By: Haley Von Ehwegen

Geography  Fifth largest country in the world.  Economic leader of South America  Large iron and aluminum ore reserve.  Ninth largest economy in the world.

Physical Geography  The basin receives more than eighty inches of rain a year.  Most of Brazil is humid with tropical or subtropical climate.  Rainy season occurs during the summer months.  Eastern Brazil has regular drought.  There is little volcanic activity in Brazil.

Political Geography  Brazil is divided into 26 states and a federal district.  Brazil has two of the worlds largest cities.

Citizenship  The birth rate has greatly decreased over the last 20 years, from 4.4 children to 2.1 children.  The annual growth rate has also decreased.  80 percent of the people live within 200 miles from the Atlantic coast.  Only about 7 percent live in northwestern and north-central Brazil.

Economics  Known as the worlds largest “coffeepot”  Bananas, cattle, corn, cotton, horses, lemons, oranges, pineapple, rice, sheep, soybeans, sugarcane and tobacco.  Nuts and timber come from its forests.  Power plants on its rivers generate a great amount of energy.  Produces large quantities of iron ore, manganese and other minerals needed by industry.  Brazil is rich in minerals: quartz crystals, chrome, diamonds, gold and graphite.

Economics..  Several political parties.  Liberal Worker’s Party  National Reconstructive Party  Largest parties  Moderate Brazilian Democratic Movement Party  Moderate Social Democratic Party

Cultural Diversity  Three main ethnic groups  Whites- about 60 percent  Blacks- 7 percent  Mixed ancestry- about 30 percent  Asians about 3 percent  Indians less than 1 percent  Immigrants from more than 30 nations  Italians  Portuguese  Spaniards  Japanese  Germans  People from the middle east

Conflict  Brazil suffered a major economic slump during the Great Depression of the 1930’s  The dictator created a new constitution.  He censored the press, banned political parties, and took over labor unions.  World War II brought another great surge in demand for Brazilian industrial goods.

Global Interaction  Rich mineral sources have helped make Brazil a fast growing economy.  Few people live in luxury.  Rapid industrial growth during the mid-1900’s helped Brazil become one of the worlds top manufacturing nations.  Has many agriculture exports

Works cited  World Book, Inc The World Book Encyclopedia (pg )  world-factbook/geos/br.html world-factbook/geos/br.html  sofinterest/a/geographyofbraz.htm# sofinterest/a/geographyofbraz.htm#