Land area:8,456,511 sq km (3,265,059 sq mi)
Total area: 8,511,965 sq km (3,286,470 sq mi)
Population: 198,739,269
Capital: Brasília, 2,160,100
Largest cities: São Paulo, 18,333,000 (metro. area), 10,927,985 (city proper); Rio de Janeiro, 11,469,000 (metro. area), 6,094,183 (city proper); Salvador, 2,590,400; Belo Horizonte, 2,347,500; Recife, 1,485,500; Porto Alegre, 1,372,700
Currency: Real
Languages: Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
Religion: Roman Catholic 74%, Protestant 15%
Ethnicity: Caucasian 54%, mulatto 38%, African 6%
Time zone: GMT-2 to GMT-5; Daylight Saving Time is observed from third Sunday in October to third Saturday in March and is GMT-2 for the Eastern Standard Time zone (GMT-3) and GMT-3 for the Western Standard Time zone (GMT-4); DST is not observed in the remaining time zones
Electricity: AC 110 V (American standard plugs) in most states, some states in the north and some hotels use AC 220-240 V (Europlug)
Brazil is the largest country in South America, occupying nearly half of the continent. It is also the fifth most populous country in the world. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, bordered on the north by
Venezuela, Guyana,
Suriname and the French 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.
Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world, after Russia, Canada, China and the United States and it covers almost half of the South American continent. The terrain is mostly flat, with altitudes not exceeding 3,000 m (10,000 ft). The highest point in Brazil is the Pico da Neblina at 2,994 metres (9,823 ft). Most of the southern half of the country features highlands. Northwestern part of Brazil is covered by broad, rolling terrain.
