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BRAZIL
Jim and Rhonda Shaw
Field
Address:
Jim
and Rhonda Shaw
Caixa Postal 172
68.100-970 Santorem, PA
Brasil, S.A.
jimrhon@netsan.com.br
Mission
Agency:
Baptist Mid-Missions
P.O. Box 308011
Cleveland, OH 44130-8011
Sending Church:
Fairview Baptist Church
261 CR 439
Athens, TN 37303
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Religion
Roman Catholic 80%
People/Language/Ethnicity
Language: Portuguese. Ethnicity/race:
white (includes Portuguese, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish)
55%, mixed white and African 38%, African 6%, other (includes
Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 1%. Literacy rate: 83%
Overview
3,286,470 sq mi. Brazil covers nearly half of South America
and is the continent's largest nation. It extends 2,965 mi
(4,772 km) north-south, 2,691 mi (4,331 km) east-west, and
borders every nation on the continent except Chile and Ecuador.
Brazil may be divided into the Brazilian Highlands, or plateau,
in the south and the Amazon River Basin in the north. More
than a third of Brazil is drained by the Amazon and its more
than 200 tributaries.
Population (2003 est.): 182,032,604 (growth rate: 1.2%); Capital:
Brasília, 2,160,100. Largest
cities: São Paulo, 18,847,400 (metro. area), 10,195,000
(city proper); Rio de Janeiro, 11,437,100 (metro. area), 6,119,800
(city proper); Salvador, 2,590,400; Belo Horizonte, 2,347,500;
Recife, 1,485,500; Porto Alegre, 1,372,700.
Economy
Per capita income $7,400 (2000 est.). Real growth rate: 1.9%
(2001 est.). Inflation: 7.7%. Unemployment: 6.4%. Arable land:
6%. Agriculture: coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane,
cocoa, citrus; beef. Labor force: 79 million (1999 est.);
services 53%, agriculture 23%, industry 24%. 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.
Source
and Copyright: InfoPlease,The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth
Edition. 2001. The World Factbook 2002.
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