Profile
Area: 8.5 million sq km.
Location: Brazil is located in the central and eastern South America. It borders Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru and Columbia.
Capital: Brasilia (population with suburbs: 3 million; the third largest city).
Largest cities: Sao Paolo (12.25 million), Rio de Janeiro (6.72 million) and Salvador (2.87 million).
Population: 210.5 million (October 2019).
Main religious denominations: Catholicism (64.6%) and Protestantism (22%).
Official language: Portuguese.
National day: 7 September, Independence Day (independence was declared in 1822).
Currency: Real (4.04 real for $1 as of 30 December 2019).
Government
In accordance with the 1988 Constitution, Brazil is a federative republic with 26 states and the capital federal district.
The head of state and government and supreme commander-in-chief
The president is elected by direct universal vote for four years. Jair Bolsonaro became president on 1 January 2019.
The legislative body The National Congress. It has two houses: the upper house is the Federal Senate (81 senators) and the lower house is the Chamber of Deputies (513 deputies). The presidents of the houses are rotated every two years. Rodrigo Maia has been President of the Chamber of Deputies since 1 February 2019 (elected for the third time in a row). Davi Alcolumbre has been President of the Federal Senate since 2 February 2019. Both represent the Democrats.