| Brazil: Country Overview |
| Brazil is the sixth most populated country in the world covering 3286470 sq. miles with 186,112,794 inhabitants. Brazil is the largest and most populated country in South America. It shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador. |
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| Brazil has a young population with 67.9% of people aged 15-24 and only 6% aged over 65. The southeast region is the most industrialized and populated with three main cities, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, as well as the capital Brasília. In addition to city environments, Brazil is known worldwide for its natural areas: the Amazon forest and Pantanal swamps which are some of the most important biodiversity sites in the world. |
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Brazil has an extremely diverse population and is made up from the following ethnic groups:
- 55% European (generally from Portugal, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Poland);
- 38% Mulatto;
- 6% African;
- 1% other (including the indigenous population)
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| República Federativa do Brasil (Brazil’s official title) is made up of 26 administrative states, its currency is the ‘Real’. The principal language in Brazil is Portuguese, although Spanish, French and English are also spoken. There are also around 170 languages spoken by the 200 or so indigenous tribes. The main religion in Brazil is Roman Catholic, but there are many other religious denominations. |
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| Brazil is a federative republic, in which the president is the chief of the State and of the head of the government. The president and vice president are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a single four-year term; election last held 1 October 2006 with runoff 29 October 2006. |
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| Brazil's currency, the real (R$), was introduced on 1 July 1994. One real equals 100 centavos. There are coins of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 centavos, and 1 real, and notes of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 reals. |
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