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Welcome to the Brazil Portal Main Indices   Projects   Amazon Rainforest Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil), is the largest and most populous country in South America, and the fifth largest in the world in both area and population. Its territory covers 8,514,876.599 km² between central South America and the Atlantic Ocean and it is the easternmost country of the Americas. It borders Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana and the département of French Guiana to the north, Uruguay to the south, Argentina and Paraguay to the southwest, Bolivia and Peru to the west, and Colombia to the northwest. The only South American countries not bordered by Brazil are Ecuador and Chile. The Brazilian coastline covers 7,367km (4,655 mi) along the Atlantic ocean. Numerous archipelagos are part of the Brazilian territory, such as Penedos de São Pedro e São Paulo, Fernando de Noronha, Trindade e Martim Vaz and Atol das Rocas. Tropical climate is predominant. In the south of the country, subtropical climate prevails. Brazil is traversed by the Equator and Tropic of Capricorn lines. It is home to varied fauna and flora and extensive natural resources. The Brazilian population tends to concentrate along the coastline in large urban centers. While Brazil has one of the largest populations in the world, population density is low and the inner continental land has large demographical empty spaces. It is a multiracial country composed of European, Amerindian, African and Asian elements, more often combined in the same individual than separated into different communities. The official language is Portuguese, and it is the only Portuguese-speaking country in all the Americas. Catholicism is the predominant religion, though Protestant communities have experienced significant growth in the last decades. Brazil has the largest Roman Catholic population in the world. Show new selections Credit: Kelvinc Brazil (Portuguese: Brasil), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil) <phonos file="Pt-br-República Federativa do Brasil.ogg">listen</phonos>, is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of over 7,491 km (4,655 mi). It is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana and the overseas department of French Guiana; on the northwest by Colombia; on the west by Bolivia and Peru; on the southwest by Argentina and Paraguay and on the south by Uruguay. Numerous archipelagos are part of the Brazilian territory, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, and Trindade and Martim Vaz. Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until its independence in 1822. Initially independent as the Brazilian Empire, the country has been a republic since 1889, even though its bicameral legislature (now called Congress) dates back to 1824, when the first constitution was ratified. Its current Constitution defines Brazil as a Federal Republic. The Federation is formed by the union of the Federal District, the 26 States, and the 5,564 Municipalities. Rio Grande do Norte is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the edge of the South American continent. Because of its geographic position, Rio Grande do Norte has a strategic importance. It is the land of the folklorist Câmara Cascudo and is second in the world having the purest air, second only to Antarctica, according to NASA. João on stage after performing a surgery. Credit: Relvavend João Teixeira de Faria (born June 24, 1942), known also as João de Deus (Portuguese pronunciation: [juˈɐ̃w̃ dʒi ˈdews]; "John of God"), is a medium and so-called "psychic surgeon" in Brazil. He is based in Abadiânia, a small town in the state of Goiás, southwest of Brasília. João de Deus was born João Teixeira de Faria in Cachoeira da Fumaça, Goiás. Not much is known about João's early life. There are no records save those in the memories of his associates, and they differ widely. Even João himself is a poor source of precise details. His most widely known biography is The Miracle Man, written by, Robert Pellegrino-Estrich, who runs tours to Abadiânia and cannot be considered an unbiased source. João has no medical training and describes himself as a "simple farmer." João completed only two years of education and spent many years travelling from village to village in the states of Goias and Minas Gerais healing people and administering the local herbs to whoever turned up wherever he stopped. Credit: Rsabbatini ...that the Brazil's 1838 Balaiada uprising was named after the job of one of its leaders, a basketmaker? ...that Lytocaryum weddellianum, an endangered species of palm trees endemic to Brazil, may be saved from extinction as it has become a common potted plant in Europe? ...that France Antarctique, a short-lived French colony, was not in Antarctica but in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil? Brasília is the capital of Brazil. It presents a sui generis status in Brazil, given it is not a municipality like nearly all cities in Brazil. Instead, Brasília is the first of several Administrative Regions within the Distrito Federal (Federal District) — which, constitutionally, cannot be divided into municipalities. Informally, however, Brasília is referred to as coterminous with the Federal District. Latin America Argentina Bolivia Colombia Chile Ecuador French Guiana Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela The following Wikimedia sister projects provide more on this subject: