Brazil
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This article is about the Federative Republic of Brazil. For other uses, see Brazil
(disambiguation).
"Brazilian Republic" redirects here. For other uses, see Brazilian Republic
(disambiguation).
Coordinates: 10°S 52°W
Federative Republic of Brazil
República Federativa do Brasil (Portuguese)
Flag
Coat of arms
Motto: Ordem e Progresso (Portuguese)
"Order and Progress"
Anthem: Hino Nacional Brasileiro (Portuguese)
"Brazilian National Anthem"
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Flag anthem: Hino à Bandeira Nacional (Portuguese)[1]
"National Flag Anthem"
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National seal
Selo Nacional do Brasil
National Seal of Brazil
Capital Brasília
15°47′S 47°52′W
Largest city São Paulo
23°33′S 46°38′W
Official language Portuguese[2]
and national language
Ethnic groups 47.73% White[nt 1]
(2010)[3][4] 43.13% Mixed[nt 2]
7.61% Black
1.09% East Asian[nt 3]
0.43% Indigenous
Religion 88.8% Christianity
(2010) [5][6]
—64.6% Roman Catholic
—22.2% Protestant
—2.0% Other Christian
8.0% No religion
2.0% Spiritism
1.2% Other
Demonym(s) Brazilian
Government Federal presidential constitutional republic
• President Jair Bolsonaro
• Vice President Hamilton Mourão
• President of the Arthur Lira
Chamber of Deputies
• President of the Rodrigo Pacheco
Federal Senate
• President of the Luiz Fux
Supreme Federal
Court
Legislature National Congress
• Upper house Federal Senate
• Lower house Chamber of Deputies
Independence
from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves
• Declared 7 September 1822
• Recognized 29 August 1825
• Republic 15 November 1889
• Current constitution 5 October 1988
Area
• Total 8,515,767 km2 (3,287,956 sq mi) (5th)
• Water (%) 0.65
Population
• 2019 estimate 210,147,125[7] (6th)
• Density 25/km2 (64.7/sq mi) (200th)
GDP (PPP) 2021 estimate
• Total $3.328 trillion[8] (8th)
• Per capita $15,642[8] (84th)
GDP (nominal) 2021 estimate
• Total $1.491 trillion[8] (13th)
• Per capita $7,010[8] (87th)
Gini (2019) 53.4[9]
high · 10th
HDI (2019) 0.765[10]
high · 84th
Currency Real (R$) (BRL)
Time zone UTC−2 to −5 (BRT)
Date format dd/mm/yyyy (CE)
Mains electricity 220 V, 60 Hz and 127 V, 60 Hz
Driving side right
Calling code +55
ISO 3166 code BR
Internet TLD .br
Brazil (Portuguese: Brasil; Brazilian Portuguese: [bɾaˈziw]),[nt 4] officially the Federative
Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil),[11] is the largest
country in both South America and Latin America. At 8.5 million square kilometers
(3.2 million square miles)[12] and with over 211 million people, Brazil is the
world's fifth-largest country by area and the sixth most populous. Its capital
is Brasília, and its most populous city is São Paulo. The federation is composed of
the union of the 26 states and the Federal District. It is the largest country to
have Portuguese as an official language and the only one in the Americas;[13][14] it is
also one of the most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations, due to over a
century of mass immigration from around the world;[15] as well as the most
populous Roman Catholic-majority country.
Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491
kilometers (4,655 mi).[16] It borders all other countries in South America
except Ecuador and Chile and covers 47.3% of the continent's land area.
[17]
Its Amazon basin includes a vast tropical forest, home to diverse wildlife, a
variety of ecological systems, and extensive natural resources spanning
numerous protected habitats.[16] This unique environmental heritage makes Brazil
one of 17 megadiverse countries, and is the subject of significant global interest, as
environmental degradation through processes like deforestation has direct impacts
on global issues like climate change and biodiversity loss.
Brazil was inhabited by numerous tribal nations prior to the landing in 1500 of
explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, who claimed the area for the Portuguese Empire.
Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until 1808 when the capital of the empire
was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro. In 1815, the colony was elevated to
the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil
and the Algarves. Independence was achieved in 1822 with the creation of
the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and
a parliamentary system. The ratification of the first constitution in 1824 led to the
formation of a bicameral legislature, now called the National Congress. The
country became a presidential republic in 1889 following a military coup d'état. An
authoritarian military junta came to power in 1964 and ruled until 1985, after which
civilian governance resumed. Brazil's current constitution, formulated in 1988,
defines it as a democratic federal republic.[18] Due to its rich culture and history, the
country ranks thirteenth in the world by number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
[19]
Brazil is classified as an upper-middle income economy by the World Bank[20] and
a newly industrialized country,[21] with the largest share of global wealth in South
America. It is considered an advanced emerging economy,[22] having the twelfth
largest GDP in the world by nominal, and eighth by PPP measures.[23][24] It is one of
the world's major breadbaskets, being the largest producer of coffee for the last
150 years.[25] Brazil is a regional and middle power,[26][27][28][26][28] and is also classified as
an emerging power.[29][30][31][32] However, the country maintains high amounts
of corruption, crime and social inequality. Brazil is a founding member of the United
Nations, the G20, BRICS, Mercosul, Organization of American
States, Organization of Ibero-American States and the Community of Portuguese
Language Countries.
