Country Study - Brazil

Brazil:

A Market Worth Entering?

I. Economic:

A. GDP (2007 est.)

1. Real growth rate – 4.5%

2. Per capita – $9,700

3. Per composition by sector:

a) agriculture – 5.1%

b) industry – 30.8%

c) services – 64%

B. Labor (2003 est.)

1. By occupation

a) agriculture – 20%

b) industry – 14%

c) services – 66%

C. Total Exports - $159.2 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

1. Commodities

a) transport equipment

b) iron ore

c) soybeans

d) footwear

e) coffee

f) autos

2. Partners (2006)

a) US 17.8%

b) Argentina 8.5%

c) China 6.1%

d) Netherlands 4.2%

e) Germany 4.1%

D. Total Imports - $115.6 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

1. Commodities

a) machinery

b) electrical and transport equipment

c) chemical products

d) oil

e) automotive parts

f) electronics

2. Partners (2006)

a) US 16.2%

b) Argentina 8.8%

c) China 8.7%

d) Germany 7.1%

e) Nigeria 4.3%

f) Japan 4.2%

E. Infrastructure

1. Physical

a) More than 4,000 airports, nearly 30,000 km of railways, over 1.7 million km of roadways, and 7 major ports or terminals

2. Informational

a) Nearly 40 million physical phone lines, 100 million cellular telephones, about 1,900 radio stations, 138 television stations, over 8.2 million internet hosts, and 42.6 million internet users

F. Unemployment – 9.8%

G. Industries

1. Growth rate – 4.5%

II. Government:

A. Type – federal republic

B. Legal System – based on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

C. International Organization Participation –

AfDB, BIS, CAN (associate), CPLP, CSN, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

III. Geography:

A. Natural resources –

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

B. Climate –

mostly tropical, but temperate in south

C. Land use (2005) –

1. arable land: 6.93%

2. permanent crops: 0.89%

3. other: 92.18%

D. Current environmental 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,