Brazil

Brazil

The Federative Republic of Brazil (República Federativa do Brasil in Portuguese) is the largest and most populous country in Latin America, and fifth largest in the world. Spanning a vast area between central South America and the Atlantic Ocean, it borders Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and France (French Guiana) — every South American nation except for Ecuador and Chile. Named after brazilwood, a tree highly valued by early colonists, Brazil is home to both extensive agricultural lands and rain forests. Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, it has the biggest GDP is South America (10th in the world) and is today South America's leading economic power and a regional leader. A former colony of Portugal, Portuguese is its official language.

History of Brazil

Brazil had been inhabited for at least 6,000 years by semi-nomadic populations when the first Portuguese explorers, led by Pedro Álvares Cabral disembarked in 1500. Over the next three centuries it was re-settled by the Portuguese and exploited mainly for brazilwood at first, and later for gold mining and sugarcane agriculture. Work in the colony was based on slavery. In 1808 Queen Maria I of Portugal and her son and regent, the future João VI of Portugal, fleeing from Napoleon, relocated to Brazil with the royal family, nobles and government. Though they returned to Portugal in 1821, the interlude led to the opening of commercial ports to the United Kingdom — at the time isolated from most European ports by Napoleon — and the "elevation" of Brazil to the status of a Kingdom united to Portugal's Crown. Then prince-regent Dom Pedro I declared independence on 7 September 1822, establishing the independent Empire of Brazil. This lasted until the next emperor, Dom Pedro II was deposed and a federal republic was established on 15 November 1889.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Brazil attracted over 5 million European and Japanese immigrants. That period also saw Brazil industrialise and further colonize and develop its interior. Brazilian democracy was replaced by dictatorship three times — 1930–1934 and 1937–1945 under Getúlio Vargas, and 1964–1985 under a succession of generals appointed by the military. Today Brazil is a democracy.

(The current detailed articles in Wikipedia are premised on an narrow economic class-based analysis of Brazilian history.)

Politics of Brazil

National Congress of BrazilThe 1988 constitution grants broad powers to the federal government, of which the President and Vice-President are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms. The President has extensive executive powers: he appoints the Cabinet, and he is also both head of state and head of government.

The Brazilian legislature, the bicameral National Congress or Congresso Nacional, consists of the Federal Senate or Senado Federal of 81 seats, of which three members from each state or federal district are elected according to the principle of majority to serve eight-year terms; one-third elected after a four-year period, two-thirds elected after the next four-year period. Beside the Senate there is the Chamber of Deputies or Câmara dos Deputados of 513 seats, whose members are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms.

Geography of Brazil

Brazil is characterized by the extensive low-lying Amazon Rainforest in the north, and a more open terrain of hills and (low) mountains to the south, home to most of Brazil's population and its agricultural base. Along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean are also found several mountain ranges, which can reach roughly 2,900m high. However, the highest peak is the Pico da Neblina at 3,014 m, in Guiana's highlands. Major rivers include the Amazon, the largest river in the world by volume, and considered by many specialists also the longest of the world; the Paraná and its major tributary, the Iguaçu River, where the impressive Iguaçu falls are located; the Rio Negro, São Francisco, Xingu, Madeira and the Tapajós rivers.

Situated along the equator, Brazil's climate is predominantly tropical, with little seasonal variation, though the subtropical south is more temperate and can occasionally experience frost and snow. Precipitation is abundant in the humid Amazon Basin, though more arid landscapes are found as well, in particular in the northeast.

A number of islands in the Atlantic Ocean are part of Brazil:

Economy of Brazil

São PauloPossessing large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, as well as a large labor pool, Brazil's economy outweighs that of all other South American countries and is expanding its presence in world markets. Major export products include coffee, soybeans, iron ore, orange juice, steel and airplanes. After crafting a fiscal adjustment program and pledging progress on structural reform, Brazil received a USD 41.5 billion IMF-led international support program in November 1998. In January 1999, the Brazilian Central Bank announced that the Real would no longer be pegged to the US dollar. This devaluation helped moderate the downturn in economic growth in 1999 that investors had expressed concerns about over the summer of 1998, and the country posted moderate GDP growth.

Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001 — to less than 2% — because of a slowdown in major markets, the hiking of interest rates by the Central Bank to combat inflationary pressures, and fears over the economic policies of the new government to be elected. Investor confidence was strong at the end of 2001, in part because of the strong recovery in the trade balance. Highly unequal income distribution remains a pressing problem.

After Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva came to power 1 January 2003, there was some fear that Brazil would undergo a financial crisis. However, so far these fears turned out to be unfounded, and after a GDP decrease of 0.2% in 2003, Brazil has been enjoying a moderate growth during the following years of his term.

Demographics of Brazil

Brazil is populous along the coast, less in the interior. The inhabitants are very diverse with many races and cultures represented (see article above). The population of the Southern states are mainly of European descent, tracing their roots back to the 19th century immigrants from Italy, Germany, Poland, Spain, Ukraine and Portugal. On the other hand, the majority of the North and Northeastern inhabitants are of mixed ancestry (Natives, Africans and Europeans).

See Timor -Leste for East Timor
Ecuador - Republic of Ecuador
Egypt - Arab Republic of Egypt
El Salvador - Republic of El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea - Republic of Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea - State of Eritrea
Estonia - Republic of Estonia
Ethiopia - Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (federal state)

F
Falkland Islands (overseas territory of the United Kingdom, also claimed by, and a former possession of Argentina named Islas Malvinas)
Faroe Islands (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
Fiji - Republic of the Fiji Islands
Finland - Republic of Finland
France - French Republic
French Polynesia (overseas country of France)

G
Gabon - Gabonese Republic
Gambia, The - Republic of The Gambia
Georgia (see also Abkhazia and South Ossetia)
Germany - Federal Republic of Germany (federal state)
Ghana - Republic of Ghana
Gibraltar (overseas territory of the United Kingdom)
Greece - Hellenic Republic
Greenland (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
Grenada (Commonwealth Realm)
Guam - Territory of Guam (unincorporated organized territory of the United States)
Guatemala - Republic of Guatemala
Guernsey - Bailiwick of Guernsey (British Crown dependency, including its self-governing dependencies Alderney, Herm and Sark)
Guinea - Republic of Guinea
Guinea-Bissau - Republic of Guinea-Bissau
Guyana - Co-operative Republic of Guyana

H
Haiti - Republic of Haiti
Honduras - Republic of Honduras
Hong Kong - Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (diplomatically known as Hong Kong, China)
Hungary - Republic of Hungary

I
Iceland - Republic of Iceland
India - Republic of India (federal state)
Indonesia - Republic of Indonesia
Iran - Islamic Republic of Iran
Iraq - Republic of Iraq
Ireland (also commonly referred to as the Republic of Ireland as the official "description" of the state in order to distinguish it from the island of Ireland as a whole)
Israel - State of Israel
Italy - Italian Republic
See Côte d'Ivoire for Ivory Coast

J
Jamaica (Commonwealth Realm)
Japan
Jersey - Bailiwick of Jersey (British Crown dependency)
Jordan - Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

K
Kazakhstan - Republic of Kazakhstan
Kenya - Republic of Kenya
Kiribati - Republic of Kiribati
Korea (North) - Democratic People's Republic of Korea (popularly known as North Korea)
Korea (South) - Republic of Korea (popularly known as South Korea)
Kosovo - Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohia (autonomous province of Serbia and Montenegro under UN interim civilian administration)
Kuwait - State of Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan - Kyrgyz Republic (sometimes also rendered as Kirghizia)

L
Laos - Lao People's Democratic Republic
Latvia - Republic of Latvia
Lebanon - Republic of Lebanon
Lesotho - Kingdom of Lesotho
Liberia - Republic of Liberia
Libya - Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Liechtenstein - Principality of Liechtenstein
Lithuania - Republic of Lithuania
Luxembourg - Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

M
Macau - Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (diplomatically known as Macau, China)
Macedonia - Republic of Macedonia (referred to by UN and a number of countries and international organizations as The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)
Madagascar - Republic of Madagascar
Malawi - Republic of Malawi
Malaysia (federal state)
Maldives - Republic of Maldives
Mali - Republic of Mali
Malta - Republic of Malta
Mann, Isle of - Isle of Man (British Crown dependency, also known as Mann)
Marshall Islands - Republic of the Marshall Islands (US associated state)
Mauritania - Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Mauritius - Republic of Mauritius
Mayotte (overseas collectivity of France)
Mexico - United Mexican States (federal state)
Micronesia - Federated States of Micronesia (federal state, US associated state)
Moldova - Republic of Moldova (see also Pridnestrovie)
Monaco - Principality of Monaco
Mongolia (sometimes also rendered as Outer Mongolia (together with Tuva) in order to distinguish it from Inner Mongolia of the People's Republic of China)
Montserrat (overseas territory of the United Kingdom)
Morocco - Kingdom of Morocco (see also Western Sahara)
Mozambique - Republic of Mozambique
Myanmar - Union of Myanmar (formerly and popularly known as Burma)

N
Nagorno-Karabakh - Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (de facto independent state inside Azerbaijan)
Namibia - Republic of Namibia
Nauru - Republic of Nauru
Nepal - Kingdom of Nepal
Netherlands, the - Kingdom of the Netherlands (legally the Netherlands refers to the mainland European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with the latter consisting of the Netherlands and two overseas countries, namely Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles)
Netherlands Antilles (overseas country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
New Caledonia (sui generis collectivity of France)
New Zealand (Commonwealth Realm)
Nicaragua - Republic of Nicaragua
Niger - Republic of Niger
Nigeria - Federal Republic of Nigeria (federal state)
Niue (self-governing state in free association with New Zealand)
Norfolk Island - Territory of Norfolk Island (overseas territory of Australia)
Northern Cyprus - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (de facto independent state inside Cyprus, recognized only by Turkey)
Northern Mariana Islands - Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (unincorporated organized territory (commonwealth) in political union with the United States)
Norway - Kingdom of Norway

O
Oman - Sultanate of Oman

P
Pakistan - Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Palau - Republic of Palau (US associated state)
Palestine - State of Palestine (currently recognized by over 90 countries and further supported by other countries according the Palestinian National Authority a pivotal role in the process that may involve their eventually recognizing the State as sovereign)
Panama - Republic of Panama
Papua New Guinea - Independent State of Papua New Guinea (Commonwealth Realm)
Paraguay - Republic of Paraguay
Peru - Republic of Peru
Philippines, the - Republic of the Philippines
Pitcairn Islands - Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno Islands (overseas territory of the United Kingdom)
See Transnistria for Pridnestrovie
Poland - Republic of Poland
Portuguese - Republic
Puerto Rico - Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (unincorporated organized territory (commonwealth) associated with the United States)

Q
Qatar - State of Qatar

R
Romania
Russia - Russian Federation (federal state)
Rwanda - Republic of Rwanda

S
Saint Helena (overseas territory of the United Kingdom)
Saint Kitts and Nevis - Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis (federal state, Commonwealth Realm)
Saint Lucia (Commonwealth Realm)
Saint Pierre and Miquelon (overseas collectivity of France)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Commonwealth Realm)
Samoa - Independent State of Samoa
San Marino - Most Serene Republic of San Marino
São Tomé and Príncipe - Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe
Saudi Arabia - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Senegal - Republic of Senegal
Serbia and Montenegro - State Union of Serbia and Montenegro (federal state, its province of Kosovo is under UN interim civilian administration)
Seychelles - Republic of Seychelles
Sierra Leone - Republic of Sierra Leone
Singapore - Republic of Singapore
Slovakia - Slovak Republic
Slovenia - Republic of Slovenia
Solomon Islands (Commonwealth Realm)
Somalia (the whole country is presently fragmented with its Transitional National Government in exile, see also Somaliland)
Somaliland - Republic of Somaliland (de facto independent state inside Somalia)
South Africa - Republic of South Africa
South Ossetia - Republic of South Ossetia (de facto independent state inside Georgia)
Spain - Kingdom of Spain
Sri Lanka - Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Sudan - Republic of the Sudan
Suriname - Republic of Suriname
Svalbard (overseas territory of Norway recognized by international treaty)
Swaziland - Kingdom of Swaziland
Sweden - Kingdom of Sweden
Switzerland - Swiss Confederation (federal state)
Syria - Syrian Arab Republic

T
Taiwan (ROC) - Republic of China (diplomatically sometimes known as Chinese Taipei (or other names), regarded by UN as "Taiwan, Province of China", the political status of the ROC and the legal status of the Taiwan Island (and its outlying islands) are in dispute)
Tajikistan - Republic of Tajikistan
Tanzania - United Republic of Tanzania (federal state)
Thailand - Kingdom of Thailand
Timor-Leste - Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (popularly known as East Timor)
Togo - Togolese Republic
Tokelau (overseas territory of New Zealand)
Tonga - Kingdom of Tonga
Transnistria - Transnistrian or Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic (the Transnistrian government uses as translation Pridnestrovie, de facto independent state inside Moldova)
Trinidad and Tobago - Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Tristan da Cunha (dependency of Saint Helena, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom)
Tunisia - Tunisian Republic
Turkey - Republic of Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks and Caicos Islands (overseas territory of the United Kingdom)
Tuvalu (Commonwealth Realm)

U
Uganda - Republic of Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates (federal state)
United Kingdom - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Commonwealth Realm)
United States - United States of America (federal state)
Uruguay - Oriental Republic of Uruguay
Uzbekistan - Republic of Uzbekistan

V
Vanuatu - Republic of Vanuatu
Vatican City - State of the Vatican City (administered by a Pontifical Commission appointed by the Pope who is concurrently the head of the Holy See and that of the Vatican City)
Venezuela - Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (federal state)
Vietnam - Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Virgin Islands (British) - British Virgin Islands (overseas territory of the United Kingdom)
Virgin Islands (U.S.) - United States Virgin Islands (unincorporated organized territory of the United States, popularly known in its abbreviated terms as U.S. Virgin Islands)

W
Wallis and Futuna (overseas collectivity of France)
Western Sahara - Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (currently recognized by over 40 countries, the SADR only exercises effective control over the territory east of Moroccan Wall, whereas large portion of the territory is occupied by and integrated in Morocco)

Y
Yemen - Republic of Yemen

Z
Zambia - Republic of Zambia
Zimbabwe - Republic of Zimbabwe