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Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest and easternmost country in South America and in Latin America. Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area and the seventh most populous. Its capital is Brasília, and its most populous city is São Paulo. The federation is composed of the union of the 26 states and the Federal District. It is the only country in the Americas to have Portuguese as an official language. Brazil is one of the most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations, due to over a century of mass immigration from around the world.

Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 kilometers (4,655 mi). It borders all other countries and territories in South America except Ecuador and Chile and covers roughly half of the continent's land area. Its Amazon basin includes a vast tropical forest, home to diverse wildlife, a variety of ecological systems, and extensive natural resources spanning numerous protected habitats. This unique environmental heritage positions Brazil at number one of 17 megadiverse countries. The country's natural richness is also the subject of significant global interest, as environmental degradation (through processes like deforestation) has direct impacts on global issues like climate change and biodiversity loss.

The territory which would become known as Brazil was inhabited by numerous tribal nations prior to the landing of explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500. Then, the land was claimed for the Portuguese Empire. Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until 1808, when the capital of the empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro. In 1815, the colony was elevated to the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Independence was achieved in 1822 with the creation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. The ratification of the first constitution in 1824 led to the formation of a bicameral legislature, now called the National Congress. Slavery was abolished in 1888. The country became a presidential republic in 1889 following a military coup d'état. An authoritarian military dictatorship emerged in 1964 and ruled until 1985, after which civilian governance resumed. Brazil's current constitution, formulated in 1988, defines it as a democratic federal republic. Due to its rich culture and history, the country ranks thirteenth in the world by number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Brazil is a regional and middle power that is an emerging power and a major non-NATO ally of the United States. Categorised as a developing country with a high Human Development Index, Brazil is considered an advanced emerging economy, having the ninth largest GDP in the world by nominal, and eighth by PPP measures—the largest in Latin America. Considered as an upper-middle income economy by the World Bank and a newly industrialized country, Brazil has the largest share of global wealth in South America and is one of the world's major breadbaskets, being the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years. However, the country retains noticeable corruption, crime and social inequality. Brazil is a founding member of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS, G4, Mercosul, Organization of American States, Organization of Ibero-American States and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. Brazil is also an observer state of the Arab League. (Full article...)

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Brazil is the third-largest producer of wine in South America, behind Argentina and Chile; production in 2018 was 3.1 million hectolitres (82,000,000 US gal), slightly more than New Zealand. In 2019, Brazil was the 15th largest wine producer in the world. A substantial area is devoted to viticulture: 82,000 hectares (200,000 acres) in 2018, though much of it produces table grapes rather than wine grapes.

Better quality wines (Brazilian Portuguese: vinho fino) are produced from the European grapevine Vitis vinifera, and in 2003 only some 5,000 ha (12,000 acres) were planted with such vines. The rest are American vines or hybrid vines, many of which are easier to cultivate under Brazilian growing conditions. (Full article...)
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Gilberto Gil, in 2022

Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʒiwˈbɛʁtu ˈʒiw]; born 26 June 1942), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and politician, known for both his musical innovation and political activism. From 2003 to 2008, he served as Brazil's Minister of Culture in the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Gil's musical style incorporates an eclectic range of influences, including rock, Brazilian genres including samba, African music, and reggae.

Gil started to play music as a child and was a teenager when he joined his first band. He began his career as a bossa nova musician and grew to write songs that reflected a focus on political awareness and social activism. He was a key figure in the Música popular brasileira and tropicália movements of the 1960s, alongside artists such as longtime collaborator Caetano Veloso. The Brazilian military regime that took power in 1964 saw both Gil and Veloso as a threat, and the two were held for nine months in 1969 before they were told to leave the country. Gil moved to London, but returned to Bahia in 1972 and continued his musical career, while also working as a politician and environmental advocate. (Full article...)
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Kuerten in 2019

Gustavo "Guga" Kuerten (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɡusˈtavu ˈkiʁtẽ]; born 10 September 1976) is a Brazilian former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the French Open singles title three times (1997, 2000, 2001), and was the Tennis Masters Cup champion in 2000. During his career he won 20 singles and eight doubles titles.

Kuerten suffered from injuries that limited his attendances at tournaments in 2002 and from 2004 and 2008. After two hip surgeries and a few attempted comebacks, he retired from top-level tennis in May 2008. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2016, Kuerten was asked to be a torch bearer for the Rio Olympics. (Full article...)

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More did you know? –

  • ...that the Brazilian city of Corumbaíba was founded after a local rancher saw a white wolf, which, according to a legend, would give him good luck, and then built a chapel thanking his luck?
  • ...that Brazilian bull rider Adriano Moraes is one of only three men to ride ten out of ten bulls at the U.S. National Finals Rodeo?
  • ...that the South American rubber boom ceased in 1912 when plantations in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and tropical Africa grown from seed smuggled out of Brazil 36 years earlier began producing rubber?

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Iguazu Falls, Iguassu Falls, or Iguaçu Falls are waterfalls of the Iguazu River located on the border of the Brazilian state of Paraná and the Argentine province of Misiones. The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu.

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2008 Brazilian Grand PrixAfonso, Prince Imperial of BrazilBrazilian cruiser BahiaEmpire of Brazil1937 Brazilian coup d'état • Pedro Álvares Cabral • Chagas diseaseDrymoreomysEuryoryzomys emmonsaeFôrça BrutaGiant otterGol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907Joaquim José Inácio, Viscount of InhaúmaJaguarHonório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná • Lundomys • Princess Maria Amélia of Brazil • Master System • Brazilian battleship Minas Geraes • Minas Geraes-class battleship • Noronha skink • Noronhomys • USS Orizaba • José Paranhos, Viscount of Rio Branco • Pedro I of Brazil • Pedro II of Brazil • Pedro Afonso, Prince Imperial of Brazil • Brazilian battleship São Paulo • Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias • Sonic After the Sequel • Manuel Marques de Sousa, Count of Porto Alegre • South American dreadnought race • Thalassodromeus • Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies • Uruguayan War • 2014 FIFA World Cup final

List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Norte • Sepultura discography

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1986 João Câmara earthquake1995 Brazilian Grand Prix2000 Brazilian Grand Prix2000 Rio 2002010 Brazilian Grand Prix2010 São Paulo Indy 3002012 Brazilian Grand Prix2014 Brazilian Grand Prix2015 Brazilian Grand PrixA Puro Dolor • Rebeca Andrade • Archaeological interest of Pedra da GáveaArise (Sepultura album)Clube Atlético MineiroBomba PatchDisappearance of Bruno BorgesBrainstorm (2000 film)Brazil v Germany (2014 FIFA World Cup)Brazil at the 1994 Winter OlympicsBrazil at the 1998 Winter OlympicsBrazil at the 2014 Winter ParalympicsBrazilian military junta of 1930Gisele BündchenCapybaraAdelir Antônio de CarliHélio CastronevesDorival CaymmiCésar CieloClube Atlético Mineiro in international club footballCavalera ConspiracyDiego Costa • Philippe Coutinho • Dejaría TodoDiptychophora galvaniFortress of HumaitáFruta FrescaGanga BrutaGilberto Gil • Maurício Gugelmin • Hilda HilstHurricane CatarinaJorge Ben (album)Josiane Lima • Mitsuyo Maeda • RMS Magdalena (1948) • Man of the Hole • Mango Yellow • Marquinhos • The Naturalist on the River Amazons • Legacy of Pedro II of Brazil • Early life of Pedro II of Brazil • Pelé • Brazilian monitor Piauí • Platine War • Prince Bernhard's titi monkey • Marie Rennotte • Revolt of the Lash • Revolution of the Ganhadores • Rio de Janeiro bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics • Samba rock • Sarcófago • State University of Campinas • TAM Airlines Flight 3054 • TV Bahia • Taubaté pregnancy hoax • Tectoy • Amon Tobin • Transgender history in Brazil • Umbanda • Alessandra Vieira • Vinicius and Tom • Martha Watts • World War II

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