Brazil

Brazil (Portuguese: Brasil; Brazilian Portuguese: [bɾaˈziw]),[nt 1] officially the Federative

Republic of Brazil (Portuguese:  República Federativa do Brasil),[9] is the largest country
in both South America and 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 largest country to have Portuguese as an official language and
the only one in the Americas;[11][12] 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 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.
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]
Brazil is a regional and middle power,[18][19][20] and is also classified as an emerging power.[21][22]
[23][24]
 It is considered an advanced emerging economy,[25] having the twelfth largest GDP in
the world by nominal, and ninth by PPP measures, the largest in Latin America.[26][27] As an
upper-middle income economy by the World Bank[28] and a newly industrialized country,
[29]
 Brazil has the largest share of global wealth in South America and it is one of the world's
major breadbaskets, being the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years.[30] However,
the country maintains noticeable 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.

Contents

 1Etymology
 2History
o 2.1Pre-Cabraline era
o 2.2Portuguese colonization
 o 2.3United Kingdom with Portugal
o 2.4Independent empire
o 2.5Early republic
o 2.6Contemporary era
 3Geography
o 3.1Topography and hydrography
o 3.2Climate
o 3.3Biodiversity and conservation
 4Government and politics
o 4.1Law
o 4.2Military
o 4.3Foreign policy
o 4.4Law enforcement and crime
o 4.5Administrative divisions
 5Economy
o 5.1Tourism
 6Infrastructure
o 6.1Science and technology
o 6.2Transport
o 6.3Energy
o 6.4Health
o 6.5Education
o 6.6Media and communication
 7Demographics
o 7.1Race and ethnicity
o 7.2Religion
o 7.3Language
o 7.4Urbanization
 8Culture
o 8.1Architecture
o 8.2Music
o 8.3Literature
o 8.4Cuisine
o 8.5Cinema
o 8.6Theatre
o 8.7Visual arts
o 8.8Sports
 9See also
 10Notes
 11References
 12Bibliography
 13Further reading
 14External links