Brazil Info

Brazilian topography is diverse, including hills, mountains, plains, highlands, scrublands, savannas, rainforests, and a long coastline. The extensive low-lying Amazon Rainforest covers most of Brazil’s terrain in the North, whereas small hills and low mountains occupy the South. Along the Atlantic coast there are several mountain ranges, with a highest altitude of roughly 2,900 meters (9,500 feet (2,900 m)). The highest peak is the 3,014 metres (9,890 ft) Pico da Neblina (Misty Peak) in Guiana's highlands.[56][57] Major rivers include the Amazon, the largest river in terms of volume of water, and the second-longest in the world; the Paraná and its major tributary, the Iguaçu River, where the Iguaçu Falls are located; the Negro, São Francisco, Xingu, Madeira and the Tapajós rivers. Several small islands and atolls in the Atlantic Ocean are part of Brazil: Abrolhos, Atol das Rocas, Penedos de São Pedro e São Paulo, and Trindade and Martim Vaz.

Politically, Brazil is a Federation of twenty-six states (estados) and one federal district (Distrito Federal).

The national territory was divided in 1969 by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), for demographic and statistical purposes, into five main regions: North, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast and South.

The North region covers 45.27% of the surface of Brazil, and has the lowest number of inhabitants. With the exception of Manaus, which hosts a tax-free industrial zone, and Belém, the biggest metropolitan area of the region, it is fairly unindustrialized and undeveloped. It accommodates most of the rainforest vegetation of the world and many indigenous tribes.

The Northeast region is inhabited by about 30% of Brazil's population.[47] It is culturally diverse, with roots set in the Portuguese colonial period, and in Amerindian and Afro-Brazilian elements. It is also the poorest region of Brazil,[48] and suffers from long periods of dry climate.[49] The largest cities are Salvador, Recife and Fortaleza.

The Central-West region has low demographic density when compared to the other regions,[50] mostly because a part of its territory is covered by the world's largest marshlands area, the Pantanal[51] as well as a small part of the Amazon Rainforest in the northwest. However, much of the region is also covered by Cerrado, the largest savanna in the world. The central-west region contributes significantly towards agriculture.[52] The largest cities of this region are: Brasília (the capital), Goiânia, Campo Grande, Cuiabá.

The Southeast region is the richest and most densely populated.[50] It has more inhabitants than any other South American country, and hosts one of the largest megalopolises of the world, where of the main cities are the country's two largest; São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The region is very diverse, including the major business center of São Paulo, the historical cities of Minas Gerais and its capital Belo Horizonte, the third-largest metropolitan area in Brazil, the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, and the coast of Espírito Santo.

The South region is the wealthiest by GDP per capita,[48] and has the highest standard of living in the country.[53] It is also the coldest region of Brazil,[54] with occasional occurrences of frost and snow in some of the higher altitude areas.[55] It has been settled by European immigrants, mainly of Italian, German, Portuguese, Slavic and Japanese ancestry, being clearly influenced by these cultures. The largest cities in this region are: Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Florianópolis, Londrina, Caxias do Sul and Joinville.

- President: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
- Vice President: José Alencar Gomes da Silva
- President of the Chamber of Deputies: Arlindo Chinaglia
- President of the Senate: Garibaldi Alves Filho
- Chief Justice: Ellen Gracie Northfleet