Local Time = Brazil lies within 4 different time zones.
Southern Brazil uses daylight saving time from October until February: +1 hour
(pop. 2.1 million)
The Federal District Government of Brasilia. (in Portuguese)
Other Cities:
Sao Paulo,
Rio de Janeiro,
Belo Horizonte,
Salvador,
Fortaleza,
Recife,
Porto Alegre,
Curitiba
Government:
Type: Federative Republic.
Independence: 7 September 1822 (from Portugal).
Geography:
Location: Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean.
Area: 8.5 million km² (3 290 000 sq. mi.);
slightly smaller than the USA
Terrain: Dense rain forests in northern regions including the Amazon Basin; semiarid along the northeast coast; mountains, hills, and rolling plains in the southwest, including
Mato Grosso; and coastal lowland.
Climate: Mostly tropical or semitropical with temperate zone in the south.
People:
Nationality: Brazilian.
Population: est. 212 million (in 2024)
Ethnic groups: Brazil's population consists of approximately 45% Pardo (mixed), 43% White, and 10% Black people.
To the indigenous peoples of South America were added successive waves of Europeans (mainly Portuguese) and Africans (mostly from the sub-Saharan west coast, belonging to the Bantu and to the Sudanic (Yoruba) ethnic groups).
Religion: (in 2023) Roman Catholic (53%), Protestant (27%).
Language:
Brazilian Portuguese.
Literacy: 95% of the adult population.
Transparency: Rank 94 (out of 180 countries); Score 38, on a scale from 100 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt). Brazil is ranked in the Corruption Perceptions Index 2020 between
Ecuador and
Ethiopia.
GNI per capita
PPP: $ 18,600 (2023)
Natural resources: Iron ore, manganese, bauxite, nickel, uranium, gemstones,
oil, wood, and aluminum. Brazil has 12% of the world's fresh water.
Agriculture products: Brazil is the biggest exporter of coffee, soybeans, beef, sugar cane, ethanol and frozen chickens.
Other products: wheat, rice, corn, cocoa, and citrus.
Industries: Textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin,
steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment.
Exports - commodities: transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, automobiles
Exports partners: China 26%,
US 11%,
Argentina 5%,
Netherlands 3%,
Spain 3% (2022)
Imports - commodities: machinery, electrical and transport equipment, chemical products, oil, automotive parts, electronics
Imports partners: China 24%, US 18%,
Germany 5%, Argentina 5%,
India 4% (2022)
Currency: Brazilian Real (BRL)
