Nielmar de Oliveira
Repórter da Agência Brasil

Rio - According to the latest survey by the IBGE (Tabua da Vida 2004), life expectancy is 71 years and seven months in Brazil which puts the country in 82nd place on the list of 192 nations ranked by the UN.

In first place on the UN list is Japan, where life expectancy is 81 years and nine months - or ten years more than in Brazil.

In regional terms, Brazil is behind 15 other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean where Costa Rica is in first place, followed by Chile and Cuba. Brazil is also behind Venezuela, Colombia (where there is a civil war), Ecuador and even tiny Belize.

Brazil is in front of 13 countries, among them Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru and the Dominican Republic.

Translation: Allen Bennett