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Brazil is the largest and most populous country in South America.[5] It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world.[5][6] Its population comprises the majority of the world's Portuguese speakers. Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of over 7,491 kilometers (4,655 mi).[5] It is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana and the overseas department of French Guiana; on the northwest by Colombia; on the west by Bolivia and Peru; on the southwest by Argentina and Paraguay and on the south by Uruguay. Numerous arc...
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... hipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean are part of the Brazilian territory, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, and Trindade and Martim Vaz.[5]
Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until its independence in 1822.[7] Initially independent as the Empire of Brazil, the country has been a republic since 1889. The bicameral legislature (now called Congress) dates back to 1824, when the first constitution was ratified.[7] The Constitution defines Brazil as a Federal Republic[8] formed by the union of 26 States, the Federal District and the Municipalities (nowadays more than 5,564).[8][9]
Brazil is the world's tenth largest economy at market exchange rates and the ninth largest in purchasing power.[10] Economic reforms have given the country new international projection.[11] It is a founding member of the United Nations, the Union of South American Nations, and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. The Brazilian population is predominantly Roman Catholic, almost all Portuguese-speaking and multiethnic.[6] Brazil is also home to a diversity of wildlife, natural environments, and extensive natural resources in a variety of protected habitats.[5]
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