How much do you actually know about the intriguing South American country of Brazil? Test yourself with our facts.
Olympic Games 2016 – The countdown is on to the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games which are being held in Rio de Janeiro.
Corcovado Mountain – The city of Rio de Janeiro, aka The Marvellous City, is instantly recognisable the world over thanks to the iconic gleaming white Christ the Redeemer statue that stands atop the Corcovado Mountain. Constructed in 1931 the monument towers 98 feet (30 meters) over Rio.
Capital City – Many assume that Rio de Janeiro is the capital of Brazil, but it’s actually Brasilia.
Language – Many mistakably assume that Brazilians speak Spanish; however Portuguese is the local language although there are some 180 different languages spoken here in total.
Amazon River – Coming in at 6,400 km (4,000 miles) is the second longest river on earth – the mighty Amazon River. With over 3,000 fish species the Amazon basin is home to half of the remaining rainforest on earth. Take a jungle tour and spot just some of the 10 million species that call the Amazon home!
Rich Biodiversity – Cited as one of the most Biodiverse locations on earth, Brazil’s rainforests are home to a staggering number of bird, fish and mammal species. In fact around 1,000 bird, 3,000 fish and hundreds of different mammal species live here.
Iguaçu Falls – The mighty Iguazú Waterfalls attract visitors from across the world keen to experience the 250 spectacular falls for themselves, which is surrounded by lush Atlantic rainforests.
Rio Carnaval – The biggest and boldest carnival in the world is held annually in Rio de Janeiro. Expect lively Samba dance performances, colourful costumes and a real party-hard atmosphere.
Samba – The national dance of Brazil has to be the hot sultry Samba which is especially evident come Carnival time.
Bossa Nova – The Bossa Nova style of music also originates from Rio in the late 1950s.
Tropicália – The 60’s psychedelic rock scene gave birth to the Tropicália movement and was commonly found throughout the music, theatre and poetry of the time.
Famous Actors – Brazil has produced some top flights actors including Rodrigo Santoro (300, Che), Alice Braga (I Am Legend) and Morena Baccarin – last seen as Jessica Brody in Homeland.
Name – The country name comes from ‘Brasil’ which is a dark rosewood that was exported at the time.
Rubens Barrichello – The Formula 1 racing driver Rubens Barrichello was born in Sao Paolo in 1972 and recently returned from F1 with 11 wins (although no championships) under his belt.
Formula 1 – Brazilian F1 drivers are currently the third best in the world, racking up an impressive 101 wins from 6 drivers.
World Cup – Brazil will become only the fifth country in the world to host a second World Cup Tournament. In June 2014 Brazil will host the FIFA World Cup and prior to that hosted the 1950 FIFA World Cup.
World Cup Wins – Brazil is the most successful World Cup team in the world – winning 5 times in total! The 19 tournaments have only been won by 8 different teams with Brazil last winning in 2002.
Soccer Stars – Brazil is famous for some seriously huge soccer stars, namely Pele, Ronaldo, and Ronaldinho.
World Heritage Sites – There are no fewer than 19 UNESCO recognised World Heritage Sites in Brazil including the Iguaçu National Park, Central Amazon Conservation Complex and the city of Brasilia.
Cities – Brazil is growing at quite a pace and now has 13 cities with over a million residents in each.
Landmass – Brazil is the largest country in South America and covers 3,287,612 square miles (8,514,877 sq. km) which is around 47% of the continent!
Coastline – Located on the South Atlantic Ocean, Brazil boasts one of the longest coastlines in the world at 4,655 miles (7,491 km) long.
Brazil Nuts – Yes the Brazil nut tree is grown in Brazil and it’s actually illegal to cut one of the trees down. They are common throughout the country and can cause injury if you happen to be standing underneath a falling nut – in fact people have been killed by a brazil nut!
If you are planning on traveling to Brazil you will need a visa. There are different types of visas available, visit www.travelvisapro.com/visa/brazil for more information.
Feel free to add your own famous Brazil sights, sounds and experiences in the comments below…
