Land area: 3,265,059 sq mi (8,456,511 sq km); total area: 3,286,470 sq mi (8,511,965 sq km)

Population (2009 est.): 198,739,269 (growth rate: 1.2%); birth rate: 18.4/1000; infant mortality rate: 22.5/1000; life expectancy: 72.0; density per sq km: 22

Capital: Brasília, 2,160,100

Largets cities : São Paulo, 18,333,000 (metro. area), 10,927,985 (city proper); Rio de Janeiro, 11,469,000 (metro. area), 6,094,183 (city proper); Salvador, 2,590,400; Belo Horizonte, 2,347,500; Recife, 1,485,500; Porto Alegre, 1,372,700

Monetary unit: Real

Current government officials

National name: República Federativa do Brasil

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

Ethnicity/race: white 53.7%, mulatto (mixed white and black) 38.5%, black 6.2%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 0.9%, unspecified 0.7% (2000)

National Holiday: Independence Day, September 7

Religions: Roman Catholic 74%, Protestant 15%, Spiritualist 1%, none 7% (2000)

Literacy rate: 88.6% (2006 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $1.836 trillion; per capita $9,700. Real growth rate: 5.4%. Inflation: 3.6%. Unemployment: 9.3%. Arable land: 7%. Agriculture: coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus; beef. Labor force: 96.34 million; agriculture 20%, industry 14%, services 66% (2006 est.). Industries: textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment. Natural resources: bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber. Exports: $137.5 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos. Imports: $91.4 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): machinery, electrical and transport equipment, chemical products, oil. Major trading partners: U.S., Argentina, China, Netherlands, Germany, Mexico, Nigeria, Japan (2005).