Brazil

By Eoghan Fahey

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At 8.5 million square kilometres Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area and the sixth most populous. Brazil has a population of over 211 million people, and is the world’s fifth largest country by are and the sixth most populous.

People speak Portuguese in Brazil because Brazil was a Portuguese colony. As of 2019, the population of Brazil speaks or signs approximately 228 languages, of which 217 are indigenous and 11 came with immigrants. The Brazilian spelling of Portuguese is distinct from that of other Portuguese-speaking countries and is uniform across the country.

Common Portuguese phrases include: Oi!- Hello! Bom-dia!- Good morning! Adeus!- Good bye! Sim- Yes Não- No Obrigado- Thank you Me desculpe- Excuse me Sinto muiot- I’m sorry Eu me chamo- My name is… Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7, 491 kilometres. It borders all other countries in South America except Ecuador and Chile and covers 47.3% of the continent's land area. Brazil is surrounded by the following countries:

Argentina

Bolivia

Columbia

French Guiana

Guyana

Paraguay

Peru

Suriname

Uruguay

Venezuela Its capital is Brasília, and its most populous city is São Paulo. The federation is composed of the union of the 26 states, the Federal District, and the 5,570 municipalities. It is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language and the only one in the Americas; it is also one of the most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations, due to over a century of mass immigration from around the world.

Cities of Brazil Recife – Population 1,625,583 Recife is a city found in northern Brazil. It is a major commercial and industrial zone for the country. The city also draws many tourists, mostly thanks to its famous beaches. Recife also has a famous carnival that attracts visitors. Curitiba –Population 1,893,997 Curitiba is the largest city in the south of Brazil. It is found about 475 km south of São Paulo. Manaus – Population 2,094,391 Manaus is the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. With over 2 million people, Manaus holds the designation of being the largest city in the entire Amazon Rianforest area. Due to its location, accessing the city is actually quite difficult and cannot be done by road. Belo Horizonte – Population 2,513,451 Belo Horizonte is a large city in south-central Brazil with a population of around 2.5 million. Belo Horizonte is located within mountains. Fortaleza – Population 2,609,716 Fortaleza is another city in Brazil’s northeast. One of Fortaleza’s most important features is a large urban park called Cocó Park, which is one of the largest parks in all of Central and South America. Salvador – Population 2,938,092 Salvador is a city found in northeast Brazil, and the fourth largest city in the country. It is known for being the capital of the state of Bahia. Brasília – Population 2,977,216 The capital of Brazil, Brasília, is the third largest city in Brazil with a population of nearly 3 million people. Brasília is famous for being a planned city that was specially designed to be the capital of Brazil, beginning in the 1950s. The city was chosen as capital due to its geographic location in the interior of the country. Rio de Janeiro – Population 6,498,837 One of the most famous cities in the country, Rio de Janeiro is the second biggest city in Brazil. It is the capital of the state bearing the same name, and formerly was the capital of the entire country. Some of the most famous landmarks in Rio de Janeiro include Sugar Loaf Mountain, Copacabana, and the Christ the Redeemer statue. Rio de Janeiro hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics. São Paulo – Population 10,659,386 São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil by population. Moreover, São Paulo is the largest city in South American and among theworlds largest cities. Brazil is a vibrant city known for its countless skyscrapers, and for being the economic center of Brazil.

Natural environment

Brazil is the only country in the world that has the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn running through it. Brazil’s natural envirnomentis diverse and includes hills, mountains, plains, highlands, and scrublands. Much of the terrain lies between 200 metres and 800 metres in elevation. The main upland area occupies most of the southern half of the country. The north-western parts of the plateau consist of broad, rolling terrain broken by low, rounded hills.

Dedo de Deus (God's Finger) peak in the background

Canion of Canindé de São Francisco, Sergipe, a geological accident carved by the São Francisco River.

The southeastern section is more rugged, with ridges and mountain ranges reaching elevations of up to 1,200 metres. These ranges include the Mantiqueira and Espinhaço mountains and the Serra do Mar.

In the north, the Guiana Highlands form a major drainage divide, separating rivers that flow south into the Amazon Basin from rivers that empty into the Orinoco River system, in Venezuela, to the north. The highest point in Brazil is the Pico da Neblina at 2,994 metres and the lowest is the Atlantic Ocean.

Major rivers include the Amazon (the world's second-longest river), the Paraná and its major tributary the Iguaçu (which includes the Iguazu Falls), the Negro, Xingu, Madeira and Tapajós rivers.

The Amazon rainforest

The majority of the forest is contained within Brazil, with 60% of the rainforest, followed by Peru with 13%, Colombia with 10%, and with minor amounts in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests, and comprises the largest and most biodiverse tract of tropical rainforest in the world, with an estimated 390 billion individual trees divided into 16,000 species.

The region is home to about 2.5 million insect species, tens of thousands of plants, and some 2,000 birds and mammals. To date, at least 40,000 plant species, 2,200 fishes, 1,294 birds, 427 mammals, 428 amphibians, and 378 reptiles have been scientifically classified in the region. One in five of all bird species are found in the Amazon rainforest, and one in five of the fish species live in Amazonian rivers and streams.

The total number of tree species in the region is estimated at 16,000. The green leaf area of plants and trees in the rainforest varies by about 25% as a result of seasonal changes. These changes provide a balance of carbon between photosynthesis and respiration.

Larger mammals include carnivores pumas, jaguars, ocelots, rare bush dogs, and foxes, and herbivores peccaries, tapirs, anteaters, sloths, opossums, and armadillos. Deer are plentiful in the south, and many species of New World monkeys are found in the northern rain forests. Concern for the environment has grown in response to global interest in

environmental issues. Brazil's Amazon Basin is home to an extremely diverse array of fish species, including the red-bellied piranha.

Famous Brazilian sports people Brazil is famous for its football and has won the World Cup a record 5 times. Some famous Brazilian sports people are included here. Alisson Ramses Becker, was born in Novo Hamburgo, State of Rio Grande do Sul on the 2nd October, 1992. He is commonly known as Alisson, and is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Liverpool and the Brazil national team. In 2019 he was named The Best FIFA Goalkeeper and was also the recipient of the inaugural Yashin Trophy.

Roberto Firmino Barbosa de Oliveira was born in the State of Alagoas on the 2nd October, 1991. He is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Premier League club Liverpool and the Brazil national team as a forward, attacking midfielder or winger. After starting his career with Figueirense in 2009, he spent four-and-a-half seasons at Hoffenheim.

Thiago Braz da Silva is a Brazilian athlete specializing in the pole vault. He is the current reigning Olympic Gold medallist and holds the Olympic record of 6.03 metres

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, born 23 October 1940, known as Pele, is a Brazilian retired professional footballer who played as a forward. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. According to the IFFHS, Pelé is the most successful domestic league goal-scorer in football history scoring 650 goals in 694 League matches, and in total 1281 goals in 1363 games, which included unofficial friendlies and is a Guinness World Record. During his playing days, Pelé was for a period the best-paid athlete in the world.

Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1988, 1990 and 1991, and who is widely regarded as one of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time. He died in an accident while leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

Maurren Higa Maggi is a former Brazilian track and field athlete and Olympic gold medalist. She is South American record holder in the 100m hurdles and long jump, with 12.71 seconds and 7.26 metres respectively. She also has a best of 14.53 metres in the triple jump – a former South American record. She is the first Brazilian woman to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual sport.

Culture Samba Samba is a lively, rhythmical dance of Afro-Brazilian origin. Samba was created by African people in Brazil from the music and dance culture they brought from Africa. Samba music is very similar to and has been influenced by many Angolan music genres, as well as many other Latin American music genres and dances. Samba is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival. Carnival The Carnival of Brazil is an annual Brazilian festival held between the Friday afternoon before Ash Wednesday and Ash Wednesday at noon, which marks the beginning of Lent, the forty-day period before Easter. During Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry, hence the term "carnival", from carnelevare, "to remove meat." Rio’s Carnival is the largest in the world according to Guinness World Records Food A traditional Brazilian dish is Feijoada, a rich hearty stew with different cuts of pork and black beans. Brazil is the largest producer of coffee beans in the world. Brazil is also the world’s largest exporter of orange juice

Tourist attractions

This is Christ the redeemer, one of the most famous landmarks in the world

Famed for its crescent-shaped beach, Copacabana is one of Rio’s liveliest neighbourhoods, drawing a cross-section of locals and visitors to round-the-clock activity along its sands and mosaic-tiled promenade. Amid the high-rises overlooking the beach are the art deco Copacabana Palace hotel and imposing Copacabana Fort, home to a military museum. Inland, laid-back sidewalk cafes and casual bars line tranquil streets.

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