What comes to your mind when someone asks you about Brazil? I am sure, the first few things that come to mind are about everyone doing the Samba, Amazon rainforest, or famous Brazilian football. In this article, I will share 7 Interesting Facts About Brazil. My intent with this article and video is to provide valuable information about the biggest South-American country which most people do not know. In this post, I am also embedding a video that explains these facts a bit more in detail.
Click here to watch more videos about Brazil and my life in Brazil
1. Brazil is the largest producer of coffee
Brazil is the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years. By far Brazil is the world’s largest producer and exporter of coffee accounting for 30 % of the world’s production. So if you are someone who loves coffee and hasn’t tried Brazilian coffee, then it should be the next thing on your list to try. They have a wide range of coffee and as a result, coffee export contributes to a big volume of agricultural export from Brazil.
2. Brazil is the fifth largest country in size & 6th largest country in terms of population in the world
Do you know a lot of Brazilians complain that foreigners do know where is Brazil located and often say ” Brazil is in Europe right?”, which brings us to the next interesting facts about Brazil. In the world, Brazil is the fifth largest country in size and the 6th largest country in terms of population. Yes! you read it right. It is a very big country. In fact, Entire Europe is just slightly larger than Brazil. To get an idea check the image below. Brazil is the largest country in both South America and the Southern Hemisphere, even bigger than Australia. And yet many people do not know about this country.
3. Rio De Janeiro is NOT THE CAPITAL
What is the capital of Brazil? Well, most people think it is Rio de Janeiro. I would say your answer is not completely wrong. Once upon a time, it uses to be the capital. But Brazil’s capital is Brasilia also known as the Federal district. One interesting thing about Brasilia is that it was a strategically planned city and you know what the city from the sky looks like an airplane on the ground. The interesting fact about Brazil here is that in the past Brazil had 2 other capitals before Brasilia. Salvador which is the capital of the state of Bahia used to be the first capital of Brazil and later Rio de Janeiro became the capital before Brasilia. So yeah, you are not wrong if you think Rio is the capital.
4. Brazil has the largest Japanese community outside of Japan
In Brazil, you will find various ethnicity, and as a result, there is no typical way how a Brazilian would look like. And here is the 4th lesser known fact about Brazil. Do you know outside of Japan, Brazil has the largest Japanese community outside of Japan. Even United States is behind them. Just like the Japanese community, you will find several other communities in Brazil in big numbers. This is what makes Brazil a beautiful mix of different ethnicity and cultures.
5. Sao Paulo city has the highest GDP among the Metropolitans in Southern Hemisphere
While millions of people in Brazil fight against extreme poverty, São Paulo is among the most important financial and industrial centers in the world and has the highest GDP in the southern hemisphere, let alone Latin America. However, I am not saying that there is no economic disparity in Brazil but yet to have a no.1 city in terms of metropolitan in the entire southern hemisphere is something to cheer about.
6. Brazil has won record 5 FIFA football worldcups
Well it’s a fact that I am sure most people will remember very well. Yes! It’s about Brazilian football. This is a on top of my list of interesting facts about Brazil. Do you know that Brazil is the most successful team in the history of FIFA world cups? Do you know how many world cups they have won? Not 3, not 4 but 5 world cups. No wonder why they are world-renowned for football.
And in our generation, we consider Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as the greatest of all time, but the truth is Pele, yes Pele is the GREATEST of ALL TIME. When Pele made his World Cup bow aged 17 in Sweden, Brazil had never won football’s most coveted trophy. When he retired from international football, 12 years later, Brazil was the most successful country in the history of the World cups . Pele won the World Cup in 1958, 1962, and 1970.
7. Brazilians DO NOT speak Spanish.
This is not just one of the interesting facts about Brazil but also something which lot of foreigners stereotype Brazilians. Some Brazilians can get offended if you start talking to them in Spanish without asking them if they speak spanish or not. Sometimes some people even ask if they speak Brazilian clearly there is no languaged called brazilian. Brazil was the largest country colonized by Portugal.
They got their independence 200 years ago. And hence they are the only country in South America that speaks Portuguese and not Spanish, unlike other Latin American countries.
Please do share this blog with your friends and you can also pin this blog on pinterest so it reaches more audience.
