INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT BRAZIL

Brazil is a vibrant and exciting country that spans a massive area and 5 different time zones. With an eclectic mixture of people, geography, culture and landscapes, here are some interesting facts about Brazil, that shows that the country is not Carnival and football!

 

Iconic Brazil

 

Brazil is the fifth largest country by landmass at 8,514,877 square kilometres, making up 47% of the South-American continent.

The Amazon River is the world’s largest by volume of water discharged. Over 209,00 cubic metres per second flow into the Atlantic Ocean, which is more than the next seven largest rivers combined. During the wet season, the river swells to almost 50km (30mi) across.

According to a 2007 report, there are at least 67 uncontacted tribes in the Brazilian Amazon.

 

Pataxá Elder

In 2014, Baia do Sancho in the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha was named the world’s best beach by TripAdvisor. It has since been knocked off the top spot but has ranked second for the last two years.

In 2010, Dilma Rousseff became the first woman to be elected as Brazil’s president. She gained a second term in the elections of October 2014.

Brazil the world’s sixth-largest country by population with 204,259,812 as of July 2015.

 

Brazil from Above

Some fishermen in Laguna in southeast Brazil use dolphins to help them fish. The dolphins herd fish towards waiting nets, even flicking their heads to indicate the trap is set.

São Vicente is the oldest city in Brazil, founded in 1532. It was Portugal’s first permanent settlement in the Americas.

The Liberdade district of Sao Paulo is home to the biggest Japanese immigrant community in the world. Over 1.8 million people of Japanese descent live in Brazil, 600,000 of them in Liberdade.

 

La Liberdade

Brazil borders every country in South America except Ecuador and Chile.

Every year, a penguin called Dindim returns to his rescuer on an island off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. In 2011, Joao Pereira de Souza rescued a starving Magellan penguin covered in oil. Ever since, the penguin has travelled three to five thousand miles every year from Patagonia to spend up to eight months with the retired fisherman.

Brazil has the most successful international football team ever. They have won the FIFA World Cup five times, more than any other country and are first in the all-time rankings.

 

Sao Paolo Stadium

 

The capital of Brazil, Brasilia, was constructed in just 41 months, from 1956 to 1960. Rio de Janeiro was the capital for the previous 197 years.

Brazil’s highest mountain is the Pico da Neblina (Mist Peak). As it’s almost permanently shrouded in cloud, it wasn’t discovered until the 1950s and was first ascended in 1965 (12 years after Everest). It is located on the border with Venezuela at 2,994 metres (9,823 feet) above sea level.

There are no bridges over the Amazon River. In 2011, a 3.5km-long bridge was built over the Amazon’s major tributary, the Rio Negro, but the main river still remains “bridge-less”.

 

Aerial View of The Amazon

Brazil has been the world’s largest exporter of coffee for over 100 years. In 2014, it produced 2,720,520,000 kilograms of coffee beans.

The statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro is one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World”. It is 38 meters tall and weighs 635 tonnes. The statue took five years to construct and was opened in 1931.

Brazil has over 4,000 airports. Only the USA has more.

 

Sao Paolo Airport

 

In 2004, the Brazilian government tried to sell a 16,000-ton aircraft carrier on eBay. Bids reached £4 million before it was removed.

Tragically, in 2005, the government reported that one-fifth of the Amazon had been cleared by deforestation.

The Lungs of the Earth