Brazil

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Brazil (Portuguese: Brasil), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil) listen (help·info), is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of over 7,491 kilometers (4,655 mi). It is 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. Numerous archipelagos are part of the Brazilian territory, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, and Trindade and Martim Vaz.

Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until its independence in 1822. Initially independent as the Brazilian Empire, the country has been a republic since 1889, although the bicameral legislature, now called Congress, dates back to 1824, when the first constitution was ratified. Its current Constitution defines Brazil as a Federal Republic. The Federation is formed by the union of the Federal District, the 26 States, and the 5,564 Municipalities.

Brazil is the world's tenth largest economy at market exchange rates and the ninth largest by purchasing power parity. Economic reforms have given the country new international projection. It is a founding member of the United Nations and the Union of South American Nations. A predominantly Roman Catholic, Portuguese-speaking, and multiethnic society, Brazil is also home to a diversity of wildlife, natural environments, and extensive natural resources in a variety of protected habitats.

For more information about Brazil, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with brazil


EU: bluefin tuna catches to be reduced

Biology / Ecology

created Nov 16, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- The EU Commission says over 45 countries who catch tuna have agreed to cut catches of the threatened Atlantic bluefin tuna next year.





Search results for brazil


The end of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon?

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 03, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1

A new article in the December 4 issue of Science addresses how the combined efforts of government commitments and market transition could save forest and reduce carbon emissions in Brazil. The Policy Forum brief, entitled "The E ...


Got a pain? -- Have a cup of Brazilian mint

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Nov 24, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (9) | comments 0

For thousands of years it has been prescribed by traditional healers in Brazil to treat a range of ailments from headaches and stomach pain to fever and flu.


Burning coal worse for climate than clearing rain forests

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 26, 2009 | popularity 2.4 / 5 (8) | comments 4

Deforestation has had a big influence on the increase of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the past three centuries, but its impact is tapering off relatively. Nowadays, the burning of fossil fuels is a more crucial factor. ...


Wind turbines off the coast of Spain

Clean energy to grow into 1.6 trillion euros industry: WWF

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 10, 2009 | popularity 3.4 / 5 (8) | comments 1

The clean energy technology sector will grow into a 1.6 trillion-euro (2.4 trillion-dollar) industry by 2020, becoming the third largest industrial sector after automobiles and electronics, WWF said Friday.


Television control for the remote

Technology / Telecom

created Dec 08, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- A cheap way to deliver interactive communications to remote communities has been successfully tested in Brazil and Italy.


Netherlands reports mutant swine flu death

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Dec 03, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Dutch authorities said Thursday a patient infected by a mutant strain of the swine flu virus had died, but added that this was not the cause of death.


Study looks at scientific, cultural perspectives on race

Biology / Other

created Nov 17, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (3) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study compares personal perceptions of race, color and ancestry of Brazilian high school students with the results of genetic ancestry tests, with the aim of investigating the tensions between cultural ...


China reports 8 cases of mutated swine flu virus

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- China has detected eight people infected with mutated forms of the swine flu virus, a health official said Wednesday, but flu drugs and vaccines still work against it.


Young people browse the Internet in a cybercafe in Abidjan

Cyber laws must punish individuals not society: specialist

Technology / Internet

created Nov 17, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Laws regulating cybercrimes must target individuals and not society as a whole, an IT specialist told an Internet governance forum at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday.


Cyber crooks tarketing banks-social networks: Cisco

Technology / Internet

created Dec 08, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

An annual security report being released Tuesday by technology titan Cisco warns that banks and online social networks are prime targets for increasingly sophisticated cyber crooks.



List of search results for brazil