Brazil (
pronounced
/brəˈzɪl/
,
listen
(
help
·
info
)
), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (
Portuguese
:
Brasil
or
República Federativa do Brasil
), is a country in
South America
.
It is the
fifth-largest
country by geographical area, the
fifth most populous
country, and the fourth most populous
democracy
in the world. The official language is
Portuguese
.
Catholicism
is the predominant religion.
Bounded by the
Atlantic Ocean
on the east, Brazil has a coastline of over , kilometres ( miles).
Brazil borders every nation on the
South American
continent except
Ecuador
and
Chile
:
Venezuela
,
Suriname
,
Guyana
and the
department
of
French Guiana
are to the north,
Colombia
to the northwest,
Bolivia
and
Peru
to the west,
Argentina
and
Paraguay
to the southwest, and
Uruguay
to the south.
Numerous
archipelagos
are part of the Brazilian territory, such as
Penedos de São Pedro e São Paulo
,
Fernando de Noronha
,
Trindade and Martim Vaz
and
Atol das Rocas
.
Brazil is crossed by both the
Equator
and
Tropic of Capricorn
, and as such is home to a vast array fauna and flora, natural environments, as well as extensive natural resources. The Brazilian population is concentrated along the coastline and in a few large urban centers in the interior. While Brazil is one of the most populous nations in the world,
population density
drops dramatically as one moves inland.
Brazil was a colony of
Portugal
from its discovery by
Pedro Álvares Cabral
in until its independence in . Initially independent as the
Brazilian Empire
, the country has been a
republic
since , although the
bicameral
legislature (now called
Congress
) dates back to , when the first constitution was ratified. Its current
Constitution
defines Brazil as a
Federative Republic
.
The Federation is formed by the indissoluble association of the
States
, the
Federal District
, and the
Municipalities
.
There are currently States and , Municipalities.
One of the ten largest economies in the world, the country has a diversified middle-income economy with wide variations in development levels and mature manufacturing, mining and agriculture sectors. Technology and services also play an important role and are growing rapidly. Brazil is a
net exporter
, having gone through
free trade
and privatization reforms in the s. |