Brazil: characteristics of the country (nature, economy, population)

The largest state in South America is Brazil. Characteristics of the country includes a description of nature, population, government, economy and major development problems. Read our article and you will learn a lot of new and interesting information about this distant country.

Brazil: characteristics of the state (general information)

The Republic of Brazil is in the top five countries in the world in terms of area. It occupies the entire east and center of the South American continent.

The city of Brasilia (an amazing consonance with the name of the country!) Is the capital of the state of Brazil. The characteristic of this settlement can be the following: the capital built "from scratch". The city was really founded only in 1960 and was built just under the metropolitan needs.

The configuration of Brazil is surprisingly compact: from north to south the country extends to 4320 km, from west to east - to 4330 km. The total length of all borders is amazing: almost 16,000 kilometers. Ten countries border on Brazil.

The characteristic of the state is impossible without a deepening in its history. Initially, Brazil was a Portuguese colony (it was the Portuguese Pedro Cabrala was the first European to land on its shores in 1500). In 1822, the country declared its independence, and at the end of the same 19th century it became a full-fledged republic with a bicameral parliament. Nevertheless, Portugal has had a significant impact on the development of the South American state: the population of Brazil speaks Portuguese and professes (mostly) Catholicism.

Brazil: characteristics of natural conditions and resources

The country's terrain is very diverse: in the north - the low-lying valley of the Amazon, in the south and in the center - the Brazilian plateau, steeply cut to the sea by rocky ledges. Mount Bandeira (2890 meters) is the highest point of the state of Brazil.

Characteristics of the country is impossible without a description of climatic conditions. The climate of Brazil as a whole is hot. The average temperatures, depending on the region, are in the range from +15 to +29 degrees. Frosts can only occur in certain areas. The amount of precipitation varies from 1200 mm in the center of the country to 2500-3000 mm in the Amazon.

The country's hydrographic network is very dense. Most of the territory is occupied by the world's largest river system of the Amazon. Summer floods, rapids and waterfalls are common for Brazilian rivers. Many of them also have significant hydropower reserves.

Brazil's mineral wealth is very rich in various minerals. Here, iron, manganese and uranium ore, bauxite, graphite and precious stones are mined (in particular, diamonds).

The population of Brazil

In the republic there are 202 million people (this is the fifth largest in the world in terms of population). For Brazil, a small but still positive annual natural increase is typical. About 85% of the population lives in cities.

The official and most common language in Brazil is Portuguese. In addition to it, the population also uses other: English, Spanish, French, Italian. Literacy of the population is almost 90%.

Most of Brazilians (65%) consider themselves Catholics, another 22% - Protestants. Spiritualism, Buddhism, Islam, various Afro-Brazilian cults are also widespread in the country.

The economic potential of the country

A full characteristic of Brazil is impossible without a description of its national economy. The country has tremendous economic potential. In terms of GDP, this is the first economy in Latin America.

In the Brazilian industry, both the mining and manufacturing sectors are quite developed. The country produces virtually the entire range of products - from simple consumer products to computers and aircraft. Very developed and agriculture.

The main exports of Brazil: iron ore, cars, coffee, soy, steel, shoes and textiles. Recently, the government has been making every effort to expand its presence in world markets.

The main problems of the country's development

To understand the main problems of the country will help comparative characteristics of Brazil and its main statistical indicators with other states. The Republic is among the world's top ten economies by the nominal size of GDP (7th place). In the HDI rating (human development index), Brazil is on the 79th line. In the ranking of countries on the level of corruption, the country occupies the 69th position, which also indicates the existence of serious problems in this area.

The complex characteristic of Brazil shows that for this country there are a number of chronic problems. Among them - high inflation, a large external debt of the state, unemployment, corruption and poverty.

Another serious problem of Brazil is the uneven development of different regions of the country. Almost all industry is concentrated in its southern and southeastern part (the state of São Paulo alone produces up to 65% of the country's total GDP). But the north-eastern regions of Brazil - this is a continuous poverty, illiteracy and lack of infrastructure.

Finally

This article presents a comprehensive description of Brazil as a state. The country is the largest in Latin America, and is also among the world's top ten economies (by nominal GDP). The main branches of the economy are electric power engineering, mechanical engineering (including aviation) and agriculture.

The economy and social sphere of Brazil still have a number of serious problems, but the government tries to solve them through reforms.