Brazil

Brasília · South America

Brazil is a country in South America. Its capital city is Brasília, the official currency is the Brazilian Real, and the main language is Portuguese.

With a population of roughly 216.4 million people spread over 8,515,767 km², Brazil is the 7th most populous country in the world and the 5th largest by area. That works out at about 25 people per square kilometre.

Brazil shares land borders with Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname — 9 neighbours in all. Its largest urban centres are São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasília. The highest point in the country is Pico da Neblina, at 2,995 metres.

For scale, it covers almost exactly the same area as Australia, while its population is closest to that of Nigeria.

Capital
Brasília
Region
South America
Population
216,400,000
Area
8,515,767 km²
Currency
Brazilian Real
Main language
Portuguese
Highest point
Pico da Neblina
2,995 m
Land borders
9

Brazil: things worth knowing

  • Brazil borders every South American country except Chile and Ecuador.
  • It holds about 60% of the Amazon rainforest and the largest river by discharge in the world.
  • Brasília was built from nothing in the 1950s and inaugurated as the capital in 1960.

Brazil in context

South America has 12 sovereign countries in total. Brazil ranks 1st among them by population.

See the full list of South America countries, or browse all 195 countries.

Other countries in South America