Brazil

Full name of country: Federative Republic of Brazil

Region: South America

Official language: Portuguese

Population: 220,051,512 (2024 est.)

Nationality: Brazilian(s) (noun), Brazilian (adjective)

Land area: 8,459,417 sq km (3,266,198 sq miles)

Water area: 55,460 sq km (21,413 sq miles)

Capital: Brasilia

National anthem: "Hino Nacional Brasileiro" (Brazilian National Anthem), by Joaquim Osorio Duque Estrada/Francisco Manoel Da Silva

National holiday: Independence Day, September 7 (1822)

Population growth: 0.61% (2024 est.)

Time zone: UTC –2 to UTC –5

Flag: The Brazilian flag features a yellow rhombus (diamond-shaped quadrilateral) centered in a green field. Within the rhombus is a blue circle which portrays the night sky of the Southern Hemisphere, including the various constellations. There are exactly twenty-seven white five-pointed stars. Across the blue circle is a white banner with (Brazil's motto) in green lettering.

Motto: Ordem e Progresso (Order and Progress)

Independence: September 7, 1822 (from Portugal)

Government type: federal republic

Suffrage: oluntary between 16 to 18 years of age, over 70, and if illiterate; compulsory between 18 to 70 years of age; note - military conscripts by law cannot vote

Legal system: civil law; note - a new civil law code was enacted in 2002 replacing the 1916 code

The Federative Republic of Brazil is the largest country in South America. It shares a border with every South American country except Ecuador and Chile. Along its northern border are French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, and Colombia; to the west are Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay. Brazil is an equatorial country: the northeastern coast lies on the North Atlantic Ocean, while its southeastern coast lies on the South Atlantic Ocean.

Brazil gained independence from Portugal in 1822. It is one of the most economically powerful nations in the Western Hemisphere, and it is the fifth largest nation by area in the world. While most Latin American nations were founded by Spanish-speakers, Brazil was originally a Portuguese colony. Portuguese remains the country's official language.

Note: unless otherwise indicated, statistical data in this article is sourced from the CIA World Factbook, as cited in the bibliography.

People and Culture

Population: The majority of Brazilians are an ethnic mixture of Portuguese (the primary European group to settle in Brazil), Africans (originally brought to the Americas in the slave trade), and Indigenous peoples, such as the Guaraní and Tupí. In addition, there have been many other ethnic settlements in Brazil, including Asians, Middle Easterners, and various European groups. As a result, racial and ethnic identity in the country is highly complex. However, the national census traditionally uses five racial classifications: according to 2022 estimates, 43.5 percent of the population identified as White; 45.3 percent as mixed race; 10.2 percent as Black; 0.4 percent as Asian; and 0.6 percent as Indigenous.

The official language of Brazil is Portuguese, which is also the nation's most widely spoken language. Other languages include Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, English, and French. There are also numerous Indigenous languages spoken by relatively small numbers of people throughout the country.

The most common religion in Brazil is Roman Catholicism, practiced by about 52.8 percent of the population according to 2023 estimates. Evangelical Protestant denominations together account for about 26.7 percent of the population. Smaller faiths include Spiritism or Kardecism (3 percent) and various syncretic religions that mix Christian, Spiritist, and African traditions, such as Umbanda and Candomble (1.8 percent). About 13.6 percent of the population adheres to no religion and another 0.6 percent identifies as atheist.

Brazil's population is heavily focused on the eastern Atlantic coast, and particularly in major cities in the southeast. Approximately 87.8 percent of the total population lived in urban areas in 2023. The largest metropolitan regions are São Paulo (22.620 million people in 2023), Rio de Janeiro (13.728 million), and Belo Horizonte (6.248 million). Other major cities include Brasília, the capital (4.873 million people in 2023); Recife (4.264 million); and Porto Alegre (4.212). The vast Amazonian region of Brazil is much less densely populated, with Manaus as the largest city.

Brazil was ranked 87th pout of 191 countries on the United Nation's 2022 Human Development Index, which measures quality-of-life indicators.

Indigenous People: The area of modern-day Brazil has been inhabited for thousands of years by a diverse array of peoples. The Indigenous population of Brazil declined sharply within a few hundred years after the arrival of European explorers and settlers in the early sixteenth century. Some groups were wiped out entirely by disease, warfare, and enslavement, while others were assimilated into the country's diverse population. However, many Indigenous peoples remain in the country and maintain distinct ethnic identities.

Among the more populous tribes are the Guaraní, the Yanomami (who live along the Brazil-Venezuelan border in the northern Amazon region) and the Kayapó, who inhabit the eastern Amazon region. Other tribes include the Tikuna, Kaingang, Tupinamba, Akuntsu, Maku, Ofaye, Banawa, and Awa. Advocacy organizations have estimated that as many as eighty uncontacted Indigenous tribes still live in isolation in the Amazon region. Many of the Indigenous languages of Brazilian American Indians are endangered or have died out altogether.

Of major concern to many tribes, such as the Yanomami, are issues concerning both the rapid deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and Indigenous land rights. Other issues include the ongoing battle for civil and economic rights. Many governmental and private efforts to improve economic and educational conditions among Brazil's tribal people that had been underway were reversed or threatened by the far-right government of President Jair Bolsonaro from 2019 to 2022, which promoted forcible integration and development on Indigenous land.

Education: Education for Brazilians is compulsory between the ages of six and fourteen. Primary school lasts nine years while secondary school is three years in length. Public education is free. An estimated 6 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) was spent on education according to 2019 estimates.

Reforms led to considerable improvement in educational outcomes in the twenty-first century compared with earlier periods. Primary school enrollment rates increased, and children tended to stay enrolled in school longer. As a result, the adult literacy rate rose to 94.7 percent by 2022. However, rural communities continue to lag behind urban centers in literacy.

Important universities in Brazil include the Universidade de São Paulo, the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, and the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.

Health Care: The Brazilian health care system serves as a model to many developing nations: Brazilians have a constitutional right to universal access to medical care. All Brazilians are guaranteed free coverage at either public or private medical facilities, and most private facilities are subsidized by the government. Brazil's health expenditures were 10.3 percent of GDP in 2020. Most Brazilians take advantage of this unique health care system.

Food: The ethnic diversity of Brazil is evident is in its cuisine. African, Portuguese, and Indian recipes are common and often combine flavors and share ingredients. The cuisine of Brazil can also be subdivided regionally: north, northeast, central-west, southeast, and south.

Popular dishes include feijoada (a stew made with black beans and smoked or sun-dried meat), steak and sweet potato fries, coxinhas (mock chicken legs), mugunza (a dessert made with hominy), and fish stew.

Arts & Entertainment: Art in Brazil reflects the nation's multicultural heritage. Modernism in visual art, music, and literature were all imported from Europe, while African and Indian rhythms have set the tempo for much of Brazil's music.

Brazil's beloved national art form is the samba. Samba grew out of the choro, which in turn grew out of the Portuguese fado and other musical styles. Other popular music forms that have evolved in Brazil include the bossa nova (which was popularized outside Brazil by American jazz musicians in the 1960s), capoeira, carimbo, and forro music. Many Brazilian musicians and composers have achieved international prominence, including composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, composer and singer Antonio Carlos Jobim, singer Astrud Gilberto, bandleader Sergio Mendes, singer-songwriter Tom Ze, singer and actor Carmen Miranda, and thrash metal band Sepultura.

The most striking example of Brazilian architecture may be the city of Brasília, which was originally planned as a city of 500,000. It was built between 1956 and 1960 (in the shape of an airplane) and was designed around the theories of Le Corbusier, a Swiss architect who is known for working in the International style (based on the Bauhaus style). Although many critics have lambasted the design and plan of Brasília, the city's features and layout are striking reminders of the influence of European art and architecture on South American culture. Construction based on the original design of Brasília is ongoing. In addition to Brasília, Brazilian cities offer many other fine examples of modern architecture, including the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art and the Church of St. Francis Assisi in Pampuhla, Belo Horizonte.

Brazilian literature has given many important writers to the world, including Jorge Amado, Paulo Coelho, Graciliano Ramos, Clarice Lispector, and Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis.

Brazilian cinema, like its literature, has been an unflinching observer and critic of the politics and culture of this country. It has earned a place as one of the most important cinemas in South America, as well as internationally, since the 1960s. Brazil's most inventive film artists have included such filmmakers as Carlos Diegues, Glauber Rocha, Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, Hector Babenco, and Walter Salles.

By far, the most important pastime for Brazilians is futebol (known as soccer in the United States and football in Europe). The Brazilian men's national team has often been dominant, winning the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002 as well as an Olympic gold medal in 2016. Among the many famous Brazilian soccer players are Pelé (Edson Arantes do Nascimento), Ronaldo (Ronaldo Luiz Nazário de Lima), and Neymar (Neymar da Silva Santos Jr.).

Brazil is a center of international attention each year during its Carnival celebration, one of the most popular festivals in the world. Carnival is an annual feast that is most widely and famously celebrated in Rio de Janeiro. Among the festivities each year are the Samba School Parade, masquerades, and large public parties.

Holidays: Brazilian holidays include Independence Day (September 7), Carnival (February or March), Tiradentes (April 21), Labour Day (May 1), Children's Day (October 12), All Souls' Day (November 2), Proclamation of the Republic Day (November 15), and Christmas Day (December 25).

Environment and Geography

Topography: Brazil is a very large country with varied terrain. Several large rivers run through Brazil, including its most prominent, the Amazon River, which stretches from its source in the Peruvian Andes to its mouth at the Atlantic Ocean in the northern portion of the country. The Amazon is the longest river in the Western Hemisphere, and along with the Nile, one of the longest in the world; by volume, it is the largest river in the world. The Amazon River is narrow in some places, but several miles wide in others, and has more than a thousand tributaries. It also supports the immense Amazon rainforest, perhaps the country's most distinct natural feature.

Northeast Brazil contains a semiarid desert, the Caatinga. The Pantanal is the largest continental wetland in the world, and more than half of it lies in Brazil, along the western border. South of the Amazon Basin are the Brazilian Highlands, an area of river valleys, hills, and mountains. The Cerrado is a tropical grasslands area in central Brazil.

Brazil's Atlantic coastline is very long (7,491 kilometers, or 4,654 miles) and mountainous. The highest point in Brazil is at Pico da Neblina, which is 2,994 meters (9,823 feet) high.

Natural Resources: Since it is so large and geographically diverse, Brazil has many natural resources. Among the most important are minerals such as bauxite, gold, platinum, iron ore, timber, manganese, nickel, phosphates, rare earth elements, uranium, petroleum, and tin. Hydropower is another important natural resource.

Of major concern to environmental activists around the world is the continuing deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. This practice is destructive to animal and plant species, and even has a detrimental effect on the planet's atmosphere due to the massive forest's role as a carbon sink. Other areas of concern include air and water pollution in such cities as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, illegal trade in wildlife, and wetlands degradation.

Plants & Animals: Brazil has what may be considered the most diverse ecosystem on the planet.

In the south of Brazil, pampas, or grasslands, are common parts of the landscape, while caatinga, or low scrub, is prominent in the northeast area of Brazil. Cacti are also found in some areas of Brazil.

A wealth of tropical plants dominate the Atlantic and Amazon rainforest region; among the thousands of plants that live here are bromeliads, which provide their own tiny ecosystem for several kinds of insect; lianas, or climbing vine; orchids; and the Brazil nut tree. Many of the plants in the rainforest grow on other plants.

Of the hundreds of species of animals found in South America, most are indigenous to Brazil. Common animals of the rainforest include the macaw, iguanas, poison arrow frogs, toucans, and spider monkeys. More than one thousand species of freshwater fish can be found in the Amazon. Other animals include leopards, capybaras (the size of a large dog, they are the world's largest rodent species), tapirs, and peccaries, and tens of thousands of insect species.

Climate: Brazil is temperate in the southern portion, but is mostly tropical throughout the country. In the Amazon region, the climate is mostly wet, very humid, and has almost no dry periods. The average temperature in the north is around 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit).

Rainfall in the north averages about 220 centimeters per year (90 inches), while in the grasslands region it averages about 160 centimeters per year (60 inches). Heavy occasional rainfall and drought are common in the Sertao region.

Depending on topography, the climate can be varied. In Rio de Janeiro, which is coastal, temperatures in summer can be very hot and humid. In Brasília, which is inland, it may get as hot as in Rio de Janeiro, but not as humid.

Economy

In part due to its large geographic size and population, Brazil is a significant player in the global economy despite considerable domestic development challenges. The nation enjoyed strong economic growth in the first decade of the twenty-first century before struggling with recession during much of the 2010s and then the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Corruption, income inequality, and unemployment remain problematic. The unemployment rate was estimated at 7.95 percent in 2023. Still, Brazil's labor force is vast and accounts for the success of many of its industries during rough economic periods. The gross domestic product (GDP; purchasing power parity) was estimated at $4.016 trillion in 2023, though this amounted to just $18,600 per capita.

Industry: Industry accounted for an estimated 22.3 percent of Brazil's GDP in 2023, while services accounted for an estimated 58.9 percent. The major industries in Brazil include mining and manufacturing, power generation (mostly hydropower), and cement and lumber. Important manufactured products include textiles, chemicals, motor vehicles, machinery and equipment, aircraft, and shoes.

Brazil's main exports include iron, crude petroleum, and sugar. Brazil is also one of the world's leading gem producers.

Agriculture: Agriculture is an important economic sector despite accounting for just 6.2 percent of the GDP in 2023. Brazil’s agricultural products include sugarcane, soybeans, maize, milk, cassava, oranges, poultry, rice, beef, cotton. Beef is the major livestock industry in the country.

Tourism: Thanks to the vast array of attractions throughout Brazil, including ecotourism in the Amazon Basin and festivals such as Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, the country sustains a massive tourism industry. Millions of international tourists visit the nation each year, directly and indirectly supporting the employment of millions of Brazilians and contributing a significant percentage of overall GDP. Although the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a sharp decline in tourism in 2020, the industry soon began to recover.

The most popular destinations in Brazil include the beach resorts in large coastal cities such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo and in the state of Ceara; the Tocantins region, which bridges the Amazon Basin to other regions in Brazil, such as the Pantanal; the Amazon itself; the Festival Folclórico de Parintins; and a wealth of sites that offer a glimpse into Brazilian history, such as the city of Ouro Preto, center of the Revolution of Minas Gerais. The various other regions in Brazil offer cultures and landscapes unique unto themselves as well.

Government

Brazil is a federal presidential republic. There are twenty-six states and one federal district, which is the capital city of Brasília in the state of Goiás.

The Brazilian government is composed of executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The head of state, as well as the head of the government, is the president. The president appoints cabinet officers. Presidents and vice presidents are elected by popular vote to four-year terms.

The National Congress of Brazil (Congresso Nacional) is bicameral, meaning that there are two legislative houses: the Federal Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. Members of these houses are elected by popular vote for eight-year and four-year terms, respectively. The highest court in the judicial branch is the Supreme Federal Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal). The court's eleven justices are appointed by the president, approved by the Federal Senate, and serve until age seventy-five.

Modern Brazilian political history can be dated from 1964, when economic and social reformer President João Goulart was overthrown in a coup d'etat backed by the United States government (who feared a communist regime under Goulart). Between 1964 and 1985, Brazil saw a succession of military dictators whose regimes were marked by state oppression and censorship, economic growth at the cost of increased national debt, and the "disappearance" of many innocent Brazilians. The resumption of civilian rule in 1985 was accompanied by increased democratization and continued reform efforts by popularly elected governments. In 1988, the Brazilian constitution was rewritten to include, among other important matters, provisions for the protection of wildlife and Indigenous peoples.

In the mid-2010s, Brazil faced several corruption scandals involving some of the nation's largest private firms and top government officials, leading to significant political unrest. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, who had served as president from 2003 to 2010, was controversially convicted of corruption and other charges in 2017. President Dilma Rousseff, a Lula protégé, was suspended and later impeached in 2016 for involvement in manipulating government accounts and bypassing congressional budgetary approval. Her vice president, Michel Temer, served out the rest of her term. In October 2018, right-wing populist Jair Bolsonaro was elected to the presidency on an anti-corruption platform, but proved highly divisive both domestically and internationally. Lula then returned to power after his conviction was overturned in 2021 and he defeated Bolsonaro in the 2022 election.

Interesting Facts

• The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio were the first Olympic Games to be held in South America.
• The 2014 FIFA World Cup was hosted in Brazil. Germany won the World Cup after defeating runners-up Argentina 1–0. Brazil took fourth place.
• Brazil was the center of the Portuguese kingdom in the early nineteenth century, when the Portuguese royal family under King John VI fled to Rio de Janeiro during the Napoleonic Wars.
• A majority of the navel oranges grown in the United States are descended from two trees brought to California from Brazil in 1875.

Bibliography

"Brazil." The World Bank, data.worldbank.org/country/brazil. Accessed 27 May 2022.

"Brazil." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 1 Nov. 2023, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/brazil/. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.

"Human Development Insights." Human Development Reports, UNDP, hdr.undp.org/data-center/country-insights#/ranks. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.