Because Brazil is south of the equator, its seasons are opposite ours. When it’s summer in the United States, it’s winter in Brazil – and vice versa. Imagine going to the beach for Christmas! Sao Paulo and de Janeiro are the largest cities in Brazil. More than 43 percent of the people in Brazil live here.

The Amazon River runs through Brazil, creating a vast rainforest. Brazil also has grassy flatlands, called pampas, wetlands and coastal plains. Brazil has more varied animal life than any other country in the world. There are 600 mammal species, 1, 600 bird species, 1, 500 fish species, and over 100, 000 different types of insects. Wow! That’s a lot of bugs!

In the Pantanal, a huge wetland, live huge anaconda snakes and giant relatives of the guinea pig, the capybaras. Watch out for caimans and alligators too. Most of the rainforests in Brazil have been destroyed to make room for houses and farming. The government has made laws to protect the remaining rainforests.

When Spanish explorers arrived in Brazil in the 1500s, there were over 30 million native people, or Amerindians. Today, there are less than 300, 000. Portugal claimed Brazil in 1530. Brazil remained a sovereign nation until 1888, when it gained its freedom. The Portuguese brought slaves from Africa to work on the huge sugar plantations and to mine for diamonds and gold.

• 184, 184, 000 people live in Brazil.
• Brazil has 3, 300, 169 square miles of land.
• Portuguese is the language in Brazil most people speak. Although people also speak German, Italian and English.
• People in Brazil can expect to live for 69 years.
• 86 percent of adults can read.

Brazil Vocabulary

1. Carnival: festival, party
2. Border: touches
3. Coastline: land that meets an ocean or sea
4. Caiman: similar to alligators and crocodiles, but smaller
5. Native: originally living in a certain location

All About Brazil Video for Kids

Watch this awesome Brazil video for kids:

Brazil Q&A

Question: What is the favorite sport in Brazil?

Answer: Lots of people in the world love soccer, but the Brazilian people probably love it the most. Brazil’s soccer team has won the World Cup finals five times – the most of any country. Brazil is hosting this event in 2014. People love soccer so much that they don’t go to work during the World Cup. Better not knock on their doors or bother them while they’re watching soccer.

Map of Brazil

Here’s a map of the country of Brazil and all its cities and villages. Zoom in to get into street level or zoom out to see other countries around Brazil! You can see the terrain, but also see the roads, images of the buildings and even take a 3D tour through the streets of the cities of Brazil, as though you are actually there!

Source: easyscienceforkids.com