Regions & Two Countries the Essay

Brazil and Chili -- a Cultural Comparison

Brazil was originally colonized by Portugal, while the Spanish colonized Chili. The natural resources that provide jobs and help the economy in Brazil include gold, timber, tin, nickel, iron ore, oil and hydropower. Chili's natural resources include hydropower, copper, nitrates, molybdenum and timber as well. Chili only has 2.62% of its land that is arable; in Brazil, 6.93% of the land is arable. Brazil's fishing industry has a lot of fresh water and ocean to use, 55,460 square kilometers (with 7,491 miles of coastline); the Chilean fishing industry has just 12,290 square kilometers of ocean and fresh water to use (with 6,435 miles of coastline).

In Brazil the deforestation of the Amazon Basin (rainforest) is severe and has put many species of plants and animals in jeopardy. Improper mining tactics have caused Brazil's environment great harm and severe oil spills have caused degradation of the ecology. Chile, too, is guilty of widespread deforestation, poor mining strategies that threaten the environment, and water pollution from improper sewage treatment.These environmental hazards are harmful to the cultures of both countries.

Sixty-seven percent of the population of Brazil (203,429, 773) is between the ages of 15 and 64; similarly, 68.1% of Chile's population (16,888,760) is between 15 and 64. The infant mortality rate is far lower in Chile (males: 8.1 deaths per 1,000 births; females: 6.55 deaths per 1,000 births) than in Brazil (males: 24.63 deaths per 1,000 births; females: 17.53 deaths per 1,000 births). In Brazil 73.6% of the population is Roman Catholic and 15.4% is Protestant; In Chile 70% of the population is Roman Catholic and about 17% is Protestant. Twenty percent of Brazilian workers are in agriculture, 14% are in industry and 66% work in services (hotels, restaurants, etc.); in Chile only 13.2% of workers are in agriculture, 23% work in the industrial sector and 63.9% work in the service industry.

Works Cited

About.com. (2008). Fast Facts About Mesopotamia. Retrieved May 15,.....