Background: After more than three centuries under Portuguese rule, Brazil gained its independence in 1822, maintaining a monarchical system of government until the abolition of slavery in 1888 and the subsequent proclamation of a republic by the military in 1889. Brazilian coffee exporters politically dominated the country until populist leader Getúlio VARGAS rose to power in 1930. VARGAS governed through various versions of democratic and authoritarian regimes from 1930 to 1945. Democratic rule returned in 1945 -- including a democratically elected VARGAS administration from 1951 to 1954 -- and lasted until 1964, when the military overthrew President João GOULART. The military regime censored journalists and repressed and tortured dissidents in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The dictatorship lasted until 1985, when the military regime peacefully ceded power to civilian rulers, and the Brazilian Congress passed its current constitution in 1988. By far the largest and most populous country in South America, Brazil continues to pursue industrial and agricultural growth and development of its interior. Having successfully weathered a period of global financial difficulty in the late 20th century, Brazil was soon seen as one of the world's strongest emerging markets and a contributor to global growth under President Luiz Inácio LULA da Silva (2003-2010). The awarding of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympic Games -- the first ever to be held in South America -- to Brazil was symbolic of the country's rise. However, from about 2013 to 2016, Brazil was plagued by a sagging economy, high unemployment, and high inflation, only emerging from recession in 2017. Congress removed then-President Dilma ROUSSEFF (2011-2016) from office in 2016 for having committed impeachable acts against Brazil's budgetary laws, and her vice president, Michel TEMER, served the remainder of her second term. A money-laundering investigation, Operation Lava Jato, uncovered a vast corruption scheme and prosecutors charged several high-profile Brazilian politicians with crimes. Former President LULA was convicted of accepting bribes and served jail time (2018-19), although his conviction was overturned in 2021. LULA's revival became complete in 2022 when he narrowly defeated incumbent Jair BOLSONARO (2019-2022) in the presidential election. Positioning Brazil as an independent global leader on climate change and promoting sustainable development, LULA took on the 2024 G20 presidency, balancing the fight against deforestation with sustainable energy and other projects designed to alleviate poverty and promote economic growth, such as expanding fossil fuel exploration.

Area
Total: 8,515,770 km²
Land: 8,358,140 km²
Water: 157,630 km²
Note: includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo
Comparative: slightly smaller than the US

Land boundaries
Total: 16,145 km
Border countries (10): (10) Argentina 1,263 km; Bolivia 3,403 km; Colombia 1,790 km; French Guiana 649 km; Guyana 1,308 km; Paraguay 1,371 km; Peru 2,659 km; Suriname 515 km; Uruguay 1,050 km; Venezuela 2,137 km

Coastline: 7,491 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin

Climate: mostly tropical, but temperate in south

Terrain: mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt

Elevation
Highest point: Pico da Neblina 2,994 m
Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Mean elevation: 320 m

Land use
Agricultural land: 28.3% (2023 est.)
Arable land: 6.7% (2023 est.)
Permanent crops: 0.9% (2023 est.)
Permanent pasture: 20.7% (2023 est.)
Forest: 58.9% (2023 est.)
Other: 12.7% (2023 est.)

Irrigated land: 91,833 km² (2022)

Major rivers: Amazon river mouth (shared with Peru [s]) - 6,400 km; Río de la Plata/Paraná river source (shared with Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay [m]) - 4,880 km; Tocantins - 3,650 km; São Francisco - 3,180 km; Paraguay river source (shared with Argentina and Paraguay [m]) - 2,549 km; Rio Negro river mouth (shared with Colombia [s] and Venezuela) - 2,250 km; Uruguay river source (shared with Argentina and Uruguay [m]) - 1,610 km
Note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Natural hazards: recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south

Geography
Note note 1: largest country in South America and in the Southern Hemisphere; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador; most of the Pantanal, the world's largest tropical wetland, extends through the west central part of the country; shares Iguaçu Falls (Iguazú Falls), the world's largest waterfalls system, with Argentina
Note note 2: Rocas Atoll, located off the northeast coast of Brazil, is the only atoll in the South Atlantic

Population
Total: 220,051,512 (2024 est.)
Male: 108,166,491
Female: 111,885,021
Distribution: the vast majority of people live along or near the Atlantic coast in the east; the population core is in the southeast, anchored by the cities of São Paolo, Brasília, and Rio de Janeiro
Growth rate: 0.61% (2024 est.)

Languages: Portuguese (official and most widely spoken language); less common languages include Spanish (border areas and schools), German, Italian, Japanese, English, and many minor Amerindian languages
Major-language sample(s): ; O Livro de Fatos Mundiais, a fonte indispensável para informação básica. (Brazilian Portuguese); The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions: Roman Catholic 56.8%, Evangelical 26.9%, none 9.3%, other 4%, Spirtism (Espírita) 1.8%, unspecified 1.4%, Umbanda and Candomblé 1.1%, Indigenous religions .06%, undeclared 0.2% (2022)

Age structure
0-14 years: 19.6% (male 22,025,593/female 21,088,398)
15-64 years: 69.5% (male 75,889,089/female 77,118,722)
65 years and over: 10.9% (2024 est.) (male 10,251,809/female 13,677,901)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 43.8 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 28.2 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 15.6 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio: 6.4 (2024 est.)

Median age
Total: 35.1 years (2024 est.)
Male: 34 years
Female: 36.1 years

Population growth rate: 0.61% (2024 est.)

Birth rate: 13.2 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Population distribution: the vast majority of people live along or near the Atlantic coast in the east; the population core is in the southeast, anchored by the cities of São Paolo, Brasília, and Rio de Janeiro

Urbanization
Urban population: 87.8% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.87% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 22.620 million São Paulo, 13.728 million Rio de Janeiro, 6.248 million Belo Horizonte, 4.873 million BRASÍLIA (capital), 4.264 million Recife, 4.212 million Porto Alegre (2023)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 67 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 12.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male: 14.6 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 11.1 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 76.3 years (2024 est.)
Male: 72.6 years
Female: 80.1 years

Total fertility rate: 1.74 children born/woman (2024 est.)

Drinking water source
Urban: 0.2% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 2% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 0.4% of population (2022 est.)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 5.3% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 35% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 9% of population (2022 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 3.5% (2019 est.)

Youth unemployment
Rate (ages 15-24): 7.7% (2024 est.); 8% (2023 est.); 9.3% (2022 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment

Capital
Name: Brasília
Geographic coordinates: 15 47 S, 47 55 W
Time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Time zone note: Brazil has four time zones, including one for the Fernando de Noronha Islands
Etymology: the name is the Latinized form of the country name, bestowed on the new capital of Brazil in 1960; previous Brazilian capitals were Salvador (1549-1763) and Rio de Janeiro (1763 to 1960)

Administrative divisions: 26 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Acre, Alagoas, Amapa, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceara, Distrito Federal*, Espirito Santo, Goias, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Para, Paraiba, Parana, Pernambuco, Piaui, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondônia, Roraima, Santa Catarina, São Paulo, Sergipe, Tocantins

Legal system: civil law
Note: a new civil-law code in 2002 replaced the 1916 code

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Luiz Inácio LULA da Silva (since 1 January 2023)
Head of government: President Luiz Inácio LULA da Silva (since 1 January 2023)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
Election/appointment process: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 4-year term (eligible for a single consecutive term and additional terms after at least one term has elapsed)
Most recent election date: 2 October 2022, with runoff on 30 October 2022
2022: Luiz Inácio LULA da Silva elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Luiz Inácio LULA da Silva (PT) 48.4%, Jair BOLSONARO (PSL) 43.2%, Simone Nassar TEBET (MDB) 4.2%, Ciro GOMES (PDT) 3%, other 1.2%; percent of vote in second round - Luiz Inácio LULA da Silva (PT) 50.9%, Jair BOLSONARO (PSL) 49.1%
2018: Jair BOLSONARO elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Jair BOLSONARO (PSL) 46%, Fernando HADDAD (PT) 29.3%, Ciro GOMEZ (PDT) 12.5%, Geraldo ALCKMIN (PSDB) 4.8%, other 7.4%; percent of vote in second round - Jair BOLSONARO (PSL) 55.1%, Fernando HADDAD (PT) 44.9%
Expected date of next election: 4 October 2026
Note: the president is both chief of state and head of government

Legislative branch
Legislature name: National Congress (Congresso nacional)
Legislative structure: bicameral

Flag description: green with a large yellow diamond in the center, showing a blue celestial globe with 27 five-pointed white stars; the globe has a white equatorial band with the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO (Order and Progress)

National anthem
Title: 'Hino Nacional Brasileiro' (Brazilian National Anthem)
Lyrics/music: Joaquim Osorio Duque ESTRADA/Francisco Manoel DA SILVA
History: music adopted 1890, lyrics adopted 1922; the anthem's music, composed in 1822, was used unofficially for many years

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 24 (15 cultural, 9 natural, 1 mixed)
Brasilia (c); Historic Salvador de Bahia (c); Historic Ouro Preto (c); Historic Center of the Town of Olinda (c); Iguaçu National Park (n); Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis (c); Rio de Janeiro: Carioca Landscapes (c); Central Amazon Conservation Complex (n); Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves (n); Historic Center of Salvador de Bahia (c); Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Congonhas (c ); Brasilia (c ); Serra da Capivara National Park (c ); Historic Center of Sao Luis( c); Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves (n); Historic Center of the Town of Diamantina (c ); Pantanal Conservation Area (n); Brazilian Atlantic Islands: Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas Reserves (n); Cerrado Protected Areas: Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas National Parks (n); Historic Centre of the Town of Goiás (c); São Francisco Square in the Town of São Cristóvão (c ); Rio de Janeiro: Carioca Landscapes between the Mountain and the Sea (c ); Pampulha Modern Ensemble (c ); Valongo Wharf Archaeological Site (c ); Paraty and Ilha Grande – Culture and Biodiversity (m); Sítio Roberto Burle Marx (c ); Lençóis Maranhenses National Park (n);Peruaçu River Canyon (n)

Real gdp growth rate: 3.4% (2024 est.); 3.2% (2023 est.); 3% (2022 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Real gdp per capita: 3.4% (2024 est.); 3.2% (2023 est.); 3% (2022 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 63.8% (2024 est.)
Government consumption: 18.8% (2024 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 17% (2024 est.)
Investment in inventories: -0.1% (2024 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 18% (2024 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -17.5% (2024 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to rounding or gaps in data collection

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 5.6% (2024 est.)
Industry: 21.3% (2024 est.)
Services: 59.3% (2024 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

Industries: textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment

Industrial production growth rate: 3.3% (2024 est.)
Note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

Labor force: 106.79 million (2024 est.)
Note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

Unemployment rate: 7.7% (2024 est.); 8% (2023 est.); 9.3% (2022 est.)
Note: % of labor force seeking employment

Youth unemployment
Rate (ages 15-24): 7.7% (2024 est.); 8% (2023 est.); 9.3% (2022 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment

Budget
Revenues: $556.303 billion (2023 est.)
Expenditures: $706.816 billion (2023 est.)
Note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

Taxes and other revenues: 14% (of GDP) (2023 est.)
Note: central government tax revenue as a % of GDP

Exports: $388.333 billion (2024 est.); $389.192 billion (2023 est.); $380.492 billion (2022 est.)
Note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: soybeans, crude petroleum, iron ore, raw sugar, corn (2023)
Commodities note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars

Imports: $377.05 billion (2024 est.); $340.195 billion (2023 est.); $369.861 billion (2022 est.)
Note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: refined petroleum, fertilizers, crude petroleum, vehicle parts/accessories, gas turbines (2023)
Commodities note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars

Electricity
Installed generating capacity: 240.251 million kW (2023 est.)
Consumption: 608.451 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Exports: 7.186 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Imports: 22.294 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 106.916 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Access electrification - total population: 100% (2022 est.)
Access electrification - urban areas: 100%
Access electrification - rural areas: 97.3%
Generation sources fossil fuels: 8.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 2.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources solar: 6.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources wind: 13.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 60.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 8.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

Coal
Production: 15.556 million metric tons (2023 est.)
Consumption: 32.223 million metric tons (2023 est.)
Exports: 5,000 metric tons (2023 est.)
Imports: 18.257 million metric tons (2023 est.)
Proven reserves: 6.596 billion metric tons (2023 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 4.221 million bbl/day (2023 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 3.163 million bbl/day (2023 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 12.715 billion barrels (2021 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 22.702 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
Consumption: 29.065 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
Exports: 101.203 million cubic meters (2023 est.)
Imports: 6.356 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
Proven reserves: 363.985 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 437.769 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 53.664 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 331.079 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 53.026 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 48.889 million Btu/person (2023 est.)

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 25.574 million (2023 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 12 (2023 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 213 million (2023 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 99 (2022 est.)

Internet
Users percent of population: 84% (2023 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 48.4 million (2023 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 23 (2023 est.)

Military expenditures: 1.1% of GDP (2024 est.); 1.1% of GDP (2023 est.); 1.2% of GDP (2022 est.); 1.3% of GDP (2021 est.); 1.4% of GDP (2020 est.)

Airports: 5,297 (2025)

Heliports: 1,871 (2025)

Railways
Total: 29,849.9 km (2014)
Standard gauge: 194 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge
Narrow gauge: 23,341.6 km (2014) 1.000-m gauge (24 km electrified)
Broad gauge: 5,822.3 km (2014) 1.600-m gauge (498.3 km electrified)
Dual gauge: 492 km (2014) 1.600-1.000-m gauge

Merchant marine
Total: 888 (2023)
By type: bulk carrier 13, container ship 20, general cargo 38, oil tanker 27, other 790