Brazil

Country name	Federative Republic of Brazil
Capital	Brasilia
Independence	7 September 1822 (from Portugal)
National holiday	Independence Day, 7 September (1822)
Population	199,321,413 (July 2012 est.)
Sex ratio	1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
Nationality	Brazilian(s)
Religions	Roman Catholic (nominal) 73.6%, Protestant 15.4%, Spiritualist 1.3%, Bantu/voodoo 0.3%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.2%, none 7.4% (2000 census)
Languages	Portuguese (official and most widely spoken language)
Literacy	Age 15 and over can read and write Total population: 88.6% Male: 88.4% Female: 88.8% (2004 est.)
Location	Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean
Geographic coordinates	10 00 S, 55 00 W
Map references	South America
Area	total: 8,514,877 sq km land: 8,459,417 sq km water: 55,460 sq km note: includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than the US
Land boundaries	total: 16,885 km border countries: Argentina 1,261 km, Bolivia 3,423 km, Colombia 1,644 km, French Guiana 730 km, Guyana 1,606 km, Paraguay 1,365 km, Peru 2,995 km, Suriname 593 km, Uruguay 1,068 km, Venezuela 2,200 km
Coastline	7,491 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin
Climate	mostly tropical, but temperate in south
Terrain	mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt
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
Exports - commodities	Transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos
Imports - commodities	Machinery, electrical and transport equipment, chemical products, oil, automotive parts, electronics
Land use	arable land: 6.93% permanent crops: 0.89% other: 92.18% (2005)
Irrigated land	45,000 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	8,233 cu km (2000)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	total: 59.3 cu km/yr (20%/18%/62%) per capita: 318 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south
Environment - current issues	deforestation in Amazon Basin destroys the habitat and endangers a multitude of plant and animal species indigenous to the area; there is a lucrative illegal wildlife trade; air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and several other large cities; land degradation and water pollution caused by improper mining activities; wetland degradation; severe 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; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador