| Brazil, the official name is Federative Republic of Brazil (port. Republica Federativa do Brasil), is the largest country with respect to area and population in South America and the only Portuguese speaking country in America. Brazil is the 5th placed world country in regards to area and population. Brazil occupies the eastern and central part of the continent.
The capital is Brasilia. The other variant of the name of the city - Brazil - matches with the Russian name of the country.
The maximum stretch from north to south is 4320 km and from east to West 4328 km. Brazil has borders with French Guiana, Surinam, Guiana and Venezeula in the north, Columbia on the north-west, Peru and Bolivia in the west, Paraguay and Argentina in the southwest and Uruguay in the south. From the east, Brazil is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the length of coast line is 7400 km. Several archipelagoes, particularly, Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Pedro and Saint Paul Rocks and Trindade and Martim vaz Islands also form the composition of Brazil.
Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the moment Pedro Alvares Cabral arrived on the shores of South America in 1500 till the announcement of independence in 1822 to form the Brazilian empire. Brazil became republic in 1889, though two houses of parliament, which is pcurrently called Congress, has roots back to 1824 when the first constitution was ratified. The present constitution defines Brazil as a Federative Republic, which is a union of Federal districts, 26 states and 5564 municipalities.
Brazil has the eighth largest economy in terms of nominal GDP in the world and ninth with respect to GDP, assessed according to purchasing power. Economic reforms brought international recognition to the country. Brazil is a member of international organizations such as UNO, G20, Mercosur and the Union of South American Nations and is also one of the BRIC countries.
Portugal, its former parent state, had significant influence on Brazilian culture. The official and practically the only language spoken is Portuguese. Religion wise, the majority of Brazilians are Catholics, which makes Brazil the country with the largest Catholic population in the world.
Brazil's total area (with islands) is 8512 000 sq km.
Fauna:
It is believed that Brazil has the greatest number of terrestrial vertebrate animals as well as invertebrate animals than any other country in the world. This high diversity of fauna can be explained by the large size of the country and also by the huge diverse ecosystems. Information about the variety of fauna is highly dependent on the source, both because of the fact that even taxonomists sometimes disagree about the classification of species and because of the lack of data and sometimes incomplete or outdated information. Constantly new species are identified while the others, unfortunately, continue to become extinct.
Brazil has the largest number of primate species amongst all countries, about 77 species, and the largest number of species of freshwater fish (more than 3000 species). Brazil occupies second place in terms of amphibious species, third in respect to bird species and 5th place in terms of reptile species. Many of the species are under the threat especially those living in ecosystems that are now being largely destroyed, such as Atlantic forest.
Economy:
Thanks to high level of agriculture development, mining and manufacturing industries and the service sector and also owing to the availability of large numbers of workers, Brazil is significantly way ahead of other Latin American countries in terms of GDP, becoming the main economy in Mercosur. Presently, the country is expanding its presence in the global market. The main export products include avionics, coffee, vehicles, soya, iron ore, orange juice, steel, fabrics, footwear, electrical appliances and sugar.
According to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Brazil has the ninth largest economy in the world (with respect to purchasing power parity). The economy of Brazil is very diverse with significant variations between the regions. Most developed industry is concentrated in the south and in the Southeast of the country. The northeast is the poorest region of Brazil but presently it is beginning to attract new investments.
Brazil has the most developed industrial sector in Latin America, which makes one third of the GDP. Brazil manufactures various products from automobiles, steel and petroleum products to computers, aircrafts and consumer goods. After increasing the economic stability, ensured by Plano Real, Brazilian and multinational business structures are actively investing in new equipment and technologies, the main portion of which is purchased through North American enterprises. Brazil also has a developed and diversified service sector. In the early 1990s, the bank sector attained 16 % of the GDP. Though the Brazilian banking system is now being reformed actively, it provides a wide range of services to local enterprises and attracts numerous new entrants, in particular, financial firms from USA. The stock exchanges of San Paolo and Rio de Janeiro are now undergoing significant consolidation.
Brazilian cities are significantly differences from each other in terms of doing business (according to the reports of the World Bank: Business in Brazil). It is relatively easy to register a property and business in Brazil, but on the whole, despite identical regulations across Brazil, the transfer of property consumes a lot of time. Although the Brazilian economy is sufficiently developed, common problems such as corruption, poverty and illiteracy are still considerable barriers to this development.
Army:
Serving the army is mandatory. The conscription age is 19 years. The compulsory service period is 12 months. The contract duration for service is 17 years.
Who is fit for military service:
Men between 19-49 years, which was 33,119,000 men in 2005. Every year, around 1,785,000 citizens attain conscription age.
Defense budget:
1.1 % of GDP in 2004.
National holidays:
* The carnival in Rio de Janeiro - begins on the Friday before Ash Wednesday;
* June 9 - Day of Apostle of Brazil Jose de Anchieta.
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This Friday we continue our freaking experiment with provided source images.
