| Area Total | 8,515,770 sq km |
| Climate | mostly tropical, but temperate in south |
| Natural Resources | bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, rare earth elements, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber |
| Imports | $153.2 billion (2017 est.) partners: China 18.1%, US 16.7%, Argentina 6.3%, Germany 6.1% (2017) |
| Exports | $217.2 billion (2017 est.) partners: China 21.8%, US 12.5%, Argentina 8.1%, Netherlands 4.3% (2017) |
| Government | federal presidential republic |
| Capital | Brasilia |
| Population | 208.8 million (July 2018 est.) |
| Ethnicity | white 47.7%, mulatto (mixed white and black) 43.1%, black 7.6%, Asian 1.1%, indigenous 0.4% (2010 est.) |
| Language | Portuguese (official and most widely spoken language); note: less common languages include Spanish (border areas and schools), German, Italian, Japanese, English, and a large number of minor Amerindian languages |
News about Brazil
- Jair Bolsonaro ordered to start 27-year prison term for plotting Brazil coup
by Tom Phillips in Brasília on November 25, 2025Ex-president to start serving term in 12 sq metre bedroom in police base in Brasília after time for appeals elapsesBrazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, has been ordered to start serving his 27-year sentence in a 12 sq metre bedroom in a police base in the capital, Brasília, after his conviction for plotting a coup.The far-right populist, 70, who […]
- Lula troubled by interpreter's poor work at G20 Summit
on November 25, 2025Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was deeply troubled on the closing day of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg (South Africa) by an interpreter's unprofessional behavior. "Only [First Lady] Janja [da Silva] may whisper in my ear!" he stressed.
- Brazil: STF panel upholds Bolsonaro's effective imprisonment
on November 25, 2025The First Panel of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) unanimously upheld on Monday former President Jair Bolsonaro's effective detention after tampering with the tracking device he had to wear as part of the house arrest he had been granted following his 27-year prison sentence for masterminding the Jan. 8, 2023, attempted coup d'état.
- COP30's final document leaves fossil fuels unmentioned
on November 25, 2025The 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) concluded in Belém, Brazil, with the approval of a final document that has drawn both consensus and sharp criticism for its lack of ambition, particularly its silence on the future of fossil fuels.
- ‘Fossil fuel giants finally in the crosshairs’: Cop30 avoids total failure with last-ditch deal
by Fiona Harvey in Belem on November 25, 2025It took some oblique wording, but Saudi Arabia made a last-minute decision to sign deal that marks departure for CopDawn was breaking over the Amazonian city of Belém on Saturday morning, but in the windowless conference room it could have been day or night. They had been stuck there for more than 12 hours, dozens of ministers representing 17 groups of […]
- Bitter rows and overnight talks: how a fragile Cop30 deal was agreed – podcast
by Presented and produced by Madeleine Finlay, with Fiona Harvey, sound design by Joel Cox. The executive producer was Ellie Bury on November 24, 2025After bitter arguments, threatened walkouts and heated all-night negotiations, delegates eventually reached a deal this weekend at the Cop30 climate summit in Brazil. To unpick what was achieved and what was left out, Madeleine Finlay hears from the Guardian’s environment editor, Fiona Harvey, who has been following every twist and turnEnd of fossil fuel […]
- Jimmy Cliff obituary
by David Katz on November 24, 2025One of the greatest stars of Jamaican reggae known for his 1969 hit Many Rivers to Cross and the film The Harder They ComeThe singer and songwriter Jimmy Cliff, who has died aged 81, was one of Jamaica’s most celebrated performers. An itinerant ambassador who introduced the music and culture of his island to audiences across the world at a time when […]
- Lula foresees Mercosur-EU agreement will be signed on Dec. 20
on November 24, 2025Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Sunday at the G20 Summit in South Africa that the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) and the European Union (EU) would be signed on December 20. Lula, who holds the South American bloc's rotating presidency, has made the deal a priority.
- Bolsonaro cites mental disorders for tampering with tracking device
on November 24, 2025During a custody hearing on Sunday afternoon, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said he was under the effects of his psychiatric medication when he tried to remove his ankle tracking device, resulting in his house arrest's suppression and actual incarceration at a Federal Police facility.
- Jair Bolsonaro claims ‘psychotic attack’ made him tamper with ankle monitor
by Tom Phillips in Brasília on November 23, 2025Brazil’s former president says he took a soldering iron to electronic tag as he was hallucinating that it was buggedBrazil’s far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro has claimed he took a soldering iron to his electronic ankle monitor after having a substance-induced “psychotic attack” that caused him to hallucinate that the device was […]
- UN warns world losing climate battle but fragile Cop30 deal keeps up the fight
by Damian Carrington, Oliver Milman, Jonathan Watts and Damien Gayle on November 23, 2025Reaching agreement in divisive political landscape shows ‘climate cooperation is alive and kicking’, says UN climate chiefThe world is not winning the fight against the climate crisis but it is still in that fight, the UN climate chief has said in Belém, Brazil, after a bitterly contested Cop30 reached a deal.Countries at Cop30 failed to bring the […]
- Four ways AI is being used to strengthen democracies worldwide | Nathan E Sanders and Bruce Schneier
by Nathan E Sanders and Bruce Schneier on November 23, 2025The dangers of artificial intelligence and its potential to consolidate power are clear. But used fairly, it can be a boon for good governmentDemocracy is colliding with the technologies of artificial intelligence. Judging from the audience reaction at the recent World Forum on Democracy in Strasbourg, the general expectation is that democracy will be the […]
- Trump, war, absent media: five threats to climate progress that dogged Cop30
by Jonathan Watts in Belém on November 23, 2025Did the talks succeed or fail? The verdict must take account of the geopolitical minefield they took place inCop30 in Belém wrapped up on Saturday night more than 24 hours later than planned, and with an Amazonian rainstorm thundering down on the conference centre. The UN structure just about held, as it has done these past three weeks despite fire, savage […]
- Brazil's ex-president Bolsonaro admits damaging ankle monitor with hot iron – video
on November 23, 2025Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro has claimed he tried to damage his electronic ankle monitor 'out of curiosity' after he was arrested at his villa owing to suspicions that he was preparing to abscond. In a video released by the supreme court, Bolsonaro, who was recently sentenced to 27 years in prison for leading an attempted military coup, can be […]
- Bolsonaro taken to detention facility for posing concrete flight risk
on November 23, 2025Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who was under house arrest serving a 27-year prison sentence for masterminding the Jan. 8, 2023, attempted coup d'état, was transferred Saturday to a detention facility after he tampered with his ankle tracking device. According to some local outlets, he had planned to seek asylum in an Argentine or US diplomatic […]
