Empire of Brazil Império do Brasil |
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| Anthem: Hino Nacional Brasileiro "Brazilian National Anthem" |
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| Capital | Rio de Janeiro | |||||
| Largest city | São Paulo | |||||
| Official languages | Portuguese | |||||
| Ethnic groups (2021) | 47.73% White 43.13% Mixed 7.61% Black 1.09% East Asian 0.43% Indigenous |
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| Demonym | Brazilian | |||||
| Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy | |||||
| - | Monarch | Luiz of Brazil | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Jair Bolsonaro | ||||
| Legislature | Congress | |||||
| - | Upper House | Senate | ||||
| - | Lower House | House of Congresspeople | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 8.515.767 km2 (5th) 3 sq mi |
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| GDP (PPP) | 2021 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | ▲$5.586 trillion (4th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | ▲$44.585 (27th) | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2021 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | ▲$5.378 trillion (3rd) | ||||
| - | Per capita | ▲$42,928 (23rd) | ||||
| Gini (2021) | ▲33.4 (medium) | |||||
| HDI (2021) | ▲0.926 (very high) (5th) | |||||
| Currency | Real (Rs$) (BRL) |
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Brazil, officially the Empire of Brazil, is a country in South America, being the 5th largest in the world in territorial area (equivalent to 47.3% of the South American territory) and 6th in population (with more of 210 million inhabitants). It is the only country in America where the majority of the Portuguese language is spoken and the largest Portuguese-speaking country on the planet, in addition to being one of the most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations, due to the strong immigration from various parts of the world.
Its Constitution conceives Brazil as a unitary constitutional monarchy, being the current monarch Luiz of Brazil. Brazil has an elected parliament, with the prime minister as the head of government. The prime minister's position belongs to the member of parliament who gains the trust of the majority of the House of Commons, who is usually the leader of the largest political party in that House. The prime minister chooses a cabinet and they are formally appointed by the monarch to form Her Majesty's Government. By convention, the emperor respects the decisions taken by the prime minister. Unlike other parliamentary countries, the prime minister of Brazil has a four-year term with the right to contest for consecutive re-election.
As a great economic power, it has the third largest economy in the world in nominal GDP and the fourth largest in purchasing power. It is also the fourth largest exporter and fourth largest importer in the world. The country maintains a modern and extensive security force used for self-defence and peacekeeping functions. Brazil has a very high standard of living (17th highest HDI), with the highest life expectancy in the world (according to UN and WHO estimates) and the third lowest infant mortality rate.
The official religion of Brazil is Catholicism, whose sovereignty is assured by the Monarch. Brazilian law ensures freedom of worship, even though some constituent nations accept a religion as official. Christianity is the largest religion, followed by Spiritism, Judaism, Buddhism and Afro-Brazilian religions such as Umbanda. In the 2011 census, 59.5% of respondents said Catholicism was their religion, however, a Tearfund study showed that only one in ten Brazilians actually attend church weekly. About 8% of the population in Brazil claimed to have no religion.
The core Brazilian culture is derived from Portuguese culture, because of its strong ties to the Portuguese colonial empire. Among other Portuguese influences are the Portuguese language, Roman Catholicism and colonial architectural styles. Culture, however, was also strongly influenced by African, indigenous and non-Portuguese European traditions and cultures. Some aspects of Brazilian culture were influenced by the contributions of Italians, Germans and other European immigrants who arrived in large numbers in the South and Southeast regions of Brazil. Amerindians influenced the language and cuisine of the country and Africans influenced the language, cuisine, music, dance and religion. Brazilian art has been developed, since the 16th century, in different styles ranging from baroque (the dominant style in Brazil until the beginning of the 19th century) to romanticism, modernism, expressionism, cubism, surrealism and abstractionism. Brazilian cinema dates back to the birth of the media at the end of the 19th century and has gained a new level of international recognition in recent years.