II.

Population

A. Total- 197,813,000

1. Growth rate- approximately 0.87% (2002 est.)

2. Number of live births- approximately 3,800

3. Birthrates- 18.08 births/1,000 population

B. Distribution of population

1. Age- 0-14 years: 28% (male 25,140,954; female 24,199,276) / 15-64 years: 66.4% (male
57,424,151; female 59,409,928) / 65 years and over: 5.6% (male 3,992,017; female 5,863,234)

2. Sex- at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female- under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female - 15-64 years: 0.97
male(s)/female - 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female - total population: 0.97 male(s)/female

3. Geographic areas (urban, suburban, and rural density, and concentration)- Brazil covers a total
area of 8,514,215 km2 (3,287,357 sq mi) which includes 8,456,510 km2 (3,265,080 sq mi) of
land and 55,455 km2 (21,411 sq mi) of water.

4. Migration rates and patterns- a census revealed a new pattern of less interregional migration,
with more people staying in their regions of origin or moving to large cities nearby rather than
to megacities. More leaving than arriving. A net loss of 0.09 persons per 1,000 population.

5. Ethnic groups- white (includes Portuguese, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish) 55%, mixed
white and black 38%, black 6%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 1%

III. Economics statistics and activity

A. Gross national product (GNP or GDP)

1. Total- 2,191,035.49 gross domestic product (GDP) / $715 GNP

2. Rate of growth (real GNP or GDP) real GDP 7.54

B. Personal income per capita- $2,842.36 per person

C. Average family income- $570 a month

D. Distribution of wealth

1. Income classes- The well-to-do live in chic neighborhoods, usually centrally located, go to
private schools, drive or ride in cars, and shop at malls. The urban poor live in favelas or
distant housing projects, take long bus trips to work, go to public schools or drop out, and shop
at smaller supermarkets or local shops. The rural poor in the country's interior are practically
invisible to the urban upper and middle classes.
 2. Proportion of the population in each class- almost a third of Brazil's total population is poor.
Approximately half of these poor lived in rural areas and half in urban areas. The proportion of
the urban poor (22.5 percent) was substantially lower than that of the rural poor (50.1 percent).

3. Is the distribution distorted?- Brazil has one of the more unequal distributions of wealth

E. Minerals and resources- known to possess extremely rich mineral deposits, has the world’s largest
reserves of niobium. Brazil possesses a diverse range of reserves, among which one can find
potassium, phosphate, tungsten, cassiterite (the chief source of tin), lead, graphite (world`s second
largest), chrome, gold, zirconium and a rare mineral, thorium

F. Surface transportation

1. Modes- Roads, Rail, Ports, Air

2. Availability- Boat/river travel, bus, train, taxi, car for hire, Subways, motor vehicles, plane

3. Usage rates- road transportation is the most widely used mode in Brazil, rail is the second
most important transportation mode in Brazil.

4. Ports- Brazil has 46 organized ports, 24 of which ocean ports. Among the busiest are Santos,
Rio de Janeiro, and Porto Alegre.

G. Communication systems

1. Types- radio, television, telephones, newspapers

2. Availability - Two main telecommu-nications organizations are National Department of

Telecom-munications (Departamento Nacional de Telecomunicações--Dentel), located within
Ministry of Communications in Brasília; and Brazilian Association of Radio and Television
Stations

3. Usage rates- 38.81 million main telephone lines in use, 46,373,300 cell phones, 71 million
radios, 138 television broadcasting stations, 36.5 million televisions, 3,163,349 internet host,
50 internet service providers, 14.3 million internet users

H. Working conditions

1. Employer-employee relations- they are good. Brazilian workers have had the right to strike
since 1984. But majority of issues are resolved from within because Brazilians like to deal
with familiar faces.

2. Employee participation- There is several thousand unions and umbrella organizations in Brazil
which are supposed to support full-time workers. The Brazilian Trade Union Federation
(Central Unica dos Trabalhadores) has made protection of employees and health policies one
of its top priorities. Yet as most employees in Brazil work without an official work contract
they have no access to the support of a labor union.
3. Salaries and benefits - The Brazilian Labor Law prescribes an annual vacation of 30 days
which should be taken all at once or divided in two parts (one half must be of at least 20 days).
Minimum Salaries is about U$ 327.82 per month.