Brazil is the largest country in South America, located in the northeastern region of the continent. It has a population of over 195 million people and is known for its biodiversity, with the Amazon Rainforest containing about 10% of the world's species. The population is diverse, with the largest ethnic groups being white, pardo (multiracial), and black Brazilians. While Portuguese is the main language, indigenous languages and those of immigrants are also spoken. The majority religion is Roman Catholicism. Large cities include Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and the economy relies on natural resources like water, oil, and minerals.
2. Location
Located in South
America
On the equator
Includes most of the
continents interior
Shares a border with all
but two countries in
South America
Uruguay, Argentina,
Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru,
Colombia, Venezuela,
Suriname, Guyana, French
Guiana
3. Size
Largest country in
South America
Around half of the
entire continent
Fourth largest country
in the world by size
3,286,488 Sq. Miles
4. ClimateSouth Americas
California
Five major climates
Equatorial
Tropical
Semiarid
Highland tropical
Temperate
Subtropical
North
Rainforests
Closest to the equator
No dry season
Central
Rainfall is seasonal
Tropical Savannas
Northeast
Semiarid Deserts
Rarely rains
South
Temperate climates
Temperate Coniferous Forests
5. Biodiversity
Greatest
biodiversity in the
world
The Amazon
Rainforest
1/10th of all
species in the
world
Almost four
million total types
of plants and
animal species
Types of animals:
maned wolf, bush
dog, hoary foxes,
jaguars, pumas,
anteaters, sloths,
anacondas,
poison dart frogs,
pink dolphins,
penguins, Goliath
Bird Eating
Spiders
6. Natural Resources A Competitive
Advantage
Water
Brazil has 25% of the worlds fresh water
Oil
Big discoveries have led to a ton of
investment
By 2020, if all goes to plan, Petrobras
and its foreign partners will be
producing 5.7m barrels of oil and gas
per day, more than half the output of
Saudi Arabia. (Economist, 2009)
Minerals
Iron Ore and Gold are most significant in
terms of value of output
Copper, Zinc, Bauxite, Manganese also
important
7. Environmental Issues Rhetoric vs.
Practice
Deforestation remains a major concern
Deforestation of protected zones up 127% since 2000
Increased number of endangered species
Belo Monte dam controversy
Rapid Industrialization has resulted in more pollution
40% of fuel is ethanol based different type of
pollution
Government has the goal to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by 38.9% by
2020
New policies to prevent deforestation are
working
Positive
Negative
8. Racial CompositionA Story of
Diversity
Aboriginal Brazilians (0.4%)
Found in the entire territory of Brazil, but most live on
Indian reservations in the North and Centre-West
Over 60 Million Brazilians possess 1+ Amerindian
ancestors, but consider Indian cultural, not racial
Black Brazilians (7.4%)
Asian Brazilians (1.1%)
Largest population of Japanese decent outside of Japan
Pardo Brazilians/multiracial (42.6%)
According to DNA resources, most Brazilians possess a
mixed rate ancestry, but less than 45% identify as Pardo
White Brazilians (51.7%)
Soley descended from European immigrants,
concentrated in the south and southeast regions
9. ReligionUnique Perspective
Roman Catholicism (68%)
Largest # of Roman Catholics in the world
Full of popular festivities influenced by popular
Portuguese traditions
No religious affiliation (15.4%)
Protestantism (12.4%)
Spiritism (3.3%)
Afro-Brazilian religions, are concentrated in
the Northeast large urban centers
Other religions (1.7%)
Many African, Spiritualist, and Folk religions
incorporate original indigenous tradition
Buddhism is the largest of all minority religions
because of Brazils large Japanese Brazilian
community
10. Portuguese Language
Fostering National Unity
11 dialects of Portuguese
Influenced by Amerindian and African languages, creating differences between
Portuguese spoken in Brazil and that of other Portuguese speaking countries
This divide was heightened by introduction of words for technological
innovations
210 minority languages are spoken in Brazil, including indigenous languages
(80) and languages of more recent European and Asian immigrants
11. Regions/Largest Cities
Regions:
1. Central-West: Home to the capital, Brasilia;
otherwise low density
2. Northeast: Lowest living standards in Brazil; beautiful
beaches, nonetheless
3. North: Home to the Amazon River and Rainforest
4. Southeast: Largest share of Brazils population with
Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro
5. Southern: As densely populated as the Southeast,
however mostly along the cost
Largest cities:
1. Sao Paulo: 11.3 million
2. Rio de Janeiro: 6.4 million
3. Salvador de Bahia: 2.7 million
4. Brasilia: 2.6 million
5. Fortaleza: 2.5 million
* 11 other cities with over 1.0 million
12. Population
Age structure
0-14 years: 26.2% (male
27,219,651/female 26,180,040)
15-64 years: 67% (male
67,524,642/female 68,809,357)
65 years and over: 6.7% (male
5,796,433/female 7,899,650) (2011 est.)
Population
195,000,000 as of 2010 (World Bank)
5th largest country in the world
Almost exclusively concentrated near
the coasts
Growing at 1%/year (CIA Factbook)
13. Gender Ratio
Looking Good for the MEN!
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.73
male(s)/female
Total population: 0.98
male(s)/female (2011 est.)