laims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: short section of the boundary with Paraguay,
just west of Salto das Sete Quedas (Guaira Falls) on the Rio Parana,
is in dispute; two short sections of boundary with Uruguay are in
dispute - Arroio Invernada (Arroyo de la Invernada) area of the Rio
Quarai (Rio Cuareim) and the islands at the confluence of the Rio
Quarai and the Uruguay River

Climate: mostly tropical, but temperate in south

Terrain: mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills,
mountains, and narrow coastal belt

Natural resources: bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel,
phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber

Land use:
arable land: 7%
permanent crops: 1%
meadows and pastures: 19%
forest and woodland: 67%
other: 6%

Irrigated land: 27,000 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: deforestation in Amazon Basin destroys the habitat and
endangers 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 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 - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,
Desertification

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

@Brazil:People

Population: 160,737,489 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 31% (female 24,641,868; male 25,515,775)
15-64 years: 64% (female 51,966,272; male 51,254,165)
65 years and over: 5% (female 4,393,530; male 2,965,879) (July 1995
est.)

Population growth rate: 1.22% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 21.16 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 8.98 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 57.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth