95 Facts About Brazil

Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. 

Brazil has a total area of 8,515,770 square km. Brasília is capital and São Paulo is the largest city of Brazil. 

Portuguese is the official and national language of Brazil. 

Real (R$) (BRL) is official currency of Brazil.

Brazil's ten bordering countries are Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.

Human settlement in Brazil began at least 30,000 years ago, long before European contact. Indigenous peoples lived across the region for thousands of years before Portuguese explorers arrived in 1500.

Brazil was colonized by Portugal for more than three centuries. Sugar plantations were established in the sixteenth century, and gold was discovered in the late seventeenth century, making Brazil one of the world’s major gold producers in the eighteenth century.

The Dutch briefly controlled parts of northeastern Brazil between 1630 and 1654, but Portugal later regained control.

Brazil declared independence from Portugal on 7 September 1822 and first became an empire before later becoming a republic in 1889.

Between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, Brazil imported an estimated four million enslaved Africans, making it the largest destination of enslaved people in the Americas. Slavery was abolished in 1888, later than in any other country in the Western Hemisphere.

Brazil developed a highly diverse population with Indigenous, African, and European roots and has the largest Japanese community outside Japan, as well as large Lebanese and Syrian communities.

The capital was moved from Rio de Janeiro to the planned city of Brasília in 1960. Brasília was designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer and urban planner Lúcio Costa and resembles an airplane when viewed from above.

Brazil is the largest country in South America and Latin America and the fifth largest in the world by area. Its name comes from the brazilwood tree, once valued for its red dye.

Brazil is the largest Portuguese-speaking country in the world, and Portuguese speakers are known as Lusophones.

Brazil has the world’s largest Catholic population, and Christianity is the dominant religion, though the country is officially secular.

Feijoada, a stew of black beans and pork, is considered the national dish.

Family ties, hospitality, and sharing food and drink are central values in Brazilian culture.

Brazil is famous for music and dance styles such as samba, which developed from African and Portuguese influences.

Brazil is home to hundreds of Indigenous languages and more than 300 recognized Indigenous ethnic groups, making it one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world.

Some Indigenous groups in Brazil still avoid contact with modern society.

Brazil’s Amazon rainforest contains the greatest biodiversity on Earth and more species of monkeys than any other country.

Brazil has more freshwater than any other country and the world’s largest river system by volume, with the Amazon River carrying more water than the next seven largest rivers combined.

Brazil became wealthy during the late nineteenth-century rubber boom.

Brazil hosted the Summer Olympics in 2016, becoming the first South American country to do so.

The Rio Carnival is often described as the largest festival in the world.

Copacabana Beach is famous for hosting massive concerts, including one of the largest live music audiences ever recorded.

Brazil receives millions of tourists each year, contributing billions of dollars to its economy.

Brazil has a public healthcare system that provides free medical services, including gender-affirming procedures.

A traditional coming-of-age ritual among the Sateré-Mawé people involves young men wearing gloves filled with bullet ants, whose sting is among the most painful in the insect world.

Brazil’s national anthem is one of the longest in the world and is divided into two formal stanzas.

Embraer is one of the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers and a major exporter of regional jets.

Brazil has a high crime rate in some urban areas but is also known for optimism, warmth, and strong community culture.

The Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica in Santos is the world’s tallest vertical cemetery.

Brazil is one of the world’s largest producers of ethanol fuel made from sugarcane.

Women gained full voting rights in Brazil in the mid-20th century, and voting later became compulsory for most adults.

Brazil is one of the world’s largest coffee producers and consumers.

Brazil is the world’s largest producer of oranges and a major exporter of orange juice.

Pelé is Brazil’s most famous footballer, and Brazil holds the record for the most FIFA World Cup titles with five victories.

Brazil is the only country to have played in every FIFA World Cup since 1930.

Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho is one of the most widely read authors in the world.

Large sand dune fields exist in northeastern Brazil, especially in Maranhão.

Brazil established its first national parks in the late 1930s.

Silva is the most common surname in Brazil.

Brazil ranks first globally in biodiversity for mammals, freshwater fish, and plant species and is classified as a megadiverse country.

Brazil has more than a dozen cities with populations over one million and is highly urbanized.

Brazil spans four time zones.

Most of Brazil has a tropical climate, while the south is subtropical.

Brazil is the fifth most populous country in the world.

Brazil consists of 26 states and one federal district containing Brasília.

More than 85 percent of Brazilians live in cities.

São Paulo is the most populous city and economic heart of the country, while Rio de Janeiro is the second largest.

Brazil has thousands of airports, second only to the United States.

The Itaipu Dam on the border with Paraguay is one of the largest hydroelectric power stations in the world.

Historically, Brazil was also called Terra da Santa Cruz (Land of the Holy Cross).

Strong economic contrasts exist between regions, with the southeast and south more industrialized than the north and northeast.

Brazil’s currency is the real, introduced in 1994 after several earlier currency changes caused by inflation.

Brazil produces most of its own energy, largely from hydroelectric power and biofuels.

Brazil occupies nearly half of South America’s land area.

The Pantanal is the world’s largest tropical wetland and one of the best places on Earth to observe wildlife.

Brazil’s Atlantic coastline stretches over 7,000 kilometers, and it borders every South American country except Chile and Ecuador.

Brazil’s highest point is Pico da Neblina near the Venezuelan border.

Brazil has no deserts or polar climates; most of its terrain consists of plateaus, forests, and river basins.

Brazil has one of the largest economies in the world and about one-third of Latin America’s population.

Administratively, Brazil is divided into five regions: North, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast, and South.

Brazilian law allows prison sentences to be reduced through education, including reading approved books.

Some Brazilian prisons have tested programs where inmates generate electricity by pedaling stationary bicycles in exchange for sentence reductions.

Imported electronics such as iPhones are significantly more expensive in Brazil because of high import taxes.

During the 1932 Olympic journey, Brazilian athletes sold coffee to help fund their trip.

A weakening of Earth’s magnetic field over parts of Brazil and Argentina is known as the South Atlantic Anomaly.

Ilha da Queimada Grande, or Snake Island, has one of the highest densities of venomous snakes in the world and is closed to the public.

Brazil ranks among the top countries globally in number of billionaires.

Brazil invested heavily in infrastructure for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

In Laguna, wild bottlenose dolphins cooperate with fishermen by herding fish and signaling when to cast nets.

Brazil was the first country to ban indoor tanning nationwide.

Near Natal, a single cashew tree covers several thousand square meters.

Brazil’s national drink is the caipirinha, made from cachaça, lime, sugar, and ice.

The first printing press in Brazil was established in 1808.

Corcovado Mountain in Rio de Janeiro is crowned by the Christ the Redeemer statue.

São Paulo recorded one of the longest traffic jams ever measured in 2013.

Although called Brazil nuts, Bolivia is now the largest exporter.

There is a town in Brazil called Não-Me-Toque, meaning “Don’t touch me.”

São Paulo banned outdoor advertising in 2007 to reduce visual pollution.

The largest free rock concert ever recorded took place on Copacabana Beach.

São Paulo is home to B3, Latin America’s largest stock exchange.

Smoking is banned in enclosed public spaces.

Most forms of gambling are illegal, though online gambling exists in a legal gray area.

Electronic cigarettes have been banned since 2009.

Mobile phone use is restricted inside many banks as an anti-robbery measure.

São Paulo has the world’s largest helicopter fleet.

Brazil has the largest cattle herd in the world.

Brazil is the world’s largest producer of soybeans and sugarcane.

The Amazon River has no bridges crossing most of its length.

The Brazilian Constitution of 1988 is one of the longest in the world.

Brazil has over 2,000 beaches.

The city of Manaus has a famous opera house built during the rubber boom, the Teatro Amazonas.