Official Name: República Federativa do Brasil (Federative Republic of Brazil)

Area: South America

Size: 8,514,877 km² 

Coastline: 7,491 km

Independence: from Portugal September 7, 1822 

Form of Govt.: Multiparty federal republic

Head of Govt.: President

Capital: Brasilia

Largest City: São Paulo

Demographics (2005): 188,078,261,  22 /km²

53% "white", 38% "mixed", 6% "black", 1% "other"

GDP per Capita (2005): $$8,600

Languages: Portuguese

Geography: (1.) The densely forested northern lowlands which cover around 50% of the country's interior and contains the Amazon River Basin. (2.) The semiarid scrub lands of the northeast. (3.) The rugged hills and mountains mixed with rolling plains, to the central west and south (4.) The narrow coastal belt which contains 30% of the country's population. Approximately 50% of the land area is covered by forests with the largest forest in the world located in the Amazon River Basin. The country has eight river systems which carry around 20% of the world's running water, of which the most important are the Amazon, Sao Francisco, Paraguay, Parana and Uruguay.

Climate: The geography of the country divides it into four climatic regions, (1.) the Amazon basin which has no dry season and is typically tropical. (2.) The Brazilian Plateau which has a more distinct wet and dry season, and is susceptible to prolonged drought. (3.) The coastal belt which has a hot tropical climate and (4.) a region further south that has a seasonal temperate climate. Rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year and the nationwide average annual precipitation varies between 1,010 mm and 2,030 mm. Average temperature ranges in Rio de Janeiro are from 17 to 24 degrees in July to 23 to 29 degrees in February.