Immigraion To Brazil

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For hundreds of years, Brazil has symbolized the great escape into a primordial, tropical paradise, igniting the Western imagination like no other South American country. From the mad passion of Carnaval to the immensity of the dark Amazon, Brazil is a country of mythic proportions. All the while, the people of Brazil delight new immigrants and visitors with their energy, fantasy and joy.

Brazil is the largest of the Latin American countries. Covering nearly half (47.3 percent) of the continent of South America, it occupies an area of 3,286,470 sq. miles (8,511,965 sq. km). It is the fifth largest country in the world after the Russian Federation, Canada, China, and the United States. Except for a small number of islands, Brazil consists of a single, unbroken landmass. On a map of the globe, the eastern bulge of Brazil matches the concave curve of the west coast of Africa. This is no accident: Africa and South America were part of one huge continent, but drifted apart over millions of years because of continental drift.

Sometime in 2002 Brazil's population reached 175 million, the sixth largest in the world after that of China, India, the United States, Indonesia and the Russian federation. The Brazilian population is predominantly young with 62% under 29 years of age. The economically active Brazilian labor force is estimated to include about 55.4 million persons. Women make up about one-third of the labor force. About 26% of the workers are engaged in agriculture; about 51% are employed in services, and some 23%labour in manufacturing and construction. Many of the workers are members of unions belonging to one of several national confederations.

With a GDP of US$ 650 billion in 1999, the Brazilian economy is dynamic and diversified. Industry accounts for 20% of national production, agriculture for another 20% and the services sector for 60%. The dynamism of the economy could be assessed through the volume of foreign direct investment (FDI) that has been attracted into the country in recent years. FDI, very low in the beginning of the 1990’s, increased to US$ 5.5 billion in 1995, US$ 10.5 billion in 1996, US$ 18.7 billion in 1997, US$ 28.5 billion in 1998, reaching a historical level of US$ 32 billion in 2000. This makes Brazil the fourth greatest recipient of FDI and the highest among developing countries except China.

Although Brazil is the sixth most populous nation in the world, its average population density is low compared to other countries. People live along the Atlantic coastal areas of the southeastern and northeastern states. Industrial activity is concentrated in the southeastern region, with 50 percent of the industrial production located in the state of Sao Paulo. Migration from the northeast to the southeast, as well as from rural to urban areas has been heavy since 1970. More recently, the population flow has turned towards the less inhabited central-western and northern regions. People in Brazil have three main origins. Successive waves of Europeans (mainly from Portugal) and Africans (mainly from West Africa) added to the original inhabitants (Indians).

Health conditions in Brazil vary from region to region. Most large cities have sufficient doctors, but interior regions suffer shortages of physicians, nurses, hospitals, clinics, and pharmacists. Brazil has more than 16,000 hospitals, clinics, and local health centers and some 200,000 physicians. However, the Joint Health System is one of the largest public health networks in the world.

Portuguese is the official language of Brazil. Except for the languages spoken by Indian tribes living in remote reservations, Portuguese is the only language of daily life. There are no regional dialects. Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking country in South America.

The Ministry of Education has ultimate control over virtually all of higher education. Its principal standard-setting agency is the Federal Council of Education. The Federal Government maintains at least one Federal university in each state. Due to the great demand for higher education and the lack of places, colleges (faculdades) and universities in Brazil, both public and private, require an entrance exam (vestibular). Upon completion of a full academic course of study, university students may obtain the Bachelor's Degree (Bacharelado) and may also have an additional year's teacher training (Licenciatura).

Twenty years ago there were few post-graduate course in Brazil. In 1989 there was a total of 902 tertiary institutions, including 93 universities. More than 1,000 post-graduate courses are available, most of which benefit from highly proficient faculties, on a par with similar institutions in the more advanced countries.

Now, the number of Doctoral degrees awarded from Brazilian universities is similar to countries such as the Republic of Korea, China, Italy and Canada. Brazilian scientists have become one of the most prolific groups to publish articles in some fields.