Brazil

1. Brazil’s official name isRepública Federativa do Brasil(Federative Republic of Brazil).^o
2. The word “Brazil,” meaning “red like an ember,” comes frompau brasil (brazilwood), a tree that once grew abundantly along the Brazilian coast that produced a deep, red dye. Brazilwood was valued by European traders who came from the Portuguese coasts in the 16th century to trade with the Tupí-Guaraní Indians.^h
Brazil has 4,655 miles (7,491 km) of coastline
3. Brazil has 4,655 miles (7,491 km) of coastline, making it the longest continuous coastline in the world.^o
4. The Portuguese officially named what we now know as Brazil Terra do Santa Cruz (Land of the Holy Cross), but traders simply called it Terra do Brasil.^h
5. Brazil is the fifth largest country by landmass in the world with 5.35 million square miles (8.45 million square km). It is the largest country in both South America and the entire Latin American region.^o
6. The highest point in Brazil is Pico da Neblina at 9,823 feet (2,994 m).^o
7. Brazil is the largest Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) nation in the world and the only one in the Americas.^a
8. Brazil is the sixth largest country in the world by population at 201,009,622 people.^o
9. Brazil’s official birthday as a country occurred on September 7, 1822, when Prince Pedro refused to return to Portugal. He announced the Grito de Ipiranga by throwing down his sword and shouting, “Independence or death!” Although free of Portugal’s hold, Brazil remained a monarchy until its declaration of independence as a republic in 1889.ⁿ
Brazil’s national flag was officially adopted on November 19, 1889
10. On Brazil’s modern flag, the green represents the forests of Brazil, the yellow rhombus reflects its mineral wealth, and the blue circle and stars depict the sky over Rio de Janeiro on the morning of November 15, 1889, when Brazil declared itself a republic.^o
11. Elected on October 30, 2010, Dilma Rousseff is Brazil’s current president and the first woman to hold this office.^d
12. Brazil is the world’s largest market for crack cocaine.^f
13. Brazilian cowboys are called gaúchos. They live primarily in Rio Grande do Sul in the southern part of the country, which is part of the South American pampas and borders Uruguay and Argentina.^g
14. The Amazon River, over half of which lies within Brazil, is the world’s largest by volume. It is 3,977 miles (6,400 km) long and during the wet season it can become over 118 miles (190 km) wide.^o
15. Natives of Rio de Janeiro’s city proper are called Cariocas.^a

References

http://facts.randomhistory.com/brazil-facts.html