities of Porto Alegre and Curitiba have a subtropical climate similar to that in parts of the United States and Europe, and temperatures can fall under 0 °C (32 °F) in the winter.

Precipitation levels vary widely. They are higher in the humid Amazon Basin, and lower in the somewhat arid landscapes of the northeast. Most of Brazil has moderate rainfall of 1,000 to 1,500 millimeters a year, with most of the rain falling in the summer (between December and April), south of the Equator. The Amazon region is notoriously humid, with rainfall generally of more than 2,000 millimeters per year, getting as high as 3,000 millimeters in parts of the western Amazon and near Belém. Despite high annual precipitation, the Amazon rain forest has a three-to-five-month dry season, the timing of which varies according to location north or south of the equator.El-DMC website, Climate in Brazil , retrieved January 3, 2006.

Environment

Brazil's large area comprises different ecosystems, which together sustain some of the world's greatest biodiversity. Because of the country's intense economic and demographic growth, Brazil's ability to protect its environmental habitats has increasingly come under threat. Extensive logging in the nation's forests, particularly the Amazon, both official and unofficial, destroys areas the size of a small country each year, and potentially a diverse variety of plants and animals. Between 2002 and 2006, an area of the Amazon Rainforest equivalent in size to the State of South Carolina was completely decimated, for the purposes of raising cattle and woodlogging. By 2020, at least 50% of the species resident in Brazil may become extinct.

There is a general consensus that Brazil has the highest number of both terrestrial vertebrates and invertebrates of any single country in the world. Also, Brazil has the highest primate diversity, the highest number of mammals, the second highest number of amphibian and butterflies, the third highest number of birds, and fifth highest number of reptiles. There is a high number of endangered species, many of them living in threatened habitats such as the Atlantic Forest.

Economy

Brazil's GDP (PPP) is the highest of Latin America with large and developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing,Central Intelligence Agency website, CIA Factbook , retrieved June 9 2005. and service sectors, as well as a large labour pool. The country has been expanding its presence in international financial and commodities markets, and is regarded as one of the group of four emerging economies called BRIC. Major export products include aircraft, coffee, automobiles, soybean, iron ore, orange juice, steel, ethanol, textiles, footwear, corned beef and electrical equipment.''The Economist'' survey on Brazil, The economy of heat , published April 12 2007, retrieved 11 June 2007. According to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Brazil has the ninth largest economy in the world by purchasing power parity (PPP) and tenth largest at market exchange rates. Brazil has a diversified middle income economy with wide variations in development levels. Most large industry is agglomerated in the Southern and South East states. The Northeast is the poorest region of Brazil, but it has attracted new investments in infrastructure for the tourism sector and intensive agricultural schemes.Siegel et al. (2205) Public Investments in Tourism in Northeast Brazil: Does a Poor-area Strategy Benefit the Poor? , IMF Sustainable Development Working Paper No. 22, retrieved August 15 2007Economy and Business . Brazilian Government Web Portal. Retrieved on August 16, 2007.Beintema et al. (2001) Agricultural R&D in Brazil - Policy, Investments, and Institutional Profile . Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute , August 2001.

Brazil had pegged its currency, the real, to the U.S. dollar in 1994. However, after the East Asian financial crisis, the Russian default in 1998Baig et al. (2000) The Russian default and the Contagion to Brazil , IMF Working Paper. Retrieved on August 16, 2007. and the series of adverse financial events that followed it, the Brazilian central bank has temporarily changed its monetary policy to a managed-float scheme while undergoing a currency crisis, until definitively changing the exchange regime to free-float in January 1999.Fraga, Arminio Monetary Policy During the Transition to a Floating Exchange Rate: Brazil's Recent Experience , ''Finance & Development'', IMF, March 2000, retrieved 10 June 2007 Brazil received an IMF rescue package in mid-2002 in the amount of USD 30.4 billion,Business Week website, Brazil: When an IMF Bailout Is Not Enough , Sept 2, 2002. Retrieved 12 June 2007.Stiglitz, Joseph (August 2002) A second chance for Brazil and the IMF , retrieved 12 June 2007. a record sum at that time. The IMF loan was paid off early by Brazil's central bank in 2005 (the due date was scheduled for 2006).BBC News website, Brazil to pay off IMF debts early , retrieved 12 June 2007.

Brazil has a diverse and sophisticated service industry as well. During the early 1990s, the banking sector amounted to as much as 16% of GDP, and has attracted foreign financial institutions and firms by issuing and trading Brazilian Depositary Receipts (BDRs).Bovespa's Guide to BDRs . Bovespa. Retrieved on August 16, 2007. One of the issues the Brazilian central bank is currently dealing with is the excess of speculative short-term capital inflows to the country in the past few months, which might explain in part the recent downfall of the U.S. dollar against the real in the period.''Economic Quarterly March 2007'' , IPEA. Retrieved on August 16, 2007. Nonetheless, foreign direct investment (FDI), related to long-term, less speculative investment in production, is estimated to be USD 193.8bn for 2007.The Institute of International Finance, Capital Flows to Emerging Markets Set at Close to Record Levels , retrieved 06 June 2007 Inflation monitoring and control currently plays a major role in Brazil's Central Bank activity in setting out short-term interest rates as a monetary policy measure.Central Bank of Brazil, IPCA, IPC-FIPE and IPC-BR: Methodological and Empirical Differences (2004) , retrieved 18 June 2007. The IPCA index, measured and calculated by the IBGE on a monthly basis, is the most commonly used index for inflation, although other indices such as the IPC-Fipe and IGP-M (FGV) are also widely used.

Energy policy

Brazil is the 10th largest energy consumer in the world and the largest in Latin America. At the same time it is also a large oil and gas producer in the region and the world's largest ethanol producer. Because of its ethanol fuel production Brazil has been sometimes described as a bio-energy superpower.Brazil - A Bio-Energy Superpower , by Mario Osava, Tierramérica Brazil's ethanol fuel is produced from sugar cane, the world's largest crop in both production and export tonnage.

With the 1973 oil crisis the Brazilian government initiated in 1975 the Pró-Álcool program. The Pró-Álcool or ''Programa Nacional do Álcool'' (National Alcohol Program) was a nation-wide program financed by the government to replace automobile fuels derived from fossil fuels in favor of ethanol. The program successfully reduced the number of cars running on gasoline in Brazil by 10 million, thereby reducing the country's dependence on oil imports. Brazil's production and consumption of biodiesel relative to its energy matrix is expected to reach to 2% of diesel fuel in 2008 and 5% in 2013.OECD/IEA. World Energy Outlook 2006. ISBN 92-64-10989-7 Brazil is the third largest hydroelectricity producer in the world after China and Canada. In 2004 hydropower accounted 83% of Brazil power production. The gross theoretical capability exceeds 3,000 TWh per annum, of which 800 TWh per annum is economically exploitable. Also in 2004, Brazil produced 321TWh of hydropower, which was the third largest hydropower production in the world. The installed capacity is 69 GW. Brazil co-owns Itaipu hydroelectric power plant on the Paraná River which is the world largest operational hydroelectric power plant with the installed generation capacity of 14 GW by 20 generating units of 700 MW each.

Science and technology

Technological research in Brazil is largely carried out in public universities and research institutes. Despite governmental regulations and incentives, investment in research and development has been growing in private universities and companies as well since the 1990s. Nonetheless, more than 73% of funding for basic research still comes from governmental sources. Some of Brazil's most notables technological hubs are the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, the Butantan Institute, the Air Force's Aerospace Technical Center, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation and the INPE. The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) is a search unit of the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT), whose main goals lie in fostering scientific research and technological applications and in qualifying personnel in the fields of Space and Atmospheric Sciences, Applications, Space Engineering and Space Technology. While INPE is the civilian research center for aerospace activities, the Brazilian General Command for Aerospace Technology is the research military arm.

Brazilian information technology is comparable in quality and positioning to those of India and China, though because of Brazil's larger internal market, software exports are limited.Staub, Eugenio (2004) Panorama da Indústria Brasileira de Eletro-Eletrônica e Software , BNDES slides. Retrieved on August 17, 2007. Catering for the internal market, Brazilian IT is particularly efficient in providing solutions to financial services, defense, CRM, eGovernment, and healthcare. The Brazilian government as an institution has plans to switch its operating systems, replacing the current proprietary software scheme for the free software scheme.

Demographics

Brazil's population comprises many races and ethnic groups. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) classifies the Brazilian population in five categories: black, white, pardo (brown), yellow (Asian) or Indigenous, based on skin color or race. The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 93.096 million White people (49.7%), 79.782 million Brown people (42.6%), 12.908 million Black people (6.9%), 919 thousand Asian people (0.5%) and 519 thousand Amerindian people (0.3%). The ethnic composition of Brazilians is not uniform across the country. Because of its large influx of European immigrants in the 19th century, the Southern Region has a White majority, consisting of 79.6% of its population.German Genealogy: Brazil Retrieved August 16, 2007. The Northeastern Region, as a result of the large numbers of African slaves working in the sugar cane engenhos, has a majority of brown and black peoples, respectively 62.5% and 7.8%.Wagner, Phillip. Brazil and the African Slave Trade . Retrieved August 16, 2007. Northern Brazil, largely covered by the Amazon Rainforest, is 69.2% brown, because of its strong Amerindian component.SocioAmbiental.org Instituto Socioambiental. Retrieved August 16, 2007. Southeastern Brazil and Central-Western Brazil have a more balanced ratio among different ethnic groups.

The largest Brazilian cities are São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, respectively with 11.0, 6.1, and 2.7 million inhabitants. Almost all capitals are the largest city in their corresponding state, except for Vitória, the capital of Espírito Santo, and Florianópolis, the capital of Santa Catarina. There are also non-capital metropolitan areas in the states of São Paulo (Campinas, Santos and the Paraíba Valley), Minas Gerais (Steel Valley), Rio Grande do Sul (Sinos Valley), and Santa Catarina (Itajaí Valley).

Portuguese is the only official language of Brazil. It is spoken by nearly the entire population and is virtually the only language used in schools, newspapers, radio, TV and for all business and administrative purposes. Moreover, Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas, making the language an important part of Brazilian national identity. 180 Amerindian languages are spoken in remote areas. There are important communities of speakers of German (mostly the Hunsrückisch, part of the High German languages) and Italian (mostly the Talian dialect, of Venetian origin) in the south of the country, both largely influenced by the Portuguese language.

Education and health

The Federal Constitution and the 1996 ''General Law of Education in Brazil'' (LDB) determine the Federal Government, States, Federal District, and Municipalities will manage and organize their respective education systems. Each of these public educational systems is responsible for its own maintenance, which manages funds as well as mechanisms and sources for financial resources. The new Constitution reserves 25% of state and municipal taxes and 18% of federal taxes for education.Japan Bank for International Cooperation report, November 2005, Sector Study for Education in Brazil , retrieved 28 Feb 2007 Private school programs are available to complement the public school system. In 2003, the literacy rate was at 88 percent of the population, and the youth literacy rate (ages 15–19) was 93.2 percent. However, according to UNESCO Brazil's education still shows very low levels of efficiency by 15-year-old students, particularly in the public school network. Higher education starts with undergraduate or sequential courses, which may offer different specialization choices such as academic or vocational paths. Depending on the choice, students may improve their educational background with ''Stricto Sensu'' or ''Lato Sensu'' postgraduate courses.UOL News Universidades Públicas Ganham das Particulares retrieved August 22, 2007

The public health system is managed and provided by all levels of government, whilst private healthcare fulfills a complementary role. Several problems hamper the Brazilian system. In 2006, the most notable health issues were infant mortality, child mortality, maternal mortality, mortality by non-transmissible illness and mortality caused by external causes (transportation, violence and suicide).

Social issues

Brazil has been unable to reflect its recent economic achievements into social development. Poverty, urban violence, growing social security debts, inefficient public services, and the low value of the minimum wage are some of the main social issues that currently challenge the Brazilian government. The rate of poverty is in part attributed to the country's economic inequality. Brazil ranks among the world's highest nations in the Gini coefficient index of inequality assessment. According to Fundação Getúlio Vargas, in 2006 the rate of people living below the poverty line based on labour income was of 19.31% of the population — a 33% reduction considering the previous three years.

Poverty in Brazil is most visually represented by the various ''favelas'', slums in the country's metropolitan areas and remote upcountry regions that suffer with economic underdevelopment and below-par standards of living. There are also great differences in wealth and welfare between regions. While the Northeast region has the worst economic indicators nationwide, many cities in the South and Southeast enjoy First World socioeconomic standards. The level of violence in some large urban centers is comparable to that of a war zone.Transnational Institute Drugs and Democracy in Brazil retrieved 2007-08-24 BBC News Rio 'worse than a war zone' retrieved 2007-08-24 Analysts generally suggest the alarming social inequality as the major reason behind this problem. Muggings, robberies, kidnappings BBC News Brazil's evolving kidnap culture retrieved 2007-08-24 and gang violenceBBC News Gang violence grips Brazil state retrieved 2007-08-22 are common in the largest cities. Police brutality and corruption are widespread.Human Rights Report Police brutality in urban Brazil retrieved 2007-08-24 Amnesty International Violence in Brazil retrieved 2007-08-24 Innefficient public services,FT.com, Brazil ‘must lift barriers’ to new infrastructure retrieved 2007-08-22World Bank report,How to Revitalize Infrastructure Investments in Brazil, vol.1 , retrieved 2007-08-22World Bank report, How to Revitalize Infrastructure Investments in Brazil, vol.2 , retrieved 2007-08-22 especially those related to security, education and health, severely affect quality of life. Minimum wages fail in fulfilling the constitutional requirements set in article 7, IV, regarding living standards. Brazil currently ranks 69th in Human Development Index. The social security system is considered unreliable and has been historically submerged in large debts and graft, which have been steadily increasing along the 1990s.IPEA A Dívida da União com a Previdência Social retrieved 2007-08-22

Culture

A wide variety of elements influenced Brazilian culture. Its major early influence derived from Portuguese culture, because of strong colonial ties with the Portuguese empire. Among other inheritances, the Portuguese introduced the Portuguese language, the Roman-Germanic legal system, and the colonial architectural styles. Other aspects of Brazilian culture are contributions of European and Asian immigrants, Native South American people (such as the Tupi), and African slaves. Thus, Brazil is a multicultural and multiethnic society. Italian, German and other European immigrants came in large numbers and their influences are felt closer to the Southeast and South of Brazil. Amerindian peoples influenced Brazil's language and cuisine and the Africans, brought to Brazil as slaves, influenced Brazil's music, dance, cuisine, religion and language.Freyre, Gilberto. The Afro-Brazilian experiment - African influence on Brazilian culture . UNESCO Courier, May-June 1986. Retrieved August 16, 2007.

In the 1950s, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinícius de Moraes, Baden Powell de Aquino, and João Gilberto popularized the Bossa Nova style in music. Later Elis Regina, Milton Nascimento, Chico Buarque and Nara Leão had an important role in shaping Música Popular Brasileira (literally translated as "Brazilian Popular Music," often abbreviated to MPB). In the late 1960s, tropicalismo was popularized by Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil.

Brazilian Carnival () is an annual celebration held 40 days before Easter and marks the beginning of Lent. Brazilian Carnival has distinct regional characteristics. Other regional festivals include the Boi Bumbá and Festa Junina (''June Festivals'').

Religion

The most popular religion in Brazil is Roman Catholicism and the country has the largest Roman Catholic population in the world. Adepts of Protestantism are rising in number. Until 1970, the majority of Brazilian Protestants were members of "traditional churches", mostly Lutherans, Presbyterians and Baptists. Since then, numbers of Pentecostal and Neopentecostal members have increased significantly. Islam in Brazil was first practiced by African slaves.Lovejoy, Paul E., ''Muslim Encounters With Slavery in Brazil'', Markus Wiener Pub., 2007. ISBN 1558763783. Today, the Muslim population in Brazil is made up mostly of Arab immigrants. A recent trend has been the increase in conversions to Islam among non-Arab citizens.US Department of State, International Religious Freedom Report 2006 , retrieved 05 June 2007 Only 27,000 Muslims live in Brazil as of 2000.

The largest population of Buddhists in Latin America lives in Brazil, mostly because the country has the largest Japanese population outside Japan.

The latest IBGE census presents the following numbers: 74% of the population is Roman Catholic (about 139 million); 15.4% is Protestant (about 28 million), including Jehovah's Witnesses (1,100,000) and the Latter-day Saints (600,000),Igreja no Brasil . LDS Church. Retrieved on August 16, 2007. ; 7.4% considers itself agnostics or atheists or without a religion (about 12 million); 1.3% follows Spiritism (about 2.2 million); 0.3% follows African traditional religions such as Candomblé and Umbanda and 1.7% are members of other religions. Some of these are Buddhists (215,000), Jews (150,000), Islamic (27,000) and some practice a mixture of different religions.

Sports

Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in Brazil.Sport in Brazil Embassy of Brazil in London. Accessed June 22, 2007. The Brazilian national football team (''Seleção'') has been victorious in the World Cup tournament a record five times, in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. Basketball, volleyball, auto racing, and martial arts also attract large audiences. Though not as regularly followed or practiced as the previously mentioned sports, tennis, team handball, swimming, and gymnastics have found a growing number of enthusiasts over the last decades. In auto racing, Brazilian drivers have won the Formula 1 world championship eight times: Emerson Fittipaldi (1972 and 1974), Nelson Piquet (1981, 1983 and 1987) and Ayrton Senna (1988, 1990 and 1991). The circuit located in São Paulo, Autódromo José Carlos Pace, hosts the annual Grand Prix of Brazil.FIA website, Grand Prix of Brazil . Retrieved June 22, 2007.

In basketball, Brazil’s men’s team has won the Basketball World Championship twice, in 1959 and 1963. The women’s team has won the FIBA World Championship for Women only once, in 1994. Currently though, both national teams have become less competitive; as of June, 2007, FIBA ranks the men's team 17th in the world FIBA website, Men's World Ranking . Retrieved June 22, 2007. and the women's team as 4th. FIBA website, Women's World Ranking . Retrieved June 22, 2007. In volleyball, the country didn’t enjoy much success until the early 1990s, but as of 2006, Brazil’s men’s national team is on top of the FIVB rank, winning multiple titles. FIVB website, Men's World Ranking . Retrieved June 22, 2007 The women’s team also won several competitions and is currently ranked second in the world by FIVB. FIVB website, Women's World Ranking . Retrieved June 22, 2007 Some sport variations have their origins in Brazil. Beach soccer, ''futsal'' (official version of indoor soccer) and footvolley emerged in the country as variations of soccer. In martial arts, Brazilians have developed Capoeira, Vale tudo, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Brazil has had disappointing results in the Olympic Summer Games, considering the size of its population and economy. It currently ranks 39th in the all-time medal table, having won only 17 gold medals in all events. In Athens 2004, Brazil finished 16th in the rank with 5 gold medals International Olympic Committee website, IOC Athens 2004 Medal Table . Retrieved June 22, 2006. Brazil’s poor Olympic record relates to a lack of heavy governmental investments in sport and to a general overemphasis on team sports. The government, through its Ministry of Sport, has established a number of programs to try and revert the situation, such as "''Programa Bolsa-Atleta''", Brazilian Ministry of Sport Bolsa-Atleta Ministério do Esporte. Accessed June 22, 2007 "''Projetos Esportivos Sociais''", Brazilian Ministry of Sport Projetos Esportivos Sociais Ministério do Esporte. Retrieved June 22, 2007. and "''Descoberta de Talento Esportivo''", Brazilian Ministry of Sport Descoberta do Talento Esportivo Ministério do Esporte. Retrieved June 22, 2007. albeit effective improvements remain to be seen. Due to its tropical nature, Brazil usually does not take part in the Olympic Winter Games, although ten athletes were sent to 2006 Winter Olympics.

Brazil has undertaken the organization of large-scale sporting events: the country organized and hosted the 1950 FIFA World Cup and is organizing a bid to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup event. São Paulo organized the IV Pan American Games in 1963 and Rio de Janeiro hosted the XV Pan American Games in 2007. Brazil also tries for the fourth time to host the Summer Olympics with Rio de Janeiro in 2016.