It’s home to the world’s largest Japanese community outside Japan. Over 1.5 million people of Japanese descent live in Brazil, mostly in São Paulo. This blend of cultures has influenced local cuisine and festivals. Brazil officially the Federative Republic of Brazil is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At 8.5 million square kilometers (3.2 million square miles) and with over 208 million people, Brazil is the world’s fifth-largest country by area and the fifth most populous. Brazil borders every South American country except Chile and Ecuador. Its capital is Brasília, and its most populated city is São Paulo.
The federation is composed of the union of the 26 states, the Federal District, and the 5,570 municipalities. Beneath the Amazon River flows the Hamza River, a massive subterranean waterway that runs nearly parallel and is just as long. Dom Pedro II, Brazil’s last emperor, was a linguist who spoke more than 10 languages fluently, including several indigenous ones. The capital city was purpose-built in the 1960s and designed to resemble a plane (or bird) when seen from above, symbolizing progress and flight into the future.
