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RECIFE
Recife
is known as the "Brazilian Venice" because of its many
canals and waterways and the innumerable bridges that span them.
It is the major gateway to the Northeast with regular flights
to all major cities in Brazil as well as Lisbon, London and Frankfurt.
Recife is also the capital of the state of Pernambuco and is located
160 miles from Maceió and 519 miles from Salvador.
The
name "Recife" comes from the barrier reef ("arrecife"
in Portuguese) that protects the city's beautiful beaches such
as Pina and Boa Viagem, the most sophisticated of Recife's beaches
with luxurious homes and buildings and fine hotels and restaurants.
International
cuisine is available as well as succulent fish dishes typical
of the region. Fresh coconut water is found virtually anywhere
in Recife, straight from the shell.
Close by is Piedade Beach, and farther out, the unspoiled beaches
of Tamandaré, São José da Coroa Grande, Maria
Farinha and Porto de Galinhas.
They
say the sun shines brighter in Recife than anywhere else, and
Recife's beaches are undoubtedly among the loveliest in the Northeast.
Especially pleasant are the warm, water pools that often form
along the sands due to the action of the waves and tide. Porto
de Galinhas Beach is indeed very beautiful.
Recife
is also an important center of culture and folklore. It is famous
for its music and rhythms ("frevo", "maracatu"
and "xaxado"), its festivals ("bacamarteiros"
and "cavalhada"), its folklore celebrations ("reisado",
"bumba-meu-boi" and "xango") and its arts
and crafts.
Of
course, Recife has many points of historical interest. There are
many churches such as São Francisco de Assis Chapel (1612),
São Pedro dos Clérigos (1782) with its carved, wooden
façade, Conceição dos Militares with its
17th-century murals depicting the Battle of Guararapes and Santo
Antonio Mother Church (1753) near the old Powder House where the
Dutch stored the gunpowder for their cannons.
There
are also important historical locations around Recife in Igarassu
(19 miles from Recife) and Jaboatão (10 miles from Recife).
The latter was the site of the Battle of Guararapes when the Dutch
were driven from Pernambuco. Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres Church
marks the spot where the 30-year occupation was ended.
National holidays
20.
Januar - Obaluayê (Sao Sebastiäo)
23. April - Ogum (São Jorge)
24. Juni - Xangô (São João)
16. July - Oxum (Nossa Senhora do Carmo)
26. July - Nanâ Burukú (Santa Ana)
24. August - Exú (São Bartolomeu)
27. September - Ibeijís (Cosme und Damião)
04. December - Iansâ (Santa Bárbara)
13. December - Ossae (Santa Luzia)
31. December - Festa de Aiê (Senhor do Bonfim).
| People
|
| Population: |
169,806,557
(July 1998 est.) |
| Population growth
rate: |
1.24%
(1998 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
20.92
births/1,000 population (1998 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
8.53
deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at
birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
|
| Infant
mortality rate: |
36.96
deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
2.33
children born/woman (1998 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population:64.36 years
male:59.39 years
female:69.59 years (1998 est.) |
| Literacy: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population:83.3%
male:83.3%
female:83.2% (1995 est.) |
| Religions: |
Roman
Catholic (nominal) 70% |
| Nationality: |
noun:Brazilian(s)
adjective:Brazilian |
| Languages: |
Portuguese
(official), Spanish, English, French |
| Government
|
| Country
name: |
conventional
long form: Federative Republic of Brazil
conventional short form: Brazil
local long form: Republica Federativa do Brasil
local short form: Brasil |
| Data
code: |
BR |
| Government
type: |
federal
republic |
| National
capital: |
Brasilia
|
| Independence: |
7
September 1822 (from Portugal) |
| National
holiday: |
Independence
Day, 7 September (1822) |
| Legal
system: |
based
on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
|
| Suffrage: |
voluntary
between 16 and 18 years of age and over 70; compulsory over
18 and under 70 years of age |
| Judicial
branch: |
Supreme
Federal Tribunal, 11 judges are appointed for life by the
president and confirmed by the Senate |
| Flag
description: |
green
with a large yellow diamond in the center bearing a blue
celestial globe with 27 white five-pointed stars (one for
each state and the Federal District) arranged in the same
pattern as the night sky over Brazil; the globe has a white
equatorial band with the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO (Order
and Progress) |
| Economy |
| GDP: |
purchasing
power parity-$1.04 trillion (1997 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
3%
(1997) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing
power parity-$6,300 (1997 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:13%
industry:38%
services:49% (1995) |
| Inflation
rate - consumer price index: |
4.8%
(1997) |
| Labor
force: |
total:
57 million (1989 est.)
by occupation:services 42%, agriculture 31%, industry
27% |
| Unemployment
rate: |
7%
(1997 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues:$87.5
billion
expenditures:$96 billion, including capital expenditures
of $NA (1996) |
| Industries: |
textiles,
shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel,
aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and
equipment |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
4.5%
(1997 est.) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
coffee,
soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus; beef
|
| Exports: |
total
value:$53 billion (f.o.b., 1997)
commodities:iron ore, soybean bran, orange juice,
footwear, coffee, motor vehicle parts
partners:EU 28%, Latin America 23%, US 20%, Argentina
12% (1996) |
| Imports:
|
total
value:$61.4 billion (f.o.b., 1997)
commodities:crude oil, capital goods, chemical products,
foodstuffs, coal
partners:EU 26%, US 22%, Argentina 13%, Japan 5%
(1996) |
| Debt
- external: |
$192.9
billion (December 1997) |
| Energy
Information: |
Country Analysis Briefs - Brazil |
| Communications
|
| Telephones: |
14,426,673
(1992 est.) |
| Telephone
system: |
domestic: extensive microwave radio relay system
and a domestic satellite system with 64 earth stations
international:3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite
earth stations-3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic
Ocean Region East) |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM
1,223, FM 0, shortwave 151 |
| Radios: |
60
million (1993 est.) |
| Televisions: |
30
million (1993 est.) |
| Transportation |
| Railways: |
total:26,895
km (1,750 km electrified) |
| Highways: |
total:1.98
million km |
| Pipelines: |
crude
oil 2,000 km; petroleum products 3,804 km; natural gas 1,095
km |
| Merchant
marine: |
total:188
ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,498,081 GRT/7,279,945
DWT
ships by type:bulk 37, cargo 26, chemical tanker
9, combination ore/oil 11, container 16, liquefied gas tanker
10, multifunction large-load carrier 1, oil tanker 61, passenger-cargo
5, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 11 (1997
est.) |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Belem,
Fortaleza, Ilheus, Imbituba, Manaus, Paranagua, Porto Alegre,
Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, Salvador, Santos, Vitoria
|
| Transnational
Issues |
| Disputes
- international: |
short
section of the boundary with Paraguay, just west of Salto
das Sete Quedas (Guaira Falls) on the Rio Parana, has not
been precisely delimited; two short sections of boundary
with Uruguay are in dispute-Arroio Invernada (Arroyo de
la Invernada) area of the Rio Quarai (Rio Cuareim) and the
islands at the confluence of the Rio Quarai and the Uruguay
River |
| Illicit
drugs: |
limited
illicit producer of cannabis, minor coca cultivation in
the Amazon region, mostly used for domestic consumption;
government has a large-scale eradication program to control
cannabis; important transshipment country for Bolivian and
Colombian cocaine headed for the US and Europe; increasingly
used by Andean traffickers as a way station between Peru
and Colombia |
For
more Informations visit http://www.recife.com/
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