Brazil Geography Profile 2008

Location

Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean

Geographic coordinates

10 00 S, 55 00 W

Map references

South America

Area

total: 8,511,965 sq km
land: 8,456,510 sq km
water: 55,455 sq km
note: includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than the US

Land boundaries

total: 16,885 km
border countries: Argentina 1,261 km, Bolivia 3,423 km, Colombia 1,644 km, French Guiana 730 km, Guyana 1,606 km, Paraguay 1,365 km, Peru 2,995 km, Suriname 593 km, Uruguay 1,068 km, Venezuela 2,200 km

Coastline

7,491 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin

Climate

mostly tropical, but temperate in south

Terrain

mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico da Neblina 3,014 m

Natural resources

bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber

Land use

arable land: 6.93%
permanent crops: 0.89%
other: 92.18% (2005)

Irrigated land

29,200 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources

8,233 cu km (2000)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 59.3 cu km/yr (20%/18%/62%)
per capita: 318 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards

recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south

Environment - current issues

deforestation in Amazon Basin destroys the habitat and endangers a multitude of plant and animal species indigenous to the area; there is a lucrative illegal wildlife trade; air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and several other large cities; land degradation and water pollution caused by improper mining activities; wetland degradation; severe oil spills

Environment - international agreements

party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador