| |||||||
| Capital | Rio de Janeiro | ||||||
| Largest city | São Paulo | ||||||
| Other cities | Salvador, Belém, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte | ||||||
| Language | Portuguese | ||||||
| Religion main |
Roman Catholicism | ||||||
| others | Protestantism | ||||||
| Demonym | Brazilian | ||||||
| Government | Constitutional monarchy | ||||||
| Emperor | João II | ||||||
| Royal house: | Braganza-Bourbon | ||||||
| Prime-Minister | Plínio Sampaio | ||||||
| Area | 8,017,849 km² | ||||||
| Population | 65,000,000 | ||||||
| Established | 1822 | ||||||
| Independence | from Portugal | ||||||
| declared | 1822 | ||||||
| recognized | 1826 | ||||||
| Currency | Real | ||||||
Brazil (Portuguese: Brasil), officially the Brazilian Empire (Portuguese: Império do Brasil), is the largest country in South America. It is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas, the only monarchy in South America and the largest Lusophone country in the world
Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of over 7500 km. It is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname; on the northwest by Colombia; on the west by the Peru-Bolivian Confederation; on the southwest by Argentina and Paraguay and on the south by Uruguay. Numerous archipelagos form part of Brazilian territory, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, and Trindade and Martim Vaz. It has borders with all other South American countries apart from Ecuador and Chile.
Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until 1815, when it was elevated to United Kingdom with Portugal and Algarves. The colonial bond was in fact broken in 1808, when the capital of the Portuguese Kingdom was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, after Napoleon invaded Portugal. The independence from Portugal was achieved in 1822.
The Brazilian economy is the world's eighth largest economy by nominal GDP and the seventh largest by purchasing power parity. Brazil is one of the world's fastest growing major economies. Economic reforms have given the country new international recognition. Brazil is a founding member of the United Nations, the G20, CPLP, Latin Union, the Organization of Ibero-American States, Mercosul and the Union of South American Nations. Brazil is also home to a diversity of wildlife, natural environments, and extensive natural resources in a variety of protected habitats.