 |
This is the CAT. CAT starts with the letter "C". |
 |
Brazil
Capital: Brasilia
Largest city: São Paulo
Official language: Portuguese Independence from Portugal:
- Declared September 7, 1822
- Recognized August 29, 1825
- Republic November 15, 1889
Population: 2007 estimate 183,888,841
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is a country in South America. It is the fifth-largest country by geographical area, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. The official language is Portuguese. Catholicism is the predominant religion.
Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of over 7,367 kilometres. Brazil borders every nation on the South American continent except Ecuador and Chile. Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana and the department of French Guiana are to the north, Colombia to the northwest, Bolivia and Peru to the west, Argentina and Paraguay to the southwest, and Uruguay to the south. Brazil is crossed by both the Equator and Tropic of Capricorn, and as such is home to a vast array fauna and flora, natural environments, as well as extensive natural resources. The Brazilian population is concentrated along the coastline and in a few large urban centers in the interior. While Brazil is one of the most populous nations in the world, population density drops dramatically as one moves inland.
Brazil was a colony of Portugal from its discovery by Pedro Alvares Cabral in 1500 until its independence in 1822. Initially independent as the Brazilian Empire, the country has been a republic since 1889. There are currently 26 States and 5,564 Municipalities.
Brazil is the world's 8th largest economy in terms of purchasing power and the 10th largest economy at market exchange rates. The country has a diversified middle-income economy with wide variations in development levels and mature manufacturing, mining and agriculture sectors. Technology and services also play an important role and are growing rapidly. Brazil is a net exporter, having gone through free trade and privatization reforms in the 1990s.In spite of important economical achievements, many social issues still hamper development.
Administrative divisions
The national territory was divided in 1969 by the Brazilian
Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), for demographic and statistical purposes, into five main regions: North, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast and South.
The North region covers 45.27% of the surface of Brazil, and has the lowest number of inhabitants. With the exception of Manaus, which hosts a tax-free industrial zone, and Belém, the biggest metropolitan area of the region, it is fairly unindustrialized and undeveloped. It accommodates most of the rainforest vegetation of the world and many indigenous tribes.
The Northeast region is inhabited by about 30% of Brazil's population. It is culturally diverse, with roots set in the Portuguese colonial period, and in Amerindian and Afro-Brazilian elements. It is also the poorest region of Brazil, and suffers from long periods of dry climate.The largest cities are Salvador, Recife and Fortaleza.
The Central-West region has low demographic density when compared to the other regions, mostly because a part has the highest standard of living in the country. It is also the coldest region of Brazil, with occasional occurrences of frost and snow in some of the higher altitude areas. It has been settled by European immigrants, mainly of Italian, German, Portuguese, Slavic and Japanese ancestry, being clearly influenced by these cultures. The largest cities in this region are: Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Florianópolis, Londrina, Caxias do Sul and Joinville.
Geography
Brazilian topography is diverse, including hills, mountains, plains, highlands, scrublands, savannas, rainforests, and a long coastline. The extensive low-lying Amazon Rainforest covers most of Brazil's terrain in the North, whereas small hills and low mountains occupy the South. Along the Atlantic coast there are several mountain ranges, with a highest altitude of roughly 2,900 meters . The highest peak is the 3,014 metres . Major rivers include the Amazon, the largest river in terms of volume of water, and the second-longest in the world.
Climate
Temperatures along the equator are high, with averages above 25 C , and occasionally reaching the summer extremes of up to 40 C in the temperate zones. Southern Brazil has a subtropical temperate weather, normally experiencing frost in the winter (June-August), and occasional snow in the mountainous areas.. Temperatures in the cities of São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, and Brasilia are moderate, usually ranging between 10 C and 30 C , because of their altitude of approximately 1,000 m . Rio de Janeiro, Recife and Salvador, located in the coast, have warm climates, with average temperatures ranging from 23 C to 27 C . The southern cities of Porto Alegre and Curitiba have a subtropical climate similar to that in parts of the United States and Europe, and temperatures can fall under 0 C in the winter.
Economy
Brazil's GDP is the highest of Latin America with large and developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, as well as a large labor pool. Major export products include aircraft, coffee, automobiles, soybean, iron ore, orange juice, steel, ethanol, textiles, footwear,What's good in the tropical country
Very few tourist destinations can offer as many options as Brazil. Natural beauty, large popular festivities and countless protected environmental reserves are attractions that truly call the attention of foreign tourists when it comes time to choose a destination for their vacation.
Brazil, a lifestyle
For a long time now, the country's natural beauty and Carnival have made it
internationally famous, bringing thousands tourists to its shores all year long. But,there is another attraction here that one only discovers upon arrival: the Brazilian people. The Brazilian way of life is even more surprising and more enchanting than any of the scenery. corned beef and electrical equipment.
Science and technology
Technological research in Brazil is largely carried out in public universities and research institutes. Despite governmental regulations and incentives, investment in research and development has been growing in private universities and companies as well since the 1990s. Nonetheless, more than 73% of funding for basic research still comes from governmental sources.
Brazilian information technology is comparable in quality and positioning to those of India and China, though because of Brazil's larger internal market, software exports are limited. Catering for the internal market, Brazilian IT is particularly efficient in providing solutions to financial services, defense, CRM, eGovernment, and healthcare. The Brazilian government as an institution has plans to switch its operating systems, replacing the current proprietary software scheme for the free software scheme. Demographics
Brazil's population comprises many races and ethnic groups. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) classifies the Brazilian population in five categories: black, white, pardo (brown), yellow (Asian) or indigenous, based on skin color or race. The last National Research for sample revealed the following numbers: 93,096 million white people (49.7%), 79,782 million pardo people (42.6%), 12,908 million black people (6.9%), 919 thousand Asian people (0.5%), and 519 thousand Amerindian people (0.4%).
The largest ethnic group in Brazil is Portuguese (10.46%), followed by Italian (10.41%), Black or African (7.15%), Amerindian (6.64%), Spanish (4.40%), German (3.54%) and Japanese (1.34%). 38.66% of respondents identified their ethnicity as only Brazilian and 86.09% identified themselves as being also ethnically Brazilians. Portuguese is the only official language of Brazil.lt is spoken by nearly the entire population and is virtually the only language used in schools, newspapers, radio, TV and for all business and administrative purposes. Moreover, Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas, making the language an important part of 180 Brazilian national identity. 180 Amerindian languages are spoken in remote areas.
Social issues
Poverty, urban violence, growing social security debts, inefficient public services, and the low value of the minimum wage are some of the main social issues that currently challenge the Brazilian government. The rate of poverty is in part attributed to the country's economic inequality. In 2006 the rate of people living below the poverty line based on labour income was of 19.31% of the population — a 33% reduction considering the previous three years.
There are great differences in wealth and welfare
between regions. While the Northeast region has the worst economic indicators nationwide, many cities in the South and Southeast enjoy First World socioeconomic standards. The level of violence in some large urban centers is comparable to that of a war zone.Analysts generally suggest the alarming social inequality as the major reason behind this problem. Muggings, robberies, and gang violence are common in the largest cities. Police brutality and corruption are widespread. Innefficient public services, especially those related to security, education and health, severely affect quality of life. Brazil currently ranks 70th in the Human Development Index list. The social security system is considered unreliable and has been historically submerged in large debts and graft, which have been steadily increasing along the 1990s.
Religion
The most popular religion in Brazil is Roman Catholicism and the country has the largest Roman Catholic population in the world. Islam in Brazil was first practiced by African slaves.Today, the Muslim population in Brazil is made up mostly of Arab immigrants. A recent trend has been the increase in conversions to Islam among non-Arab citizens.Only 27,000 Muslims live in Brazil as of 2000. The largest population of Buddhists in Latin America lives in Brazil, mostly because the country has the largest Japanese population outside Japan.
Sports
Football is the most popular sport in Brazil.The Brazilian national football team (Selecão) is currently ranked first in the world according to the FIFA World Rankings. They have been victorious in the World Cup tournament a record five times, in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. Basketball, volleyball, auto racing, and martial arts also attract large audiences. Though not as regularly followed or practiced as the previously mentioned sports, tennis, team handball, swimming, and gymnastics have found a growing number of enthusiasts over the last decades. In auto racing, Brazilian drivers have won the Formula 1 world championship eight times:
Some sport variations have their origins in Brazil. Beach football, futsal (official version of indoor football) and footvolley emerged in the country as variations of football. Brazil has undertaken the organization of large-scale sporting events: the country organized and hosted the 1950 FIFA World Cup and is chosen to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup event.Brazil also tries for the fourth time to host the Summer Olympics with Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Feijoada
Feijoada is often called the national dish of Brazil. It is a delicious stew made of beans and various types of meat. It is eaten with white rice and side dishes like farofa and couve mineira. As feijoada contains a lot of fat, it is often eaten with slices or pineapple or orange. Feijoada is eaten on a number of different occasions, for example on parties or during the weekend. In many restaurants, feijoada is served daily at lunch time.
The Amazon rainforest
The Amazon rainforest has an extremely high biodiversity and many of its plant and animal species are not yet known to science. About 60% of the Amazon forest is part of Brazil, the other 40% belongs to Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guiana, Suriname and French-Guyana. Most of the Amazon rainforest is found in the Amazon basin that is drained by the Amazon river and its more than 1000 tributaries.
كتاب معرفي كشور ها و دانشمندان به زبان انگليسي
|
