Brazil

Following more than three centuries under Portuguese rule, Brazil gained its independence in 1822, maintaining a monarchical system of government until the abolition of slavery in 1888 and the subsequent proclamation of a republic by the military in 1889. Brazilian coffee exporters politically dominated the country until populist leader Getulio VARGAS rose to power in 1930. By far the largest and most populous country in South America, Brazil underwent more than half a century of populist and military government until 1985, when the military regime peacefully ceded power to civilian rulers. Brazil continues to pursue industrial and agricultural growth and development of its interior. Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, it is today South America's leading economic power and a regional leader, one of the first in the area to begin an economic recovery. Highly unequal income distribution and crime remain pressing problems. In January 2010, Brazil assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2010-11 term.
==Economical characteristics==
* Currency: Real (ISO code: BRL)
* Central bank discount rate: 8.75% (31 December 2009)
* Commercial banks lending rate: 47.25% (31 December 2008)
* Stock of money (M1): $125 billion (30 November 2009)
* Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $645 billion (30 November 2009)
===Statistics===
Statistic / Year 	1999 	2000 	2001 	2002 	2003 	2004 	2005 	2006 	2007 	2008
GDP (million USD)World Bank. "Brazil: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-28. 	586 863	644 702	553 582	504 221	552 469	663 760	882 185	1 089 060	1 333 270	1 575 150
Govt. debt (% of GDP)World Bank. "Brazil: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-28. 	 	 	 	 	 	 	12.303 	66.486 	66.809 	60.880
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)World Bank. "Brazil: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-28. 	 	 	 	 	 	 	5.520 	22.855 	23.762 	24.726
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)World Bank. "Brazil: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-28.	 	 	 	 	 	 	5.556 	25.016 	24.839 	25.023
Debt to revenue (years) 	 	 	 	 	 	 	2.229 	2.909 	2.812 	2.462
==References==
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
==External links==
* Brazil on Wikipedia
* Central bank of Brazil
* Country profile (pdf) from the Enterprise Studies page (part of the The World Bank Group)
* Studies from the Library of Congress (1986-1998)
* BBC country profile
* Brazil Amazon forest to be privately managed by Raymond Colitt, Oct 2010
Category:Countries