Brazil surely lays claim to being one of the most exotic countries in the world. A wonderful place in so many ways, it dances to its own unique rhythm and the result is a sensuous melting pot of cultures, peoples and landscapes like no other place on earth. It is also huge! With a population of 190 million people and 8.5 million km2 – almost twice the European Union – Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world, both in area and population.
Indeed everything is big about this country that takes in a coastline of 7,367 kilometres, occupies half of South America and borders every nation of this continent (9) with the exception of Chile and Ecuador.
Politically, Brazil is divided into 26 states and one federal district (containing Brasília), distributed over 5 regions (North, Northeast, Centre-West, Southeast and South). Economically most important is the Southeast region that comprises the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo.