Brazil
Brazil, officially the
Federative Republic of Brazil (
Portuguese:
Brasil or
República Federativa do Brasil,
[Some possible pronunciations:IPA: , , , , . It should be noticed that standard Brazilian Portuguese pronunciantion allows variant realisations of some phonemes, and that those variations do not necessarily imply any regional accent. European Portuguese pronunciation of the official name of Brazil is: . See Portuguese Phonology for more details.]), is the largest and
most populous country in
South America, and
fifth largest in the world in both area and population. Spanning a vast area between central South America and the
Atlantic Ocean, it is the easternmost country of the
Americas and it borders
Uruguay,
Argentina,
Paraguay,
Bolivia,
Peru,
Colombia,
Venezuela,
Guyana,
Suriname and the French department of
French Guiana. In fact, it borders every South American nation except for
Ecuador and
Chile. The country's name is generally believed to be derived from
pau-brasil (
brazilwood), a tree highly valued by early colonists, though some credit the name to a
mythical land mentioned in Europe during Middle Ages. Brazil is home to both extensive
agricultural lands and
rain forests. Exploring vast natural resources and a large labor pool, it is South America's leading economic power and a regional leader. Because it was a
colony of
Portugal,
Portuguese is Brazil's
official language. Brazil has the world's second largest
Christian population (151 million, behind that of the
United States), and also is the world's largest
Roman Catholic-majority nation in terms of both number of adherents and land mass --- a strong cultural legacy left behind by the Roman Catholic Portuguese colonists.
Brazil is thought to have been inhabited for at least 10,000 years by semi-nomadic populations before the first
Portuguese explorers, led by
Pedro Álvares Cabral, disembarked in 1500. Over the next three centuries, it was resettled by the Portuguese and exploited mainly for
brazilwood (Pau-Brasil) at first, followed by
sugarcane (Cana-de-Açúcar) agriculture, coffee beans and
gold mining. The colony's source of manpower was initially composed of
enslaved Amerindians, and after 1550, mainly
African. In 1808, Queen
Maria I of Portugal and her son and regent, the future
João VI of Portugal, fleeing from the armies of
Napoleon, relocated to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the royal family, nobility and government. This is the only recorded trans-continental relocation of a royal family.
|
Salvador is Brazil's third city in population and was the country's capital until 1763. |
Though they returned to Portugal in 1821, the interlude led to the opening of commercial ports to the
United Kingdom — at the time isolated from most European ports by Napoleon — and to the elevation of Brazil to the status of a united kingdom under the Portuguese Crown. Then prince regent
Dom Pedro I (later Pedro IV of Portugal) declared independence on
7 September 1822, establishing the independent
Empire of Brazil. As the crown remained in the hands of the
House of Bragança, this was more the severance of the Portuguese empire in two, than an independence movement as seen elsewhere in the Americas.
The Brazilian Empire was theoretically a democracy in the
British style, although in practice, the emperor-premier-parliament balance of power more closely resembled the autocratic
Austrian Empire. Slavery was abolished in 1888, through the "Golden Law", created by
Princess Isabel, and intensive European immigration created the basis for industrialization. Pedro I was succeeded by his son,
Pedro II — who in old age was caught by a political dispute between the Army and the Cabinet, a crisis arising from the
Paraguay War. In order to avoid a civil war between Army and Navy, Pedro II renounced the throne on
15 November 1889, when a
federal republic (officially, the Republic of the United States of Brazil) was established by
Field Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Brazil attracted over 5 million
European and
Japanese immigrants. That period also saw Brazil industrialise, further colonise, and develop its interior. Brazilian democracy was replaced by
dictatorships three times — 1930–1934 and 1937–1945 under
Getúlio Vargas, and 1964–1985, under a succession of generals appointed by the military with the help of the US. Since 1985, Brasil has been internationally considered a
democracy, specifically a
presidential democracy; that status was affirmed in a 1993
plebiscite, in which voters were asked to choose between a presidential or
parliamentary system; voters also decided not to restore the country's
constitutional monarchy.
A key feature of democracy in contemporary Brazil is the existence of a vibrant and participant civil society.
NGOs and citizen organizations are at the forefront of the struggle for
human rights,
gender equality and economic justice.
|
Brazil's National Congress is the most famous landmark in the capital, Brasilia |
The capital of Brazil is
Brasília. According to the Constitution promulgated in 1988, Brazil is a
federal presidential representative democratic republic, wherein the
President is both
head of state and
head of government. One of the founding principles of the politics in the Republic is the multi-party system, as a guarantee of political freedom.
The administrative structure of the State is a federation following the United States' model; however, Brazil has included the municipalities as autonomous political entities making the federation tripartite: encompassing the Union, the States, and the municipalities. The legal system is based on
Roman Law.
The Union's
Executive power is exercised by the government, headed by the president, who is elected for a four-year term, and is allowed to be re-elected for one other term.
Legislative power is vested in the
National Congress, which is bicameral. The
deputies of the
Chamber of Deputies are elected every four years in a system of proportional representation by states. The members of the
Federal Senate are elected for an eight-year term. The Ordinary Law making process requires the participation of the executive, which has a right to veto on new legislation, and has an exclusive prerogative of initiative of legislation on certain matters. Additionally, if relevant and urgent circumstances justify it, the executive may issue a "Provisory Measure," which has the binding force of the Law and comes into force immediately. The "Provisory Measure" retains its full power for up to 120 days, unless it is reverted by the Congress.
Brazil is a
federation consisting of 26 states (
estados) and 1 federal district (
distrito federal), making a total of 27
Federate Units.
|
Political divisions of Brazil |
Brazil is organised on a federal model, the Brazilian states enjoying a significant autonomy of government, law making, public security and taxation. The government of a state is headed by a
Governor (
governador), elected by popular vote, and also comprises its own legislative body (
assembléia legislativa).
Each state is divided into
municipalities (
municípios) with their own
legislative council (
câmara de vereadores) and a mayor (
prefeito), which are autonomous and hierarquically independent from both Federal and State Government. A municipality may include other towns (
distritos) besides the municipal seat; those, however, have no separate government.
The Judiciary is organised at the state and federal levels within districts called
comarcas. One
comarca may include several municipalities.
Brazil is characterised by the extensive low-lying
Amazon Rainforest in the north and a more open terrain of hills and low mountains to the south — home to most of the Brazilian population and its agricultural base. Along the
Atlantic seacoast are also found several mountain ranges, reaching roughly 2,900
metres (9,500
ft) high. The highest peak is the
Pico da Neblina(Myst's Peak) reckoning 3,014 metres (9,735 ft) of altitude, in
Guiana's
highlands. Major rivers include the
Amazon, the largest river in the world in flowing water volume, and the second-longest in the world; the
Paraná and its major tributary, the
Iguaçu River, where the impressive
Iguaçu falls are located; the
Negro,
São Francisco,
Xingu,
Madeira and the
Tapajós rivers.
Located mainly within the
tropics, Brazil's
climate has little seasonal variation. In southern most Brazil, however, there is subtropical temperate weather, occasionally experiencing frost and snow in the higher regions.
Precipitation is abundant in the humid
Amazon Basin, but more arid landscapes are found as well, particularly in the northeast.
A number of
islands in the
Atlantic Ocean are part of Brazil:
*
Saint Peter and Paul Rocks*
Rocas Atoll*
Fernando de Noronha*
Trindade and Martim VazMainland Brazil is commonly geographically divided into 5 distinctive
regions:
North,
Northeast,
Centre-West,
Southeast and
South.
*The North constitutes 45.27% of the surface of Brazil and it is the region with the lowest number of inhabitants. It is a fairly unindustrialised and undeveloped region (with the exception of Manaus, which hosts a tax-free industrial zone). It accommodates most of the largest rainforest of the world, the
Amazon, and many
indigenous tribes.
*The Northeast has one third of Brazil's population. The region is culturally diverse, with roots from the
Portuguese colonial period,
Afro-Brazilian culture and some
Brazilian Indian influence. It is also the poorest region of Brazil, and has long periods of
dry climate. It is well-known for its beautiful
coast.
* The Central-West is the second largest region of Brazil, but has a low demographic density. It is there that the Brazilian capital,
Brasília, is located. The region accommodates the
Pantanal, the world's largest marshlands area, and a small part of the
Amazon rainforest, in its northwestern area. However, much of the region is overgrown by
Cerrado, the largest
savanna in the world, which has two distinct seasons: a rainy season (from October to April) and a dry one (from May to September). It is also the most important area for agriculture in the country. The most important cities are:
Brasília,
Goiânia,
Campo Grande and
Cuiabá*The Southeast is the richest and most densely populated region. It has more inhabitants than any other South American country, and hosts one of the largest
megalopoles of the world, whereof the main cities are the country's two biggest ones;
São Paulo and
Rio de Janeiro. The region is very diverse, including the major business centre of São Paulo, the
Historical cities of Minas Gerais, the world famous beaches of Rio de Janeiro, and the acclaimed coast of Espírito Santo.
*The South is the wealthiest region (considering GDP per capita), with the best
standard of living in the country. It is also the coldest region of Brazil, with occasional occurrences of
frosts and
snow in some of the higher altitude regions. The region has been heavily settled by
European immigrants, mainly of
German,
Italian, and
Slavic genealogy, and shows clear influences from these cultures.
|
São Paulo, the fourth largest city in the world and the financial capital of the country |
Possessing large and well-developed
agricultural,
mining,
manufacturing, and
service sectors, as well as a large labor pool, Brazil's GDP (PPP) outweighs that of any other
Latin American country, being the core economy of
Mercosur. The country has been expanding its presence in world markets. Major export products include
aircraft,
coffee,
vehicles,
soybean,
iron ore,
orange juice,
steel,
textiles,
footwear and
electrical equipment.
According to the
International Monetary Fund and the
World Bank, Brazil has the ninth largest economy in the world at purchasing power parity. Brazil has a diversified middle income economy with wide variations in development levels. Most large industry is aglomerated in the South and South-East. The North-East is the poorest region of Brazil, but it is beginning to attract new investment.
Brazil has the most advanced industrial sector in Latin America. Amounting to one-third of
GDP, Brazil's diverse industries range from automobiles, steel and petrochemicals to computers, aircraft, and consumer durables. With the increased economic stability provided by the Plano Real, Brazilian and multinational businesses have invested heavily in new equipment and technology, a large proportion of which has been purchased from North American enterprises.Brazil has a diverse and sophisticated services industry as well. During the early 1990s, the banking sector amounted to as much as 16% of GDP. Although undergoing a major overhaul, Brazilian financial services industry provides local businesses with a wide range of products and is attracting numerous new entrants, including U.S. financial firms. The São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro stock exchanges are undergoing a consolidation.
Brazilian cities vary significantly in the ease of doing business, according to the new
Doing Business in Brazil report released by The World Bank Group. Brazilian cities perform better when it comes to the cost of registering property. But despite identical regulations across Brazil, there is a wide variation in the time it takes to transfer property
Current events
After decades of
inflation and several attempts to control it, Brazil embarked on a successful economic stabilisation program, the
Real Plan (named after the new currency it's introduced, the
Real) in July 1994. The inflation rates, which had reached an annual level of nearly 5,000% at the end of 1993, fell sharply, reaching a low of 2.5% in 1998. The passing of the
Fiscal Responsibility Law in 2000 has improved the
fiscal discipline of the local and federal governments.
During the
Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration (1995-2002), the government led efforts to replace a state-dominated economy with a market-oriented one. The Congress has approved several amendments opening the economy to greater private sector participation, and fostering the involvement of foreign investors. By the end of 2003, Brazil's privatisation program, which included the sale of steel, electricity and telecommunications firms, had generated proceeds of more than $90 billion.
In January 1999, the
Brazilian Central Bank announced that the Real would no longer be pegged to the U.S. dollar, which entailed a major devaluation of the Brazilian currency. This devaluation helped moderate the downturn in economic growth in 1999 that investors had expressed concerns about over the summer of 1998. Brazil's
debt to
GDP ratio of 48% for 1999 beat the IMF target and helped reassure investors that Brazil will maintain tight fiscal and monetary policy even with a floating currency and the economy grew 4.4% in 2000.
In 2001, growing concerns that the presidential candidate considered most likely to win, leftist Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, would
default on the debt, triggered a confidence crisis that caused the economy to decelerate. However once elected Lula resumed the economic policies of his predecessor (thus in a way forswearing his socialist past). In 2003, President Lula took an austere approach to the economy by controlling inflation and seeking current account surpluses in order to meet Brazil's debt obligations. With an economic program that combined restrictive monetary policy and an increase in taxes, Lula surprised most economic actors, increased international confidence, and improved Brazilian debt ratings.
After a GDP increase of 0.5% in 2003, Brazil did not show very robust growth in 2004, decreasing to the pace of 2.3% (2005); international economic growth and, consequentially, expansion of exports, no doubt contributed to this performance. In January 10, 2006, the IMF showed satisfaction[
1] with Brazil's economic policies. Brazil has already paid off its debts with the
International Monetary Fund and the
Paris Club.
Major issues
The economy still has serious challenges to face and important reforms are still to be implemented. Serious problems involving poor infrastructure, income concentration, low quality public services, corruption, social conflicts and government bureaucracy persist and threaten to hamper economic growth, compared to other emerging countries.
The internal public debt has reached the all time record and public expenses have been increased. Taxes already represent a considerable part of
national income and are a serious burden to all social classes, diminishing opportunities for investment.
Current economic growth is below that of comparable Latin American countries and is ridiculous if compared to that of China and India. Brazil has dropped 11 positions on the
WEF Growth Competitiveness Index ranking from 2003 to 2005.[
2].
The dominant ancestry among
Brazilians is
Portuguese through the descendants of the early Portuguese colonists (from the 16th century onwards) and later Portuguese immigrants (19th and 20th centuries). The settlement of Portuguese started in Brazil after 1532, when the active process of colonization began since the founding of
São Vicente. Until independence in 1822, the Portuguese were the only
European nation that successfully settled in Brazil, and most of Brazil's culture is based on that of
Portugal.
Other European countries had some presence during the Colonial period. The
Dutch and the
French tried to colonise Brazil during the 17th century, but their presence lasted only a few decades.
The original
Amerindian population of Brazil (between 3-5 million) has in large part been exterminated or assimilated into the
Portuguese population. Since the beginning of Brazil's
colonization, intermarriage between the
Portuguese and
Native Brazilians has been common. Nowadays, there are 700,000 natives in Brazil, composing less than 1% of the national population.
|
Many Germans immigrated to Brazil during the 19th and 20th centuries and now their descendants make up the majority of the population in many areas of Southern Brazil |
Brazil has a large
black population, descended from
African slaves brought to the country from the 16th century until the 19th century. More than 3 million Africans were brought to Brazil until the end of slave trafficking in 1850. They were mainly from
Angola,
Nigeria,
Benin,
Togo,
Ghana, the
Ivory Coast and
São Tomé e Príncipe. The African population in Brazil has mixed substantially with the Portuguese, resulting in a large
mixed-race population.
Beginning in the 19th century, the Brazilian government stimulated
European immigration to substitute for the manpower of the former slaves. The first non-Portuguese
immigrants to settle in Brazil were
German, in 1824. In 1869 the first
Polish immigrants settled in Brazil. However, strong
European immigration to Brazil began only after 1875, when immigration from
Italy,
Portugal and
Spain increased. According to the
Memorial do Imigrante, between 1870 and 1953, Brazil attracted nearly 5.5 million immigrants -- approximately 1,550,000
Italians, 1,470,000
Portuguese, 650,000
Spaniards, 210,000
Germans, 190,000
Japanese, 120,000
Poles and 650,000 of many other nationalities. These figures may be a serious undercounting of the actual numbers of immigrants, since the spouses were often not counted; there were large numbers of illegals never counted; the family names were changed to hide national origins; and Brazilian record-keeping was slipshod. Brazil is home to the largest
Italian population outside of Italy, with 25 million Italians and
Italian-descended Brazilians. Brazil is also home to the largest
Lebanese community in the world, roughly 8 million.
Starting in the early 20th century, Brazil also received a large number of Asians:
Korean,
Chinese,
Taiwanese, and
Japanese immigrants. The Japanese are the largest
Asian minority in Brazil, and
Japanese-Brazilians are the largest Japanese population outside of
Japan (1.5 million).
Brazil's population is mostly concentrated along the coast, with a lower population density in the interior. The population of the southern states is mainly of European descent, while the majority of the inhabitants of the north and northeast are of mixed ancestry (Amerindians, Africans and Europeans).
Ethnicity and race
The ancestry of Brazil's modern-day population is relatively diverse, and includes
Amerindian (mainly
Tupi and
Guarani, among others),
European (mainly
Portuguese,
Italian,
German,
Spanish) and
African (mainly
Bantu and
Yoruba) ancestry, with minorities of
Asian (mainly
Japanese),
Lebanese, and
Arab Syrians (see also
mitochondrial DNA studies that indicate a high degree of admixture).
Southern Brazil has a large majority of people of European descent and in Southeast and Central-West Brazil the number of whites is somewhat equal to the number of Afro-Brazilian and multiracial Brazilians. Northeastern Brazil has a majority of people of African descent, while in Northern Brazil the Amerindian ancestry is predominant.
According to Brazil's 1988 Constitution, racism is an unbailable crime and must be met with imprisonment.This is taken very seriously.
[CERD Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Thirteenth periodic report of States parties due in 1994 : Brazil. 22/02/96.CERD/C/263/Add.10. (State Party Report)]The 2000
IBGE census found Brazil to be made up of:
*white 53.7%
*multiracial 38.5% (mostly mixed
White and
Black (
mulatto)
*black 6.2%
*Asian 0.5%
*amerindian 0.4%
*unspecified 0.7%
*Over 90 million people in Brazil descends from the massive waves of European immigration, the main groups are the Iberians, Italians, Central Europe Germanics, Scandinavians and Slavs.Other groups like Armenians, Finnish, French, Greeks, Hungarians, Romenians, British and Irish are in a lower scale;
*Brazil has 200.000 Jews, mostly Ashkenazi;
*13 million Arabians, mostly from the Levante region, Syria and Lebanon in the Eastern Mediterranean;
*79 million African descendants and multiracial people;
*Over 3 million Asians, mostly from East Asia, Japan and Korea;
*And 700.000 Native Americans.
Languages
Portuguese is the only official language of Brazil. It is spoken by the entire population and is virtually the only language used in schools, newspapers, radio, TV and for all business and administrative purposes. Moreover, Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in
the Americas, making the language part of Brazilian national identity.
Brazilian Portuguese has had its own development, with great influence by
Amerindian and
African languages. Due to these influences, the language is somewhat different from that spoken in
Portugal and other Portuguese-speaking countries, mainly for phonological and orthographic differences-- like the difference between American English and British English.
Many indigenous languages are spoken daily in indigenous communities, primarily in Northern Brazil. Although many of these communities have significant contact with Portuguese, today there are incentives for teaching native languages. Some languages are spoken by descendants of
immigrants, who are usually bilingual, in small rural communities in
Southern Brazil. The most important are the
Brazilian German dialects, such as
Riograndenser Hunsrückisch and the
Pomeranian language, and the
Talian, based on the
Italian Venetian language. In the city of
São Paulo,
Japanese can be heard in the immigrant neighborhoods, like
Liberdade.
English is part of the official high school curriculum, but few Brazilians are truly fluent in the language.
Spanish is understood to varying degrees by most Portuguese speakers due to the great similarity between the two languages.
Despite being a large country with extensive resources and a huge economy, Brazil currently has more than 22 million people living in state of
extreme poverty. Including those living in state of relative poverty, this number can rise to more than 53 million people (around 30% of the country's population) living with an income insufficient for their basic needs. This is a critical issue, and is in part attributed to the country's
economic inequality, considered one of the world's highest according to the
Gini coefficient index [
3].
|
Rocinha, a favela in Rio de Janeiro |
Poverty in Brazil is most visually represented by the various
favelas, a great number of
slums in the country's metropolitan areas and in upcountry remote regions with low rates of economic and social development. The
Northeast region has chronic problems due to the
semi-arid climate in the inner regions, as its periodic droughts affect millions of people [
4]. The most recent attempt to mitigate these problems is being tried by current President
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has proposed a hunger-eradication program (
Fome Zero) and raised the budget for a handful of wealth distribution programs that were previously established, but there is much discussion over the effectiveness of these approaches.
In the last 12 years, Brazil's tax rate increased gradually from around 28% of the country's
GDP to more than 37% [
5]. In spite of this, not enough improvement (in some cases, none at all) was seen in the public services offered by either the federal or most of the state and municipal governments to make this increase considered fair by the population[
6]. There are believed to be two major causes for this:
*High interest rates paid by the government on its debts[
7].
*Widespread
corruption [
8].:Since the end of the country's military regime and the re-establishment of freedom of the press in the country, constant scandals involving members of the
Executive,
Legislative and
Judiciary governments accused of participating in schemes of
bribery,
embezzlement,
money laundering and
anonymous banking have come to surface.
About 16 million people in Brazil are officially considered
illiterate; however, if we include those who received less than 4 years of
schooling, this number rises to 33 million people (around 18% of the country's total population) [
9].
The culture of Brazil is rooted in the
culture of Portugal. The
Portuguese colonists and
immigrants brought the
Catholic faith, the Portuguese language and many
traditions and customs that still influence the modern-day Brazilian culture. As a multiracial country, its culture also absorbed other influences. The
Amerindian peoples influenced Brazil's language and
cuisine and the
Africans, brought as
slaves, largely influenced
Brazil's music,
dance, cuisine and language.
Italian and
German immigrants came in large numbers and their influences are felt closer to the South of Brazil.
*
Brazilian Carnival*
Religion in Brazil*
Cuisine of Brazil*
List of Brazilians*
Literature of Brazil*
Music of Brazil*
Cinema of Brazil*
Sports in Brazil*
Holidays in Brazil*
Brazil SkyscrapersReligion
According to the
IBGE census[
10]:
*73.6% of the population is
Catholic, making Brazil the country with the largest
Catholic population in the world.
*Followers of
Protestantism are rising in number, currently at 15.4%.
*7.4% of the population consider themselves
agnostics or
atheists.
*
Spiritism constitutes 1.3% of the population (about 2.3 million).
*0.3% are followers of African traditional religions such as
Candomblé,
Macumba, and
Umbanda.
*1.8% are members of other religions. Some of these are
Jehovah's Witnesses (500,000 followers)
Buddhism (215,000),
Seicho-No-Ie (151,000),
Judaism (87,000), and
Islam (27,000) [
11].
*Some practice a mixture of different religions, such as Catholicism, Candomblé, and indigenous American religion combined.
Sports
The most popular sport in Brazil is
football (soccer), and the country is renowned for the quality of its players, including
Ronaldo,
Pelé,
Ronaldinho,
Jairzinho,
Rivelino,
Zico,
Romario,
Carlos Alberto,
Rivaldo,
Roberto Carlos,
Garrincha, and most recently,
Kaká and one of the world's most recognised players and the current holder of the title of best football player in the world,
Ronaldinho. The
Brazilian national football team has been victorious in the
World Cup tournament a record five times and after the third time, Brazil kept the
World Cup trophy permanently.
Brazil has also achieved success in other international sports, mainly
volleyball,
basketball,
tennis,
gymnastics and
auto racing.
Many sports have originated in Brazil:
*
Beach soccer, created in the beaches of
Rio de Janeiro.
*
Footvolley, a mix of football and volleyball, also played in sand.
*
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a variation of Japanese
jujutsu and
judo.
*
Vale tudo, a fight sport.
*
Capoeira, a
martial art of African heritage.
*
Biribol, an aquatic variation of
VolleyballSome of Brazil's most important technology nodes are located in
São José dos Campos,
Campinas,
São Carlos,
Rio de Janeiro,
Curitiba,
Porto Alegre,
Belo Horizonte,
Recife and
São Paulo.
Brazilian
Information Technology is considered one of the most advanced in the world. Catering for the internal market,
Brazilian IT is recognised as a leader in
financial services,
defense,
CRM,
eGovernment, and
healthcare.
It's the pioneer government trying to use
free software operating system instead proprietary
operating system.
* Favela is an old term. It was substituted by "comunidade" (community)
*
Protected areas of Brazil*
Fazendas*
Military of Brazil*
Communications in Brazil*
Foreign relations of Brazil*
Human rights in Brazil*
Public holidays in Brazil*
Transportation in Brazil*
Ethanol fuel in Brazil*
Brazilian cuisine*
BrasiguayosFauna and flora
* List of Brazilian mammals
* List of Brazilian birds
* List of Brazilian reptiles
* List of plants of Atlantic Forest vegetation of Brazil
* List of plants of Caatinga vegetation of Brazil
* List of plants of Cerrado vegetation of Brazil
* List of plants of Pantanal vegetation of BrazilMuch of the material in these articles comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.*
; Government and administration
*
Brasil.gov.br - Official government portal (in Portuguese)
*
Câmara dos Deputados - Official Chamber of Deputies site (in Portuguese)
*
Presidência da República - Official presidential site (in Portuguese)
*
Senado Federal - Official Senate site (in Portuguese)
Information and statistics
* Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Brazil
* Library of Congress - A Country Study: Brazil
* Encyclopaedia Britannica Brazil Country Page
* National Library (available in both English and Portuguese)
* Mapa Fácil - Online maps of more than 5000 Brazilian cities (in Portuguese)
* Satellite images of Brazil's main cities
;Economy and Business
*
Doing Business in Brazil - The World Bank Group's guide to doing business in Brazil
*
Starting a Business in BrazilNews and Opinion
*The Council on Hemispheric Affairs An independent source of news and opinion on Latin America
*The Council on Hemispheric Affairs An independent source of news and opinion on Latin America
*Infolatam Information and news of Brasil
;Tourism
*
Accommodation in Brazil - Guide courtesy of the Brazilian embassy in London, UK
*
Wikitravel Guide to Brazil
*
Travel Guide to Brazil - Visit Rio de Janeiro, the
Amazon, and the
Pantanal and read about their history and culture, along with trip planning advice.
*
Brazil Travel Info*
Travel to Brazilfiu-vro:Brasiiliazh-yue:巴西
