Facts about Brazil

What is the complete name of Brazil ?
Federative Republic of Brazil (República Federativa do Brasil in Portuguese)

What is the capital of Brazil ?
Brasilia

What is the official language of Brazil ?
Portuguese is the official and most widely spoken language

What type of government does Brazil have ?
Federal republic

Who is the president of Brazil ?
Michel Temer (Chief of state and head of government)

Who is the vice president of Brazil ?
Vacant

Where is Brazil located ?
Eastern South America

When did Portuguese explorers first claim Brazil ?
Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral set sail with his fleet on March 9, 1500, looking to follow Vasco da Gama’s route to India to secure direct trade relations for spices. They discovered land on April 22, 1500 and claimed it for Portugal. Cabral erected a large wooden cross, and named the land, Island of the True Cross (Ilha de Vera Cruz), as he originally believed it was an island.

How long did Brazil remain a colony of Portugal ?
Three centuries

When did Brazil achieve independence from Portugal ?
September 7,1822

How big is Brazil ?
8,514,877 square kilometers – 5^th largest country in the world (and the largest country in South America)

What is the population of Brazil ?
Approximately 202,656,788 (July 2014 est.) – 5^th most populous country in the world (and the most populous in South America)

How many states does Brazil have ?
26 states + 1 federal district

What are the names of Brazil’s states and their capitals ?

• Acre – Rio Branco
• Alagoas – Maceió
• Amapa – Macapá
• Amazonas – Manaus
• Bahia – Salvador
• Ceara – Fortaleza
• Distrito Federal – Brasilia
• Espirito Santo – Vitória
• Goias – Goiânia
• Maranhao – São Luís
• Mato Grosso – Cuiabá
• Mato Grosso do Sul – Campo Grande
• Minas Gerais – Belo Horizonte
• Pará – Belém
• Paraiba – João Pessoa
• Parana – Curitiba
• Pernambuco – Recife
• Piaui – Teresina
• Rio de Janeiro – Rio de Janeiro
• Rio Grande do Norte – Natal
• Rio Grand do Sul – Porto Alegre
• Rondonia – Porto Velho
• Roraima – Boa Vista
• Santa Catarina – Florianópolis
• São Paulo – São Paulo
• Sergipe – Aracuju
• Tocantins – Palmas

What islands are part of Brazil ?

• Fernando de Noronha
• Rocas Atoll
• Saint Peter and Paul Rocks
• Trinidade and Martim Vaz Islands

What are the largest cities in Brazil (by population) ?
São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro

What countries border Brazil ?
Brazil shares borders with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador:

• Argentina
• Bolivia
• Colombia
• French Guiana
• Guyana
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Suriname
• Uruguay
• Venezuela

What are the major rivers in Brazil ?

• Amazon (the widest river in the world, and the 2^nd longest)
• Paraná
• Parnaíba
• Paraguay River
• São Francisco
• Tocantins
• Uruguay River

What are the major mountain ranges in Brazil ?

• Serra do Mar
• Serra do Espinhaço
• Tumucumaque
• Pacaraima
• Imeri

How many time zones does Brazil have ?
Three

What is the national anthem of Brazil ?
Hino Nacional Brasileiro

What currency does Brazil use ?
Brazilian real (R$)

What do the elements of the Brazilian flag represent ?
The Brazilian flag is green with a yellow rhombus (or diamond). Inside the rhombus is a blue globe with 27 stars.

Originally, the green represented the first emperor of Brazil (House of Braganza of Pedro I).

The yellow represented the Habsburg Family of his wife.

On the modern flag:
Green represents the forests, while the yellow represents the mineral wealth of Brazil. The blue circle and stars represent sky over Rio de Janeiro. There is one star to represent each of the states and the federal district.

The country’s motto, “Ordem e Progresso” (Order and Progress), is written on a banner across the sky.

Brazil Map

ACOD~20120924

Last Updated : December 23, 2016