A look at Brazil by-the-numbers
 • History: Brazil gained its independence in 1822 after more than three centuries of Portuguese rule. In 1985, the military regime ceded power to civilian rulers. Its current president is Dilma Rousseff. • Population: 203.4 million, the largest and most populous country in South America • Size: At 5.28 million square miles, Brazil is the fifth-largest country in the world (behind Russia, Canada, U.S., and China). • Capital: Brasilia • Major cities: São Paulo, 19.96 million residents
Rio de Janeiro, 11.84 million Belo Horizonte, 5.74 million Porto Alegre, 4.03 million Brasilia, 3.79 million • Language: Portuguese • Adult literacy: 88.6% • People: 53.7% white
38.5% mixed white and black 6.2% black 0.9% other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 0.7% unspecified • GNP: $2.17 trillion U.S. dollars, making its economy the ninth biggest in the world (behind the European Union, U.S., China, Japan, India, Germany, Russia and the U.K.) • Currency: Real (1 real = 56 cents) • Poverty: 26% of the country's population is below the poverty line. • Challenges: Highly unequal income distribution and high crime |