the existence of a multitude of plant and animal
species indigenous to the area; 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
natural hazards: recurring droughts in northeast; floods and
occasional frost in south
international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not
ratified - Desertification

Geographic note: largest country in South America; shares common
boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador

People
------

Population: 162,661,214 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 31% (male 25,286,278; female 24,422,897)
15-64 years: 65% (male 52,232,435; female 53,094,724)
65 years and over: 4% (male 3,072,720; female 4,552,160) (July 1996
est.)

Population growth rate: 1.16% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 20.8 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 9.19 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 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: 0.68 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 55.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 61.62 years
male: 56.67 years
female: 66.81 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.34 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Brazilian(s)
adjective: Brazilian

Ethnic divisions: white (includes Portuguese, German, Italian,
Spanish, Polish) 55%, mixed white and African 38%, African 6%, other
(includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 1%

Religions: Roman Catholic (nominal) 70%

Languages: Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
total population: 83.3%
male: 83.3%
female: 83.2%

Government
----------

Name of country:
conventional long form: Federative Republic of Brazil
conventional short form: Brazil
local long form: Republica Federativa do Brasil
local short form: