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: (in 2021) 212.7 million.
GNI per capita
PPP: $ 16,461 (2019)
Ethnic groups: Brazil's population is derived from three main ethnic sources.
To the original inhabitants (Indians) 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: Roman Catholic (64%), Protestant (22%).
Language:
Brazilian Portuguese.
Literacy: 92% of 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.
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 28%,
USA 13%,
Netherlands,
Argentina,
Japan,
Chile (2019)
Imports - commodities: machinery, electrical and transport equipment, chemical products, oil, automotive parts, electronics
Imports partners: China 21%, United States 18%,
Germany 6%, Argentina 6% (2019)
Currency: Brazilian Real (BRL)