Why is foreign trade so important to Brazil?
Brazil, as with most LDCs, has a considerable foreign debt. The debt reached crisis point in the early 1980s. So the money earned from Brazil's exports was vital. It not only allowed Brazil to pay for its imports. It also helped to pay the interest and commission on the past debt.
Study the tables and note the important changes since 1985 in the balance between the different sorts of imports and exports as well as the ups and downs of the trade balance. Since 1985 the amount of foreign debt has been declining - for many reasons. They include the lowering of international interest rates, the drop in the value of the US$ and Brazil's own re-negotiation of the debt's terms.
So with the upturn in Brazil's trade, foreign debt is no longer considered a major problem for the economic development of Brazil. In 1994, Brazil had a foreign trade surplus of US$ 10.4 billion. In 1995, although there was a deficit of US$ 3.1 billion, the country has accumulated more than US$ 51.8 billion in international reserves, enough to pay 12 months of imports.
One of the most successful child welfare and education programmes for street children, the Axé Project, constantly visited by international authorities and persons carrying out studies, is considered to be a model solution for the social problem caused by children and adolescents abandoned in the streets. Axé is a non-governmental organization largely maintained by private initiative resources. Formed in 1990, it had already assisted more than two thousand children up to July 1993. Focussing on children and adolescents at risk personally and socially, the project is officially recognized by the UN, through the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Unicef. At the beginning of its activities, it trained educators and created units for culture, literacy, preparation for work, health education, vocational training and employment guidance.
How fast is Brazil's population increasing?
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In 1980, Brazil's population was 119 million. The 1991 census (a "census" is an official periodic count of the population) recorded a total of 146,825,475 Brazilians - 147 million in round figures. An estimate made in 1995 puts the figure at 155.82 million. Like that of most countries, Brazil's population is still rapidly increasing (although the growth rate has been declining in recent decades). But these large numbers do not mean very much. So here is a simple comparison with some other countries.
- Population (millions) Area (sq. Km)
Brazil 155 8,512,000
UK 57 242,000
Canada 29 9,971,000
Argentina 32 2,767,000
China 1,178 9,571,000
Brazil has a much larger population than most other countries - in fact only China, India, the USA and Indonesia have more. Brazil is the fifth biggest in terms of area - after the Russian Federation, Canada, China and the USA. So it has plenty of space for every person. If you look at the table, you can see that in the United Kingdom, 57 million people live on fewer than one quarter of a million square kilometres. Brazil with not quite three times as many people as the UK, is 35 times larger. In other words, each Brazilian on average has about 12 times as much space as each person living in the UK. The UK is much more crowded than Brazil!
