Brazil

Federative Republic of Brazil

Capital

Brasilia

Official language (s)

Portuguese

Area

8.514.877 km²

Population

192.376.496

Ethnic groups

47,73% - White
43,13% - Brown (Multiracial)
7,61% - Black
1,09% - Asian
0,43% - Amerindian 

Major cities
(with population)

Sao Paulo - 11.316.149
Rio de Janeiro - 6.355.949
Salvador - 3.093.605
Brasilia - 2.609.997
Fortaleza - 2.476.589
Belo Horizonte - 2.385.639
Manaus - 1.832.423
Curitiba - 1.764.540
Recife - 1.536.934
Porto Alegre - 1.413.094
Belem - 1.402.056
Goiania - 1.318.148
Guarulhos - 1.233.426
Campinas - 1.088.611
Sao Luis - 1.027.429
Sao Goncalo - 1.008.064
Maceio - 943.109
Duque de Caxias - 861.157
Teresina - 822.363
Natal - 810.780

Currency (-ies)

Brazilian real (BRL), subdivided into 100 centavos

Main religion

64,6 % - Roman Catholics
22,2 % - Protestants

Time zone (s)

GTM – 02 to GTM – 04

Dialing code

+55

Climate

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. Brazil hosts five major climatic subtypes: equatorial, tropical, semiarid, highland tropical, temperate, and subtropical.
An equatorial climate characterizes much of northern Brazil. There is no real dry season, but there are some variations in the period of the year when most rain falls. Temperatures average 25°C (77°F), with more significant temperature variation between night and day than between seasons.
Over central Brazil rainfall is more seasonal, characteristic of a savanna climate. This region is as extensive as the Amazon basin but has a very different climate as it lies farther south at a higher altitude. In the interior northeast, seasonal rainfall is even more extreme.
The south enjoys temperate conditions, with cool winters and average annual temperatures not exceeding 18°C (64,4 F); winter frosts are quite common, with occasional snowfall in the higher areas.
Average temperature ranges in Rio de Janeiro are from 17 to 24°C (63 to 75°F) in July to 23 to 29°C (73 to 84°F) in February.

Administrative division

Brazil is a federation composed of 26 States, one federal district (which contains the capital city, Brasília) and municipalities.
The states and the federal district may be grouped into regions: Northern, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast and Southern. The Brazilian regions are merely geographical, not political or administrative divisions, and they do not have any specific form of government.

Major airports