Brazil

Brazil covers nearly half of South America and is the continent's largest nation. It extends 4,772 km north-south, 4,331 km east-west, and borders every nation on the continent except Chile and Ecuador. Brazil may be divided into the Brazilian Highlands, or plateau, in the south and the Amazon River Basin in the north. Over a third of Brazil is drained by the Amazon and its more than 200 tributaries. The Amazon is navigable for ocean steamers to Iquitos, Peru, 3,700 km upstream. Southern Brazil is drained by the Plata system the Paraguay, Uruguay, and Parana rivers which all meet at the Iguazu.

Brazil is home to both extensive agricultural farm land and rain forests. With vast natural resources and a large labor pool, it is South America's leading economic power and a regional leader. Because it was a colony of Portugal, Portuguese is Brazil's official language. Brazil has the world's second largest Christian population, and also is the world's largest Roman Catholic-majority nation in terms of both number of adherents and land mass, a strong cultural legacy left behind by the Roman Catholic Portuguese colonists.

The administrative structure of the State is a federation; however, Brazil has included the municipalities as autonomous political entities making the federation tripartite: encompassing the Union, the States, and the municipalities. The legal system is based on Roman Law.

Mainland Brazil is commonly geographically divided into 5 distinct regions:

North, Northeast, Centre-West, Southeast and South.

The North constitutes 45.27% of the surface of Brazil and it is the region with the lowest number of inhabitants. It is a fairly non industrialized and underdeveloped region (with the exception of Manaus, which hosts a tax-free industrial zone). It accommodates most of the largest rain-forest of the world, the Amazon, and many indigenous tribes.

The Northeast has one third of Brazil's population. The region is culturally diverse, with roots from the Portuguese colonial period, Afro-Brazilian culture and some Brazilian Indian influence. It is also the poorest region of Brazil, and has long periods of dry climate. However it is known for its beautiful coasts.

The Central-West is the region where the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, is located. Despite that it has a low demographic density compared to the other regions, mostly because it is occupied by the Pantanal, the world’s largest marshlands area, and a small part of the Amazon rain-forest, in its northwestern area. However, much of the region is overgrown by Cerrado, the largest savanna in the world, which has two distinct seasons: a rainy season (from October to April) and a dry one (from May to September). It is also the most important area for agriculture in the country. The most important cities are: Brasilia, Goiia, Campo Grande and Cuiabai.

The Southeast is the richest and most densely populated region. It has more inhabitants than any other South American country, and hosts one of the largest megalopolis of the world, whereof the main cities are the country's two biggest ones; Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The region is very diverse, including the major business centre of Sao Paulo, the historical cities of Minas Gerais, the world famous beaches of Rio de Janeiro, and the acclaimed coast of Esparito Santo.

The South is the wealthiest region, with the best standard of living in the country. It is also the coldest region of Brazil, with occasional occurrences of frosts and snow in some of the higher altitude regions. The region has been heavily settled by European immigrants, mainly of German, Italian, and Slavic genealogy.

Possessing large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, as well as a large labor pool, Brazil's GDP (PPP) outweighs that of any other Latin American country, being the core economy of Mercosur. The country has been expanding its presence in world markets. Major export products include aircraft, coffee, vehicles, soybean, iron ore, orange juice, steel, textiles, footwear and electrical equipment.

Sao Paulo, the third largest city in the world and Brazil's economic center, according to the IMF and the World Bank, Brazil has the ninth largest economy in the world at Purchasing Power Parity and eleventh largest at market exchange rates. Brazil has a diversified middle income economy with wide variations in development levels. Most large industry is agro related in the South and South-East. The North-East is the poorest region of Brazil, but it is beginning to attract new investment. Brazil has the most advanced industrial sector in Latin America. Amounting to one-third of GDP, Brazil's diverse industries range from automobiles, steel and petrochemicals to computers, aircraft, and consumer durables. With the increased economic stability provided by the Plano Real, Brazilian and multinational businesses have invested heavily in new equipment and technology, a large proportion of which has been purchased from North American enterprises. Brazil has a diverse and sophisticated services industry as well. During the early 1990s, the banking sector amounted to as much as 16% of GDP.