Roman Catholic (nominal) 73.6%, Protestant 15.4%, Spiritualist 1.3%, Bantu/voodoo 0.3%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.2%, none 7.4% (2000 census)
Muslim (mostly Sunni) 90%, Coptic 9%, other Christian 1%
Languages
Portuguese (official and most widely spoken language); note - less common languages include Spanish (border areas and schools), German, Italian, Japanese, English, and a large number of minor Amerindian languages
Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes
Exports
transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos
crude oil and petroleum products, cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals
External Debt
$397,500,000,000 $
$33,740,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
reals (BRL) per US dollar - 1.8644 (2008 est.), 1.85 (2007 est.), 2.1761 (2006), 2.4344 (2005), 2.9251 (2004)
Egyptian pounds (EGP) per US dollar - 5.4 (2008 est.), 5.67 (2007), 5.725 (2006), 5.78 (2005), 6.1962 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.700%
3.400%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
15
1
Location
Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan, and includes the Asian Sinai Peninsula
