World Factbook
Brazil
República Federativa do Brasil
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
8,358,140 sq km
note
note: includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo
water
157,630 sq km
total
8,515,770 sq km
Climate
mostly tropical, but temperate in south
Terrain
mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt
Land use
other
12.7% (2023 est.)
forest
58.9% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
28.3% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 6.7% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 0.9% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 20.7% (2023 est.)
Location
Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean
Coastline
7,491 km
Elevation
lowest point
Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point
Pico da Neblina 2,994 m
mean elevation
320 m
Irrigated land
91,833 sq km (2022)
Major aquifers
Amazon Basin, Guarani Aquifer System, Maranhao Basin
Map references
South America
Land boundaries
total
16,145 km
border countries
Argentina 1,263 km; Bolivia 3,403 km; Colombia 1,790 km; French Guiana 649 km; Guyana 1,308 km; Paraguay 1,371 km; Peru 2,659 km; Suriname 515 km; Uruguay 1,050 km; Venezuela 2,137 km
Maritime claims
contiguous zone
24 nm
territorial sea
12 nm
continental shelf
200 nm or to edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone
200 nm
Natural hazards
recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south
Geography - note
note 1: largest country in South America and in the Southern Hemisphere; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador; most of the Pantanal, the world's largest tropical wetland, extends through the west central part of the country; shares Iguaçu Falls (Iguazú Falls), the world's largest waterfalls system, with Argentina note 2: Rocas Atoll, located off the northeast coast of Brazil, is the only atoll in the South Atlantic
Natural resources
alumina, bauxite, beryllium, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, niobium, phosphates, platinum, tantalum, tin, rare earth elements, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber
Area - comparative
slightly smaller than the US
Geographic coordinates
10 00 S, 55 00 W
Population distribution
the vast majority of people live along or near the Atlantic coast in the east; the population core is in the southeast, anchored by the cities of São Paolo, Brasília, and Rio de Janeiro
Major lakes (area sq km)
salt water lake(s)
Lagoa Mirim (shared with Uruguay) - 2,970 sq km
fresh water lake(s)
Lagoa dos Patos - 10,140 sq km
Major watersheds (area sq km)
Atlantic Ocean drainage
Amazon (6,145,186 sq km), Orinoco (953,675 sq km), Paraná (2,582,704 sq km), São Francisco (617,814 sq km), Tocantins (764,213 sq km)
Major rivers (by length in km)
Amazon river mouth (shared with Peru [s]) - 6,400 km; Río de la Plata/Paraná river source (shared with Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay [m]) - 4,880 km; Tocantins - 3,650 km; São Francisco - 3,180 km; Paraguay river source (shared with Argentina and Paraguay [m]) - 2,549 km; Rio Negro river mouth (shared with Colombia [s] and Venezuela) - 2,250 km; Uruguay river source (shared with Argentina and Uruguay [m]) - 1,610 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth