Education
On the basis of the constitution, the education system is structured on a federal basis. There are three levels of education administration: municipal, state and federal. Primary education is the responsibility of the municipalities, secondary education is the responsibility of municipalities and states, and the federal government is responsible for universities. The organization of the public school system was fundamentally changed by law in 1996. According to topschoolsintheusa, the education system comprises basic education with early childhood education and upbringing, the eight-year primary level (7-14 years of age), with which compulsory schooling is fulfilled, and a three-year secondary level, which is a prerequisite for admission to the university entrance examination. This is followed by various forms of higher education. There are around 2,400 higher education institutions including over 190 universities (mostly privately owned). Attending the public educational institutions is free, private providers must meet the requirements of the state.
Energy industry
The power plant capacity (2016: 150 300 MW) consists of 70% hydropower, 17% thermal energy, 8% biomass and 2% nuclear energy from the two nuclear power plants Angra dos Reis 1 (since 1985) and 2 (since 2000) in south-east Brazil. The construction of Angra dos Reis 3, which began in 1985, was resumed in June 2007 after a break of more than 20 years. The Itaipú power plant on Paraná, operated jointly with Paraguay, is the second largest hydropower plant in the world with 14,000 MW. The proportion of energy generated from wind and solar power as well as from biomass and small hydropower plants is to be increased to 10% of the total volume by 2020.
For a long time, the focus of energy policy was the effort to break away from the dependency on imports of crude oil. The Proálcool program started in 1975 was intended to largely replace gasoline as a motor fuel. At the end of the 1980s, the share of ethanol engines in passenger car production had already risen to 90% and ethanol production reached 14 billion liters a year. With the rise in world sugar prices, less ethanol was produced; in addition, government subsidies decreased; the use of ethanol became significantly more expensive than that of gasoline. Biofuel has experienced a renaissance since the introduction of flexfuel engines, which can burn any mixture of gasoline and ethanol.
Industry
The manufacturing industry accounts for 21.2% of GDP (2016). After the establishment of traditional industrial goods sectors (especially the processing of agricultural products and wood), more and more plants for the production of durable consumer goods and heavy industry facilities (iron ore smelting) were added in the 1950s as part of a policy of import substitution – partly through the establishment of state-owned companies. The isolation of national industry for the purpose of import substitution led to an increasing loss of international competitiveness, the formation of oligopoly-like market power and structural inflationary tendencies. From the mid-1960s, primarily capital goods industries, and from the mid-1970s, intermediate goods industries (petroleum and chlorine chemistry, etc.) were established. As early as the late 1970s, Brazil was able to cover around 80% of the total demand for capital goods from domestic production. Today, vehicle and mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, metal processing as well as the chemical and pharmaceutical industries are responsible for the industrial growth process. Brazil is now a leading iron and steel producer, a major manufacturer of passenger and heavy goods vehicles and aircraft. The country is a world leader in offshore oil production, ethanol production and engine construction for gasoline and alcohol operation. Manufacturing is concentrated in the four states Metal processing as well as the chemical and pharmaceutical industries are the industrial growth process. Brazil is now a leading iron and steel producer, a major manufacturer of passenger and heavy goods vehicles and aircraft. The country is a world leader in offshore oil production, ethanol production and engine construction for gasoline and alcohol operation. Manufacturing is concentrated in the four states Metal processing as well as the chemical and pharmaceutical industries are the industrial growth process. Brazil is now a leading iron and steel producer, a major manufacturer of passenger and heavy goods vehicles and aircraft. The country is a world leader in offshore oil production, ethanol production and engine construction for gasoline and alcohol operation. Manufacturing is concentrated in the four states São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo. In the course of globalization processes and the progressive integration of the Mercosur countries Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela, the economic importance of the metropolitan area around São Paulo and the Brazilian southeast as a whole has been further strengthened.
