Brazil gained independence from Portugal in 1822, transitioning from monarchy to republic and navigating through decades of political changes and economic challenges, including a recent recession from 2013 to 2016. The country has a diverse population and a significant economy, notably as a major coffee exporter and a strong developing market recognized for hosting the FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games in 2014 and 2016, respectively. Despite its progress, Brazil faces issues like deforestation, social inequality, and high crime rates, particularly affecting marginalized groups.

1. Brazil

2.  After more than three centuries under Portuguese rule, Brazil gained its independence
in 1822, but preserved a monarchical system of government until the abolition of
slavery in 1888 and the subsequent declaration of a republic by the military in 1889.
 Brazilian coffee exporters politically governed the country until populist leader Getulio
Vargas became its president in 1930.
 By far the largest and most populous country in South America, Brazil went through
more than a half century of populist and military government until 1985, when the
military régime peacefully handed power to civilian rulers.
 Brazil still pursues business and cultivated growth and expansion of its inland.
 Having effectively weathered an era of global financial difficulty in the late 20th
century, Brazil was seen as one of the world’s strongest developing markets and a
supplier to global growth.
Background

3.  The awarding of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the first
ever to be hosted by a South American nation, was seen as representative of the
country’s rise.
 Nevertheless, from about 2013 to 2016, Brazil was afflicted by a slumping economy,
high unemployment, and high inflation; it did not recover from that downturn until
2017.
 Political scandal caused the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff in May 2016, a
verdict that was defended by the Senate in August 2016; her vice president, Michel
Temer, will serve as president until 1 January 2019, serving the remainder of Rousseff’s
second term.
Background – cont.

4. Geography
 Location: Eastern South America, bordering
the Atlantic Ocean
 Geographic coordinates: 10 00 S, 55 00 W
 Map references: South America
 Area:
 Total: 8,515,770 sq. km
 Land: 8,358,140 sq. km
 Water: 157,630 sq. km
 Note: includes Arquipelago de Fernando de
Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade,
Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Arquipélago de São
Pedro e São Paulo
 Country comparison to the world: 6
 Area – comparative: slightly smaller than the
U.S.

5.  Land boundaries:
 Total: 16,145 km
 Border countries (10): Argentina 1,263 km, Bolivia 3,403 km, Colombia 1,790 km, French
Guiana 649 km, Guyana 1,308 km, Paraguay 1,371 km, Peru 2,659 km, Suriname 515 km,
Uruguay 1,050 km, Venezuela 2,137 km
 Coastline: 7,491 km
 Maritime claims:
 Territorial sea: twelve nm
 Contiguous zone: twenty-four nm
 Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
 Continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin
 Climate: mainly tropical, but mild in south
 Terrain: generally flat to gently sloping valleys in north; some plains, hills, mountains,
and thin coastal belt
Geography – cont.

6.  Elevation:
 Mean elevation: 320 m
 Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean (0 m), highest point: Pico da Neblina (2,994
m)
 Natural resources: bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, rare
earth elements, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber
 Land use:
 Agricultural land: 32.9%; arable land 8.6%; permanent crops 0.8%; permanent pasture 23.5%
 Forest: 61.9%
 Other: 5.2% (2011 est.)
 Irrigated land: 54,000 sq. km (2012)
 Population – distribution: the vast majority of people live along, or relatively near, the
Atlantic coast in the east; the population center is in the southeast, anchored by the cities of
São Paulo, Brasília, and Rio de Janeiro
Geography – cont.

7. Geography – cont.
Atlantic coast near Búzios Pico da Neblina (“Mist Peak”)

8.  Natural hazards: regular famines in northeast; torrents and infrequent ice in south
 Environment – current issues: deforestation in Amazon Basin demolishes the environment
and threatens an array of plant and animal species native to the area; illegal nature trade;
illegal rustling; air and water contamination in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and several other
large cities; land decay and water pollution caused by irregular mining activities; swamp
degradation; dangerous 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
 Signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
 Geography – note: largest country in South America and in the Southern Hemisphere; shares
common boundaries with every other South American country except Chile and Ecuador;
most of the Pantanal, the world's largest tropical wetland, extends through the west central
part of the country; shares Iguazu Falls, the world's largest waterfalls system, with Argentina
Geography – cont.

9. Physical Map

10.  Population: 207,353,391 (July 2017 est.) – country comparison to the world: 5
 Nationality:
 Noun: Brazilian(s)
 Adjective: Brazilian
 Ethnic groups: white 47.7%, mulatto (mixed white and black) 43.1%, black 7.6%, Asian
1.1%, indigenous 0.4% (2010 est.)
 Languages: Portuguese (official and most widely spoken language)
 Note: less common languages include Spanish (border areas and schools), German,
Italian, Japanese, English, and a large number of minor Amerindian languages
 Religion: Roman Catholic 64.6%, other Catholic 0.4%, Protestant 22.2% (includes
Adventist 6.5%, Assembly of God 2.0%, Christian Congregation of Brazil 1.2%, Universal
Kingdom of God 1.0%, other Protestant 11.5%), other Christian 0.7%, Spiritist 2.2%, other
1.4%, none 8%, unspecified 0.4% (2010 est.)
People and Society

11.  Demographic profile:
 Brazil's fast potency waning since the 1960s is the primary cause of the country's slowing
population growth rate, elderly population, and fast-paced demographic shift.
 Brasília has not made full use of its large working-age population to improve its human
capital and fortify its social and economic institutions but is financing a study abroad
program to regain innovative abilities.
 The current satisfactory age structure will start to change around 2025, with the labor
force decreasing and the elderly starting to constitute a rising share of the total
population.
 Well-funded public allowances have virtually brought the elderly out of poverty; Bolsa
Familia and other social programs have likewise lifted tens of millions out of poverty.
 Over half of Brazil's population is considered middle class, but poverty and income
disparity levels remain high; the Northeast, North, and Center-West, women, and black,
mixed race, and indigenous populations are excessively affected.
 Gaps in opportunities worsen social exclusion and are a leading factor in Brazil's high
crime rate, mostly violent crime in cities and favelas (slums).
People and Society – cont.

12.  Brazil has historically been a net recipient of immigrants, with its southeast being the
principal destination.
 After the importation of African slaves was banned in the mid-19th century, Brazil
solicited Europeans (Italians, Portuguese, Spaniards, and Germans) and later Asians
(Japanese) to work in agriculture, particularly coffee farming.
 Recent immigrants come primarily from Argentina, Chile, and Andean countries (many
are inexperienced illegal migrants) or are returning Brazilian citizens.
 Since Brazil's economic recession in the 1980s, emigration to the United States,
Europe, and Japan has been growing but is insignificant proportionate to Brazil's total
population.
 The majority of these emigrants are well-educated and middle class.
 Fewer Brazilian laborers are emigrating to adjoining countries to start agricultural
work.
People and Society – cont.

13.  Official name: Federative Republic of Brazil (República Federativa do Brasil)
 Etymology: the country’s name originates from the brazilwood (Paubrasilia) tree that used to
cultivate abundantly along the coast of Brazil and that was used to harvest a deep red tint
 Capital: Brasília
 Largest city: São Paulo
 Government type: Federal presidential constitutional republic
 President: Michel Temer
 Vice President: vacant
 President of the Chamber of Deputies: Rodrigo Maia
 President of the Federal Senate: Eunício Oliveira
 President of the Supreme Federal Court: Cármen Lúcia
Government

14. National Congress of Brazil, seat of
the Brazilian government

15. Government – cont.
Michel Temer, President
Rodrigo Maia, President of the
Chamber of Deputies

16. Government – cont.
Eunício Oliveira, President of the
Federal Senate
Cármen Lúcia, President of the
Supreme Federal Court

17.  Independence: 7 September 1822 (from Portugal)
 National holiday: Independence Day, 7 September (1822)
 Constitution: several previous; most recent approved 5 October 1988; revised many times,
most recently in 2016 (2016)
 Legal system: civil law; note: a new civil law code was ratified in 2002, replacing the 1916
code
 International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction
declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
 Citizenship:
 Citizenship by birth: yes
 Citizenship by descent: yes
 Dual citizenship recognized: yes
 Residency requirement for naturalization: four years
 Suffrage: voluntary from sixteen to eighteen years of age, over seventy, and the illiterate;
required for eighteen to seventy years of age; note: military draftees by law cannot vote
Government – cont.

18.  International organization participation: AfDB (nonregional member), BIS, BRICS, CAN
(associate), CD, CELAC, CPLP, FAO, FATF, G-15, G-20, G-24, G-5, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA, LAS (observer), Mercosur,
MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS, OECD (enhanced
engagement), OPANAL, OPCW, Paris Club (associate), PCA, SICA (observer), UN, UNASUR,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNISFA, UNITAR,
UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WTO
 Brazilian Ambassador to the United States: Sérgio Silva Do Amaral (since 16 September
2016)
 U.S. Ambassador to Brazil: P. Michael McKinley (since 19 December 2016)
Government – cont.

19.  Flag description:
 Green with a large yellow diamond in the center displaying a blue spiritual sphere with
twenty-seven white five-pointed stars; the sphere has a white equatorial strip with the
motto “ORDEM E PROGRESSO” (“Order and Progress”); the current flag was influenced
by the banner of the prior Empire of Brazil (1822–1889); on the imperial flag, the green
signified the House of Braganza of Pedro I, the first Emperor of Brazil; the yellow
symbolized the Habsburg Family of his wife; on the contemporary flag, the green
embodies the forests of the country and the yellow diamond its mineral wealth (the
diamond shape almost resembles that of the country); the blue circle and stars, which
replaced the coat of arms of the previous flag, illustrate the sky over Rio de Janeiro on
the morning of 15 November 1889 – the day the Republic of Brazil was declared; the
number of stars has been altered with the creation of new states and has seen an
additional six stars to the original twenty-one (one for each state and the Federal
District)
 Note: one of several flags where a notable element of the design models the shape of
the country; other such flags are those of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Eritrea, and
Vanuatu
 National symbol(s): Southern Cross arrangement; national colors: green, yellow, blue
Government – cont.

20.  National anthem:
 Name: Hino Nacional Brasileiro (“Brazilian National Anthem”;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lc9bcN7ecQ)
 Lyrics: Joaquim Osório Duque-Estrada
 Music: Francisco Manuel da Silva
 Note: music adopted in 1890, lyrics adopted in 1922; the anthem's music,
composed in 1822, was used informally for many years before it was adopted
Government – cont.

21. São Paulo

22. Rio de Janeiro

23. References
 https://www.cia.gov/Library/publications/
the-world-factbook/geos/br.html
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil