The mensalão (“big monthly bribe”) affair, the biggestcorruption scandal to date in Brazil in 2014, suddenlylooked like small potatoes in 2015 when compared

with the unfolding Petrobras scandal (see Special Reporton page 306), which threatened the stability of DilmaRousseff’s presidency. By March 2015 dozens of high-levelbusinesspeople and politicians had been indicted as part ofa widespread investigation alleging that many millions ofdollars had been kicked back to officials of Petrobras(Brazil’s huge majority-state-owned oil company) and toRousseff’s Workers’ Party (PT) and its members by promi-nent Brazilian corporations, including a cartel of construc-tion companies, in return for contracts with Petrobras.

DemographyPopulation (2015): 204,519,000.Density (2015)1: persons per sq mi62.2, persons per sq km 24.0.

Sex distribution (2013): male 49.41%;female 50.59%.

Population projection: (2020)211,985,000; (2030) 224,175,000.

Major cities2 (and metropolitan areas;2014): São Paulo 11,895,893(20,935,204); Rio de Janeiro6,453,682 (12,116,616); Belo Horizonte

2,491,109 (5,767,414); Porto Alegre 1,472,482(4,161,237); Brasília 2,852,372 (4,118,154);Salvador 2,902,927 (3,919,864); Recife 1,608,488(3,887,261); Fortaleza 2,571,896 (3,818,380);Curitiba 1,864,416 (3,414,115); Campinas1,154,617 (3,043,217); Goiânia 1,412,364(2,384,560); Manaus 2,020,301 (2,360,491);Belém 1,432,844 (2,194,766); Vitória 352,104(1,884,096).

Families. Average family size (2005) 3.2; (1996)1–2 persons 25.2%, 3 persons 20.3%, 4 persons22.2%, 5–6 persons 23.3%, 7 or more persons9.0%.

Emigration (2000): Brazilian emigrants livingabroad 1,887,895; in the U.S. 42.3%, inParaguay 23.4%, in Japan 12.0%.

Immigration (2000): foreign-born immigrants liv-ing in Brazil 683,830.

Urban-rural (2014):

Vital statisticsBirth rate per 1,000 population (2013):14.9 (world avg. 19.5).

Death rate per 1,000 population(2013): 6.5 (world avg. 8.1).

Natural increase rate per 1,000 popu-lation (2013): 8.4 (world avg. 11.4).

Life expectancy at birth (2013): male70.4 years; female 77.6 years.

Adult population (ages 15–49) livingwith HIV (2014): 0.5% (world avg.0.8%).

Brazil

Official name: República Federativa do Brasil(Federative Republic of Brazil).

Form of government: multiparty federal republicwith two legislative houses (Federal Senate [81];Chamber of Deputies [513]).

Head of state and government: President DilmaRousseff.

Capital: Brasília.Official language: Portuguese.Official religion: none.Monetary unit: real (R$; plural reais); valuation(Sept. 1, 2015) 1 U.S.$ = R$3.67; 1 £ = R$5.63.

Area and populationarea population

2013States Capitals sq mi sq km estimate

Acre Rio Branco 63,368 164,123 776,463Alagoas Maceió 10,725 27,779 3,300,935Amapá Macapá 55,146 142,829 734,996Amazonas Manaus 601,995 1,559,159 3,807,921Bahia Salvador 218,045 564,733 15,044,137Ceará Fortaleza 57,499 148,920 8,778,576Espírito Santo Vitória 17,798 46,096 3,839,366Goiás Goiânia 131,318 340,111 6,434,048Maranhão São Luís 128,162 331,937 6,794,301Mato Grosso Cuiabá 348,792 903,366 3,182,113Mato Grosso do Sul Campo Grande 137,895 357,146 2,587,269Minas Gerais Belo Horizonte 226,457 586,522 20,593,356Pará Belém 481,838 1,247,955 7,969,654Paraíba João Pessoa 21,803 56,470 3,914,421Paraná Curitiba 76,953 199,308 10,997,465Pernambuco Recife 37,895 98,148 9,208,550Piauí Teresina 97,135 251,578 3,184,166Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro 16,904 43,780 16,369,179Rio Grande do Norte Natal 20,390 52,811 3,373,959Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegre 108,777 281,730 11,164,043Rondônia Porto Velho 91,734 237,591 1,728,214Roraima Boa Vista 86,603 224,301 488,072Santa Catarina Florianópolis 36,964 95,736 6,634,254São Paulo São Paulo 95,839 248,223 43,663,669Sergipe Aracaju 8,461 21,915 2,195,662Tocantins Palmas 107,228 277,721 1,478,164Federal DistrictDistrito Federal Brasília 2,232 5,780 2,789,761TOTAL 3,287,9563 8,515,7673, 4 201,032,714

Other principal cities2/metropolitan areas (2014)population population

Santos 433,565/1,781,620Natal 862,044/1,473,877São Luís 1,064,197/1,403,111Guarulhos 1,312,1975

João Pessoa 780,738/1,282,944Maceió 1,005,319/1,246,421Joinville 554,601/1,191,558Teresina 840,600/1,189,260Florianópolis 461,524/1,111,702São Gonçalo 1,031,9036

Aracaju 623,766/912,647Duque de Caxias 878,4026

Cuiabá 575,480/871,729Campo Grande 843,120Londrina 543,003/818,300

São Bernardo do Campo 811,4895

Nova Iguaçu 806,1776

Blumenau 334,002/756,707Petrolina 326,017/752,433Santo André 707,6135

Osasco 693,2715

São José dos Campos 681,036Jaboatão 680,9437

Maringá 391,698/664,455Ribeirão Preto 658,059Uberlândia 654,681Ipatinga 255,266/650,574Contagem 643,4768

Sorocaba 637,187

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Social indicatorsQuality of working life. Proportion of employed pop-ulation receiving minimum wage (2002): 53.5%.Number and percentage of children (age 5–17)working: 5,400,000 (12.6% of age group).

Access to services. Proportion of urban householdshaving access to (2009): safe public (piped) watersupply 93.5%; public (piped) sewage system 68.3%;garbage collection 98.5%. Rural households have farless access to services.

Social participation. Voter turnout at last (October2014) presidential election: 73.9%. Trade unionmembership in total workforce (2001): 19,500,000.Practicing Roman Catholic population in total affili-ated Roman Catholic population (2000): large cities10–15%; towns and rural areas 60–70%.

Social deviance. Annual murder rate per 100,000 pop-ulation (2005): Brazil 29.6; Rio de Janeiro only(2002) 56; São Paulo only (2002) 54.

Leisure. Favourite leisure activities include: playingand watching football (soccer), dancing, practicingcapoeira, rehearsing all year in neighbourhoodsamba groups for celebrations of Carnival, and com-peting in water sports, volleyball, and basketball.

Material well-being. Urban households possessing(2009): electricity 99.9%; colour television receiver97.2%; refrigerator 96.1%; washing machine 49.3%;telephone 49.1%; computer 39.3%; Internet access31.5%; freezer 14.5%.

National economyBudget (2010). Revenue: R$919,772,000,000 (taxes 59.4%,social security contributions 23.0%, transfers to state andlocal governments 15.3%, other 2.3%). Expenditures:R$700,129,000,000 (current expenditures 39.2%, social secu-rity and welfare 36.4%, personnel 23.8%, other 0.6%).

Gross national income (GNI; 2014): U.S.$2,375,298,000,000(U.S.$11,760 per capita); purchasing power parity GNI(U.S.$15,900 per capita).

Public debt (external, outstanding; 2013): U.S.$135,262,000,000.Production (’000 metric tons except as noted). Agriculture,

forestry, fishing (2013): sugarcane 739,267, soybeans 81,700, corn (maize) 80,517, cassava 21,226, oranges 16,284, rice 11,759,bananas 6,90212, wheat 5,718, tomatoes 3,87412, potatoes 3,570, seed cotton 3,404, dry beans 2,936, coffee 2,921, coconuts 2,820,pineapples 2,47812, sorghum 2,073, cashew apples13 1,80512, papayas 1,51812, grapes 1,51512, oil palm fruit 1,340, apples 1,33512,lemons and limes 1,20812, mangoes, mangosteens, and guavas 1,17612, tangerines, mandarins, and clementines 96012, tobacco81112, maté 51312, peanuts (groundnuts) 363, cacao 262, natural rubber 17712, persimmons 15812, sunflower seeds 109, garlic 10712,Brazil nuts 4412; livestock (number of live animals) 217,399,800 cattle, 39,040,000 pigs, 17,022,000 sheep, 8,766,000 goats, 5,437,000horses; roundwood 292,803,285 cu m, of which fuelwood 50%; fisheries production (2012) 1,550,448 (from aquaculture 46%);aquatic plants production (2012) 730 (from aquaculture 100%). Mining and quarrying (metric tons; 2013): columbium (niobium)45,000 of pyrochlore in concentrates14 (world rank: 1); tantalum 140 (world rank: 2); iron ore (metal content) 398,000,000 (worldrank: 3); bauxite 34,200,000 (world rank: 3); asbestos fibre 300,000 (world rank: 3); graphite 105,000 (world rank: 3); silicon230,000 (world rank: 4); kaolin (marketable product) 2,050,000 (world rank: 5); manganese (metal content) 1,400,000 (world rank:5); tin (mine output, metal content) 11,900 (world rank: 5); gypsum 3,200,000; copper (metal content) 223,14112; nickel (metal con-tent in ore) 149,000; gold 75,000 kg; diamonds 46,000 carats12.

Age breakdown (2010):

Racial composition (2009): Religious affiliation (2005)9:

Foreign-born immigrants (2000):

Structure of gross domestic product and labour force2012

in value % of total labour % of labourR$’000,000 value force force

Agriculture, forestry, fishing 198,137 4.5 13,368,000 13.4Mining and quarrying 159,002 3.6 720,000 0.7Public utilities 114,637 2.6Manufacturing 482,494 11.0 12,441,000 12.4Construction 213,100 4.8 8,218,000 8.2Transp. and commun. 201,226 4.6 5,252,000 5.3Trade, hotels 474,743 10.8 21,159,000 21.1Finance, real estate 680,038 15.5 … …Pub. admin., defense 1,201,692 27.4 5,178,000 5.2Services 19,203,000 19.2Other 667,02510 15.210 14,525,00011 14.511

TOTAL 4,392,094 100.0 100,064,000 100.0

}

}

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National economy (continued)Population economically active (2013): total 102,517,000; par-ticipation rates: ages 15–64, male 70.1%; female 50.1%;unemployed 6.8%, of which youth (ages 15–24) 16.1%.

Average household size (2009): 3.3.Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2011) 530,705,000,000 (567,645,000,000), by source (2012): fossil

fuels 13.2%; nuclear 2.8%; hard coal (metric tons; 2012) 6,350,000 (26,400,000); crude petroleum (barrels; 2012–13)764,000,000 ([2010] 652,000,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2011) 82,651,000 (83,910,000); natural gas (cu m;2012) 17,030,000,000 ([2011] 22,577,000,000); ethanol (litres; 2013–14) 28,960,000,000 (26,080,000,000).

Land use as % of total land area (2009): in temporary crops or left fallow 7.2%, in permanent crops 0.9%, in pas-ture 23.2%, forest area 61.7%.

Foreign tradeImports (2013): U.S.$239,620,900,000 (machinery and apparatus26.7%, of which general industrial machinery 14.9%, electricalmachinery 11.8%; mineral fuels 19.1%, of which refined petroleumproducts 10.7%, crude petroleum 6.8%; chemicals and chemicalproducts 16.0%, of which organic chemicals 4.5%, fertilizers 3.7%,medicines and pharmaceuticals 3.1%; transportation equipment11.1%, of which motor vehicles and parts 9.4%; base and fabricat-ed metals 5.7%; rubber and plastic products 5.7%). Major import sources:

Exports (2013): U.S.$242,178,600,000 (food and food products34.3%, of which soybeans 9.4%, meat 6.1%, raw sugar 4.9%, coffee1.9%; iron ore and concentrates 13.4%; transportation equipment11.0%, of which motor vehicles and parts 5.8%; mineral fuels 7.4%,of which refined petroleum products 5.4%; machinery and appara-tus 7.3%, of which general industrial machinery 5.3%; base andfabricated metals 6.1%; chemicals and chemical products 4.6%). Major export destinations:

China

U.S.

Argentina

Germany

Nigeria

4.0%

2.8%

4.0%

6.9%

6.3%

39.6%

15.6%

3.0%

2.7%

South Korea

Japan

Italy

France(incl. Monaco)

other

15.1%

Education and healthLiteracy (2012/2009): percentage of totalpopulation age 15 and over literate/func-tionally literate 91.3%/79.7%; males liter-ate/functionally literate 91.0%/79.1%;females literate/functionally literate91.6%/80.2%.

Health: physicians (2010) 287,763 (1 per662 persons); hospital beds (2012) 446,078(1 per 435 persons); infant mortality rateper 1,000 live births (2011) 15.3; under-nourished population (2006–08)11,700,000 (6% of total population basedon the consumption of a minimum dailyrequirement of 1,860 calories).

Transport and communicationsTransport. Railroads (2008): route length 28,538 km; passenger-km (2007) 444,094,00018; metric ton-km cargo266,967,000,000. Roads (2010)19: total length 982,364 mi,1,580,964 km (paved 13%). Vehicles: passenger cars(201020) 34,536,667; trucks and buses (200920) 8,161,448.

1Land area only. 2Urban populations of municípios. 3Total area includinginland water (5,004 sq mi [12,964 sq km]). 4Detail does not add to total givenbecause of rounding. 5Within São Paulo metropolitan area. 6Within Rio deJaneiro metropolitan area. 7Within Recife metropolitan area. 8Within BeloHorizonte metropolitan area. 9Christian data include nominal Christians.10Taxes less subsidies. 11Includes 69,000 not adequately defined and6,149,000 unemployed. 122012. 13Edible stalks to which cashew nuts areattached. 14Niobium oxide content. 15End-of-period figures. 16Period aver-age. 17Includes pensions. 18Long-distance service only. 19Excludes urbanroads. 20January 1. 21Subscribers.

Internet resources for further information:• IBGE: Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística

www.ibge.gov.br/english/default.php• Central Bank of Brazil www.bcb.gov.br/?english

MilitaryTotal active duty personnel (November 2014): 318,500(army 59.7%, navy 18.5%, air force 21.8%); paramili-tary (public security forces) 395,000; reserve1,340,000. Military expenditure17 as percentage ofGDP (2014): 1.4%; per capita expenditure U.S.$157.

Breakdown of 84.0% renewable energy (2012):

Financial aggregates152007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Exchange rate, R$ per:U.S. dollar 1.77 2.34 1.74 1.69 1.86 2.04£ 3.55 3.41 2.82 2.64 2.87 3.22SDR 2.80 3.60 2.73 2.60 2.85 3.14

Interest and pricesCentral bank discount (%) 17.85 20.48 15.17 17.30 17.55 13.59Govt. bond yield (%) … … … … … …Industrial share prices

(2005 = 100)16 193.2 200.7 191.6 244.2 223.3 216.1

Communications units unitsnumber per 1,000 number per 1,000

Medium date in ’000s persons Medium date in ’000s persons

TelephonesCellular 2014 280,72921 1,38921

Landline 2014 44,128 218

Internet users 2009 75,944 392Broadband 2014 23,16221 11521

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