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Brazil, slightly larger than the continental United States, is located in South America bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The largest country in South America, Brazil shares common boundries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador. Brazil has a total land mass of 8,511,965 sq km with 7,491 km of coastline. The capital, Brasilia, is located in the center of the country. The country is divided into 26 states and 1 federal district. These states are divided into 5 regions: North, Northeast, Central West, South East, and South.
The country is mostly tropical, but has a temperate climate in the south. This means the further south you go the colder it gets! In the south, the temperatures get down to freezing in the winter which is in June- July. On the other hand, the north and northeast are always having summer. The Northeast frequently battles droughts while the south has to deal with floods and occasional frost.
According to the August 2000 census, there are about 169,872,855 Brazilians. Portuguese is the official and most widely spoken language. Other less common languages include: Spanish, German, Itlakian, Japanese, English, and a large number of minor Amerindian languages. What religion is dominant in Brazil? 73.6% are Catholic, 15.4% are Protestant, 1.3% are Spiritualist (but studies have shown 70% of Catholics are also Spiritualist), 2.1% are other religions, 7.4% have no religion, leaving .2% unspecified as to their religious beliefs.
You have probably already guessed that soccer is the most popular sport in Brazil. The national team has won the World Cup 5 times: in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002- more than any other country in the world! Some other sports that are popular include volleyball, tennis, basketball, sailing, judo, surfing and motor racing.
For more information you can check out www.cia.gov and click on their World Fact Book. Also www.kidscornerbrazil.org is also a very fun site.
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