Brazil

Brazil covers 8,515,799 km2 and shares a border with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador. That is ten neighbours, more than almost any other country on Earth.

The Amazon Basin fills the north, a huge flat bowl drained by the Amazon and its 1,100 tributaries. The south and east are higher, made of old worn-down plateaus called the Brazilian Highlands. The highest point, Pico da Neblina at 2,995 m, sits right on the Venezuelan border.

Most of Brazil is tropical: hot all year, with a wet season and a dry season rather than summer and winter. The Amazon is hot and wet almost constantly, around 27C with over 2,000 mm of rain a year.

The far south is different. Around Porto Alegre the climate is temperate, with genuinely cool winters, and frost occasionally reaches the highlands. The north-east interior, the sertao, is semi-arid and suffers long droughts.

There are numerous incredible landmarks, monuments and buildings of interest in Brazil including the Christ the Redeemer, Teatro Amazonas (opera house), Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum, Cathedral of Brailia, Arcos da Lapa (aqueduct), The Maracana Stadium (largest stadium in the world), Alvorada Palace, Planalto Palace, Square of the Three Powers, and Monumental Axis.

Brazil is famous for having some of the best footballers in the world, some of the most iconic landmarks, and being the capital carnival of the world as well as one of the most popular tourist destinations in South America.

Brazil is a very popular tourist destination as this South American country has fabulous beaches, stunning scenery, great nightlife and many points of interest including numerous historical and religious landmarks such as the statue of Christ the Redeemer. The capital city of Brazil is Brasilia, but the bustling city of Sao Paulo is in fact the most populous and largest city in Brazil, and the rest of the South America. Brazil has the world's tenth largest economy and the ninth largest in terms of purchasing power. This wonderful South American country is truly a paradise enriched in culture, natural environments, extensive natural resources and wildlife diversity. Rio de Janeiro is a amazing city that boasts many tourist attractions including Christ the Redeemer, the famous Copacabana Beach, carnivals, firework displays and amazing parties.

Portuguese is the official language, spoken by nearly everyone, which sets Brazil apart from its Spanish-speaking neighbours. Around 180 Indigenous languages are still spoken in the Amazon.

Brazilian culture blends Portuguese, African and Indigenous roots. Carnival, held before Lent, fills Rio with parades of samba schools competing in enormous costumes. Capoeira, a martial art disguised as a dance, was developed by enslaved Africans. About 65 per cent of Brazilians are Christian, mostly Catholic.

Brazil is an agricultural giant. It is the world's biggest exporter of coffee, soybeans, sugar, orange juice and beef, and second for maize.

It also has serious industry: aircraft (Embraer is one of the world's largest planemakers), cars, and offshore oil found in deep water off the coast. Iron ore from the state of Minas Gerais is another major export.

The Brazilian flag is green with a large yellow diamond in the middle, and inside the diamond a deep blue globe. Green stands for the forests and yellow for the country's gold.

Across the globe runs a white band reading "Ordem e Progresso", meaning Order and Progress. The 27 white stars are arranged exactly as the sky looked over Rio de Janeiro on 15 November 1889, the morning Brazil became a republic, and each star stands for a state.