Brazil (in Portuguese, Brasil), officially Federative Republic of Brazil, federal republic, the largest country in South America, occupying nearly one half of the entire area of the continent.

Climatic conditions in Brazil range from tropical to subtemperate. The average January and July temperatures in Brasília are 22° C (72° F) and 20° C (68° F) respectively. The averages in Rio de Janeiro for the same months are 29° C (83° F) and 20° C (67° F). Average annual precipitation in Brasília is 1,600 mm (63 in), and in Rio de Janeiro it is 1,760 mm (67 in). Tropical conditions prevail also over most of that portion of the coastal plain lying to the north of the tropic of Capricorn, but oceanic winds have a moderating effect on the high temperatures and humidity. The annual rainfall in this part of the coastal belt varies between 1,041 and 2,286 m (41 and 90 in). In the coastal region south of the tropic of Capricorn, climatic conditions are marked by sharp seasonal variations. Winter temperatures as low as -5.6° C (22° F) are occasionally recorded in the extreme south, and frosts are common throughout the region. Precipitation averages less than 1,016 mm (40 in) annually in the southern part of the coastal belt. In the east-central Brazilian uplands the climate is subtropical but, because of the higher altitudes, sharp variations of temperature occur in the day and the nights are cool. This region is frequently subject to severe droughts. In the highlands to the south and west, precipitation ranges from adequate to abundant. Temperatures vary between subtropical and temperate in the south-eastern highlands, which is the most densely populated section of the country.

The flora of Brazil is highly diversified, particularly in the Amazon Basin. Hundreds of species of plant life, including bignonias, laurels, myrtles, and mimosas, abound in this region. Palms and hardwoods are abundant, as are plants of the Euphorbiaceae family (one of the chief sources of crude rubber). Mangroves, cacaos, dwarf palms, and brazilwoods thrive in the coastal region. Among the indigenous and widely cultivated fruits are the pineapple, fig, custard apple, mango, banana, guava, grape, and orange. Vegetation in the river valleys of the plateau region is luxuriant, but in the highlands the forests consist largely of deciduous species, and are far less dense. This section also has extensive tracts of bushes and open plains. Coniferous trees thrive in those areas where temperate climatic conditions prevail. In the arid sections of the plateau region, cacti and other spiny plants are common.

The animal life of Brazil is also extremely varied and differs in many respects from that of North America and the eastern hemisphere. Larger animals include the puma, jaguar, ocelot, the rare bush dog, and foxes. Peccary, tapir, anteater, sloth, opossum, and armadillo are abundant. Deer are plentiful in the south, and monkeys of many species abound in the selva (rainforests). Many varieties of birds are indigenous to the country. The reptilian fauna includes several species of alligator and numerous species of snake, notably the bushmaster, fer-de-lance, and boa. Fish and turtle abound in the rivers, lakes, and coastal waters of Brazil.

The issue of deforestation in the Amazon Basin is an international environmental issue. The country's rainforest is one of the most complex ecosystems in the world, containing much of the world's biodiversity. During the early 1990s the forest was being destroyed, to make way for agriculture, at a rate of 35,000 sq km (13,500 sq mi) a year. A rainforest protection programme, funded by the Brazilian government, the EU, and the G-7 group, was agreed in 1996.

The soil is primarily tropical and subtropical terra rosa (red earth). Amazonia, the valley of the Amazon and its tributaries, is a vast alluvial plain in which flooding continually washes away and replenishes topsoil. A number of low alluvial plateaux, however, can be found above normal floor levels. Some inland regions of the north-east are semi-arid. In lowland areas, the soil supports dense rainforests. The state of São Paulo is marked by fertile, almost purple, terra rosa, because of basalt decomposition accelerated by heat and humidity.

Approximately 22 per cent of the population of Brazil is composed of mulattoes. People of Portuguese descent are the second-largest group (15 per cent), followed by mestizos (people of mixed European and Native American stock, 12 per cent), Italian (11 per cent), black (11 per cent), and Spanish (10 per cent), with the remaining 19 per cent made up of other groups, including Germans, Japanese, and Native Americans.

The population of Brazil (1996 estimate) is 157,872,000. The overall population density is about 19 per sq km (48 per sq mi). About 78 per cent of the population of Brazil is urban.

The largest city is São Paulo, centre of Brazilian industry, with a population of 9,842,059 (1993 estimate). Other leading cities, with their estimated 1993 populations, include Rio de Janeiro, the former capital of the country and a commercial centre (5,547,033); Porto Alegre, an Atlantic port (1,280,114); Salvador, a port located in a fertile agricultural region (2,174,072); Belém, a chief port on the lower Amazon (1,297,592); Recife, chief commercial city of the northeastern region (1,314,857); Curitiba (1,364,320); Belo Horizonte, hub of a cotton-growing region (2,060,804); and Manaus, a port on the River Negro (1,078,277).

Many of these cities grew rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s as a result of both the high birth rate and the movement of people into the cities in search of work. Shanty towns developed and street crime was widespread. Many of the homeless were children, and there were disturbing reports of unofficial "death squads" who tried to reduce the crime rate by hunting down and killing these homeless children.

Nearly 90 per cent of the inhabitants of Brazil are Roman Catholic. About 20 million Catholics are also Spiritists in some form. There are also at least 7 million Protestants, including substantial numbers of Lutherans, Methodists, and Episcopalians, and a small community of Jews. Most Native Americans follow traditional religions. Separation of Church and State is formal and complete.

Portuguese is the official language of Brazil. German and Italian are spoken by many Brazilians, especially in the cities of the south.

Primary education in Brazil is free and compulsory for children between the ages of 7 and 14. Approximately 80 per cent (1996) of the population aged 15 or more years is literate. In 1995 the government spent an estimated 2.7 per cent of total expenditure on education.

More than 30 million pupils attended Brazilian primary schools each year in the mid-1990s, and over 4 million students were enrolled in secondary schools. Primary and secondary schools are maintained primarily by states and municipalities, but many Roman Catholic-run secondary schools also exist.

The central government of Brazil shares with the states and private associations the responsibility for institutions of higher learning. In the early 1990s Brazil contained more than 850 such institutions (including 127 universities), which had a combined annual enrolment of about 1.6 million students. Among the leading universities were the University of Brasília (1961) in Brasília; the University of São Paulo (1934); the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas (1941); the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (1920); and the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (1948), in Porto Alegre. Other institutions include schools of medicine, public health, law, social sciences, engineering, and mining.

The culture of modern Brazil has been formed from a rich background of ethnic traditions. The early Portuguese settlers borrowed many customs and words from the original Native American population. During the colonial period millions of black African slaves who were brought into Brazil added an African element to Brazilian cultural life; their religious rites merged with Roman Catholicism to form the unique Afro-Brazilian cult, notable for its exotic ceremonies. The most influential of these cults is Candomble.

Brazil, however, is a predominantly European-formed society, settled largely by the Portuguese, Italians, Germans, and Spaniards. These European origins are the bases of Brazilian family life, which is a rigid and patriarchal structure that permeates all areas of Brazilian life.

Sculpture flourished during the 18th and 19th centuries in Brazil. Much of the work included striking religious figures. Most Brazilian art before the 20th century was anonymous, but the influence of this work has been strong, and traces can be seen in the work of contemporary Brazilian artists. The painter Cándido Portinari, in a mural executed for the UN headquarters in New York, clearly shows these earlier influences.

Many contemporary Brazilian artists have taken unmistakably individualistic directions that have received international recognition. Brasília, the capital, has been acclaimed for its striking modern architecture, the chief designer of which was the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer.

Heitor Villa-Lobos is considered perhaps the most gifted Brazilian composer. His works are based largely on Brazilian folk themes. The Brazilian soprano Bidú Sayão has been a major interpreter of his music. Brazil has a rich folk music tradition that synthesizes elements of African and Portuguese traditional music. A Brazilian ballroom dance, the samba, was introduced to the United States in 1938. Its music, based on that of African-derived folk dances, became popular and eventually developed into the even more popular bossa nova. The infectious melodies and rhythms of the bossa nova have been performed by such entertainers as the guitarist and singer João Gilberto. Among contemporary composers are Luis Bonfa and Antonio Carlos Jobim, who created the score for the film Black Orpheus.

About one quarter of the world's coffee is grown on the plantations of São Paulo, Paraná, Espírito Santo, and Minas Gerais. Annual coffee production in the mid-1990s was about 1.8 million tonnes, much of which was exported. Brazil ranks among world leaders in the production of sugar cane (which is used to produce not only refined sugar but also alcohol for fuel), castor beans, cocoa, maize, and oranges. Other important crops are soya beans, tobacco, potatoes, cotton, rice, wheat, cassava, and bananas.

Livestock is raised in nearly all parts of the country, particularly in São Paulo and other southern states, where there are vast numbers of cattle, pigs, poultry, sheep, goats, horses, donkeys, mules, and oxen.

The valuable products of the Brazilian forests include tung, rubber, carnauba wax, caroa fibre, medicinal leaves, vegetable oils, resins, nuts, and building and cabinet woods. Important timber resources include the paraná pine, the most important commercially, and the pepper tree. The timber production industry developed rapidly during the 1970s and 1980s as much of the forestland was cleared for settlement.

The fishing industry, although hampered at first by lack of capital, storage facilities, and canneries, grew considerably in the 1970s. In the early 1990s the catch was about 800,000 tonnes annually, including shrimp, lobsters, and sardines.

In all, agriculture contributed 12.8 per cent of Brazil's gross domestic product (GDP) in 1995.

Brazil's manufacturing industries produce a vast array of products and contributed almost 25 per cent of GDP in 1995. Large amounts of such goods as processed food (particularly orange juice), iron and steel, cement, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, chemicals, and machinery. São Paulo is the leading industrial state, with factories producing about one third of the total amount of manufactures of Brazil; the cities of Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, and Fortaleza also are major manufacturing centres.

Tourism in Brazil centres around the country's many beaches and the city of Rio de Janeiro. Ecotourism in the Amazon Basin is being encouraged by the government. In 1994 some 1,700,464 tourists visited Brazil (over one third of which were from Argentina), spending over US$1.9 million.

The monetary unit of Brazil is the real, of 100 centavos (2.005 reals equal US$1; 1999), introduced in July 1994 to replace the cruzado. The Central Bank of Brazil (1965), which is based in Brasília, issues the country's currency. Other major banking institutions include the Bank of Brazil, a state-owned commercial bank with more than 3,044 branches; the National Bank of Economic and Social Development, based in Rio de Janeiro; and the Brazilian Discount Bank, with over 1,700 branches. Brazilians are also served by many other private and state banks.

The Native Americans who were the original inhabitants of what is now Brazil included the Arawak and Carib groups in the north, the Tupí-Guaraní of the east coast and the Amazon river valley, the Ge of eastern and southern Brazil, and the Pano in the west. For the most part these groups were essentially semi-nomadic peoples, who subsisted by hunting and gathering and simple agriculture. Those groups in the more remote areas of the interior maintained their traditional way of life until the late 20th century, when their existence was threatened by the advancing frontier.