Facts & Figures

Official Name: Federative Republic of Brazil.

Capital: Brasília.

Official Language: Portuguese.

President: Luiz Ignácio Lula da Silva.

Government: Federative republic with a presidential democratic system with three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.

Area: 8,511,996 square kilometers.

Borders: To north, west, and south, Brazil shares boundaries with all South American countries except Chile and Ecuador.

Population: 163.4 million

Population Growth Rate: 1.2%

Urban Population: 78%

Age Structure: 0-14 years (30%), 15-64 years (65%), 65 years and over (5%).

Ethnic Groups: Portuguese, Germans, Italians, Spanish, and Polish, mixed Caucasian and African, African, Amerindian (mainly Tupi and Guarani linguistic stock), Japanese, and other Asians and Arabs. Sao Paulo has the largest Japanese community outside Japan.

Indigenous territory: Brazil has 651 Indian reservations totaling 94.6 million hectares. Largest is Yanomami (Amazonas and Roraima states), with 9.6 million hectares and a population of 18,000 members. Guarani total 20,000 members.

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