Here’s some quick facts about Brazil, readily available on Wikipedia (my primary source) but thought it would be handy to share some highlights here.
Location and Geography: Brazil is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, and has a coastline of 7,491 km (4,655 mi). It is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French overseas region of French Guiana; on the northwest by Colombia; on the west by Bolivia and Peru; on the southwest by Argentina and Paraguay and on the south by Uruguay. Brazilian topography is also diverse and includes hills, mountains, plains, highlands, and scrublands.
Area: 8,514,877 km2 (3,287,597 sq mi ) which is just a little smaller than Canada (9,984,670 km2).
Languages: The official language is Portuguese.
Currency: Brazilian Real (BRL) 1 BRL = 0.55 CAD
TimeZone: Brazil has three time zones; from UTC-4 in the western states, to UTC-3 in the eastern states (and the official time of Brazil) and UTC-2 in the Atlantic islands.
Population: 192,376,496 (Compare that to Canada’s population of 34,776,000 which is comparable in physical size to Brazil!)
Major Cities and their populations:
- Sao Paulo 11,316,149
- Rio de Janeiro 6,355,949
- Salvador 2,693,605
- Brasilia (capital) 2,609,997
- Fortaleza 2,476,589
Economy:
Brazil is the largest national economy in Latin America, the world’s seventh largest economy at market exchange rates and the eighth largest in purchasing power parity(PPP), according to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Brazilian exports are booming, creating a new generation of tycoons. Major export products include aircraft, electrical equipment, ethanol, textiles, footwear, iron ore, steel, coffee, orange juice, soy beans and corned beef.
Other Interesting Facts:
- It is the world’s fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population.
- It is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas.
- It is the largest lusophone (Portuguese speaking) country in the world.
- About 85% to 95% of Brazilians descend from the country’s indigenous peoples,Portuguese settlers, and African slaves.
- The most popular sport in Brazil is football (soccer). The Brazilian national football team is ranked among the best in the world according to the FIFA World Rankings, and has won the World Cup tournament a record five times.
- There are about 2,500 airports in Brazil, including landing fields: the second largest number in the world, after the United States.
- São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world’s seventh largest city by population.