Brazil

49th country for this site

Population 192,300,000 (2009)

Capital Brasília

Area 8,514,877 km2

Brazil is the largest country and the only Portuguese-speaking country in South America.Brazil is a founding member of the United Nations, G20 Group, Mercosul and the Union of South American Nations, and is one of the BRIC Countries. Brazil is also home to a diversity of wildlife, natural environments, and extensive natural resources in a variety of protected habitats.

Brazil is a political and economic leader in Latin America,however, social and economic problems prevent it from becoming an effective global power.

Brazil is a federation composed of twenty-six States, one federal district (which contains the capital city, Brasília) and municipalities.

Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world, after Russia, Canada, China and the United States.

The climate of Brazil comprises a wide range of weather conditions across a large area and varied topography, but most of the country is tropical.[8] According to the Köppen system, Brazil hosts five major climatic subtypes: equatorial, tropical, semiarid, highland tropical, temperate, and subtropical. The different climatic conditions produce environments ranging from equatorial rainforests in the north and semiarid deserts in the northeast, to temperate coniferous forests in the south and tropical savannas in central Brazil. Many regions have starkly different microclimates.South of Bahia, near São Paulo, the distribution of rainfall changes, with rain falling throughout the year . The south enjoys temperate conditions, with cool winters and average annual temperatures not exceeding 18 °C winter frosts are quite common, with occasional snowfall in the higher areas.




Brazil's large territory comprises different ecosystems, such as the Amazon Rainforest, recognized as having the greatest biological diversity in the world,[149] with the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado, sustaining the greatest biodiversity. In the south, the Araucaria pine forest grows under temperate conditions.