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Brazil (Portuguese Brasil), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese República Federativa do Brasil) listen&_160;(help·info), is the largest and most populous country in South America.[6] It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world.[6][7] Its population comprises the majority of the world's Portuguese speakers. Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of over 7,491&_160;kilometers (4,655&_160;mi).[6] It is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana and the overseas department of French Guiana; on the northwest by Colombia; on the west by Bolivia and Peru; on the southwest by Argentina and Paraguay and on the south by Uruguay. Numerous archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean are part of the Brazilian territory, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, and Trindade and Martim Vaz.[6] Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until its independence in 1822.[8] Initially independent as the Empire of Brazil, the country has been a republic since 1889. The bicameral legislature (now called Congress) dates back to 1824, when the first constitution was ratified.[8] The Constitution defines Brazil as a Federal Republic[9] formed by the union of 26 States, the Federal District and the Municipalities (nowadays more than 5,564).[9][10] Brazil is the world's tenth largest economy at market exchange rates and the ninth largest in purchasing power.[11] Economic reforms have given the country new international projection.[12] It is a founding member of the United Nations, the Union of South American Nations, and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. It is a member of the G20. The Brazilian population is predominantly Roman Catholic, almost all Portuguese-speaking and multiethnic.[7] Brazil is also home to a diversity of wildlife, natural environments, and extensive natural resources in a variety of protected habitats.[6] Brazil is the first most biodiverse country.[13] Most native tribes who live and lived within Brazil's current borders are thought to descend from the first wave of migrants from North Asia (Siberia) that crossed the Bering Land Bridge at the end of the last Ice Age around 9000&_160;BC. In 1500&_160;AD, the territory of modern Brazil had an estimated total population of nearly 3 million Amerindians divided in 2,000&_160;nations and tribes.
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