Today we explore 10 crazy facts about Brazil you probably didn’t know. B part of BRIC (other letters stand for Russia, China and India), Brazil is one of the world fastest growing economies. It is posed to overtake Germany by 2032. Its current GDP is larger than those of Argentina, Venezuela and Mexico combined, ranking Brazil 7th in the world. Not bad for a country that exist for less than 200 years and have struggled with one of the worst hyperinflation in history just 20 years ago.
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Former Portuguese colony, Brazil is the only country in South America where Spanish isn’t official language, apart from Belize where the official language is English. It is the 5th largest country in the world by both population and area and it takes up 47% of the entire South American continent, where it borders every country, sans Chile and Ecuador.
Brazil is incredibly ethnically diverse country, due to large numbers of immigrants coming to the country in 19th and 20th century. Brazil is the home of some 1.5 million Japanese or nipo-brasileiro, the largest Japanese population outside Japan, so at least some of the 50 crazy facts about Japan can be found in Brazil as well. About 10 million people in Brazil claim Lebanese origin, which is three time the population of Lebanon itself. Adding to the mix are some 5 million slaves brought to Brazil from Africa. In comparison, only 388,000 were brought to the United States. Brazil was the last country to abolish slavery, in 1888.
Sport is very popular in Brazil, witnessed by two entries on our list being about it. Football is by far the most popular, followed by motorsport, volleyball and in recent years basketball. Brazil also has its own indigenous sports, like capoeira martial art.
Apart from sports, several other crazy facts on our list are related to Brazil’s amazing geographic features. Let’s find out which.
10. Snake Island
Ilha da Queimada Grande is a small island located off the coast of Sao Paolo state. It is a home to Golden Lancehead Viper, one of the most venomous snakes in the world. How much venomous exactly is unknown, since nobody has lived long enough after getting bitten to be admitted to a hospital. Brazilian Navy is currently enforcing a ban on all visits to the island, deeming it too dangerous.
9. Amazon
Amazon is the world’s largest river by volume of water it delivers. Largest rainforests in the world are located here. Brazil holds one-quarter of all rainforests in the world and 60% of them are around Amazon. It is also a home to some 67 tribes still uncontacted by the civilization.
8. Coffee
Brazil is the largest coffee producer in the world. At one point 80% of all the coffee in the world came from Brazil. Today, its market share is more modest, with 33%. Coffee remains one of the staples of the Brazilian economy.
7. Brasilia
In an effort to move the capital of the country to a more central position, Brazilian government ordered construction of Brasilia in 1956. The city was built completely from scratch in just 41 months. Today, it is the center of Brazilian political life, with more than 2.5 million inhabitants.
6. Secret mountain
Brazil’s highest peak, Pico da Neblina, remained undiscovered until 1950s. Due to being almost constantly shrouded in mist, it was accidently spotted by a pilot overflying the region on one of the rare days without clouds.
5. Favelas
Favelas are urban slums found in large Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo. They were created by former soldiers and liberated slaves in the 19th century. Today, some 11 million Brazilians live in favelas. 19% of entire Rio’s population is located on 600 favelas around the city. Most of them are ran by drug traffickers and are extremely unsafe for anyone not from them.
4. Formula 1
After football, the second most popular sport in Brazil is Formula 1. Three Brazilians have been world champions, Emerson Fittipaldi (2 titles), Nelson Piquet (3 titles) and legendary Ayrton Sena, three times world champion and probably the best driver in the history of the sport. In total, Brazil had 30 Formula 1 drivers, including Rubens Barrichello, Felipe Massa and José Carlos Pace. Brazil hosts annual Brazil Grand Prix.
3. Prison programs
Due to overcrowding in prisons, the Brazilian government has come up with several programs to reduce the number of prisoners. One of the most interesting ones includes prisoners reading books and receiving reduced sentence for every book report they write. For those less bookish, there’s another program, where they can generate electricity for nearby towns by cycling on stationary bikes.
2. Import taxes
Brazil imposes some of the highest taxes on imported goods in the world and they are a constant source of strife for their foreign trade partners. For example, taxes and tariffs on PlayStation 4 constituted 63% of its price, driving it to incredible $1,800 per unit.
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1. Football
Football is number one of 10 crazy facts about Brazil. Winners of 5 World Cups, more than any other country in the world, Brazilians take football very seriously. Brawls among hooligans are regular sites to the point that fans are afraid to attend matches in fear of violence. With some 10,000 players playing all over the world, Brazil is truly “o País do Futebol” or land of football. Once their career on the pitch is over, they often serve as politicians. Romario, Marquez, Delei are just some of the famous names that are currently involved in politics. Even Pele has been Minister of Sports once.
