Brazil

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"Brazilian Republic" redirects here. For other uses, see Brazil (disambiguation) and Brazilian Republic
(disambiguation).

Coordinates: 10°S 52°W

Federative Republic of Brazil

República Federativa do Brasil (Portuguese)

Flag of Brazil

Flag

Coat of arms of Brazil

Coat of arms

Motto: Ordem e Progresso (Portuguese)

"Order and Progress"

Anthem: Hino Nacional Brasileiro (Portuguese)

"Brazilian National Anthem"

3:22

Flag anthem: Hino à Bandeira Nacional (Portuguese)[1]

"National Flag Anthem"

4:24

National Seal

Selo Nacional do Brasil

National Seal of Brazil

National Seal of Brazil (color).svg

Location of Brazil
Capital Brasília

15°47′S 47°52′W

Largest city São Paulo

23°33′S 46°38′W

Official language

and national language Portuguese

Ethnic groups (2010)[2][3]

47.7% White[a]

43.1% Mixed[b]

7.6% Black

1.1% East Asian[c]

0.4% Indigenous

Religion (2010)[2][4]

88.8% Christianity

64.6% Catholicism

22.2% Protestantism

2.0% Other Christian

8.0% No religion

2.0% Spiritism

1.2% Other

Demonym(s) Brazilian

Government Federal presidential constitutional republic

• President

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

• Vice President
Geraldo Alckmin

• President of the

Chamber of Deputies

Arthur Lira

• President of the

Federal Senate

Rodrigo Pacheco

• President of the

Supreme Federal Court

Rosa Weber

Legislature National Congress

• Upper house

Federal Senate

• Lower house

Chamber of Deputies

Independence from Portugal

• 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

• 2022 estimate

217,240,060[5] (7th)

• Density

25/km2 (64.7/sq mi) (193rd)

GDP (PPP) 2023 estimate

• Total

Increase $3.958 trillion[6] (8th)

• Per capita

Increase $18,396[6] (86th)

GDP (nominal) 2023 estimate

• Total

Increase $2.059 trillion[6] (12th)

• Per capita

Increase $9,571[6] (81th)

Gini (2020) Positive decrease 48.9[7]

high

HDI (2021) Decrease 0.754[8]

high · 87th

Currency Real (R$) (BRL)

Time zone UTC−2 to −5 (BRT)

Driving side right

Calling code +55

ISO 3166 code BR

Internet TLD .br

Brazil (Portuguese: Brasil; Brazilian Portuguese: [bɾaˈziw] (listen)),[nt 1] officially the Federative Republic
of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil),[9] is the largest country in South America and in
Latin America. At 8.5 million square kilometers (3,300,000 sq mi)[10] and with over 217 million people,
Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area and the seventh 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 only country in the Americas to have Portuguese as an official language.[11][12]
It is one of the most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations, due to over a century of mass
immigration from around the world,[13] and 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).[14] It
borders all other countries and territories in South America except Ecuador and Chile and covers roughly
half of the continent's land area.[15] 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.[14] This unique environmental heritage positions Brazil at number 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.

The territory which would become known as Brazil was inhabited by numerous tribal nations prior to the
landing in 1500 of explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, who claimed the discovered land 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. Slavery was abolished in 1888. 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.[16] Due to its rich culture
and history, the country ranks thirteenth in the world by number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.[17]