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Brazil: Hispanic Reading Room Country Guide

This guide provides curated Library of Congress resources for the study of Brazil, including digitized primary source materials in a wide variety of formats, books and periodicals, online databases, and tips for searching.

Introduction

Copacabana, Rio de Janiero, Brazil. 1921. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

The Library of Congress holds thousands of collection materials about and from Brazil. Curated by libraians in the Hispanic Reading Room, this guide is part of a series of Country Guides that provide quick references for countries and regions from the Luso-Hispanic world. The Hispanic Reading Room is the Library’s portal to the Caribbean, Latin America, Spain and Portugal; the indigenous cultures of those areas; and peoples throughout the world historically influenced by Luso-Hispanic heritage, including Latinos in the U.S. This guide offers links to diverse resources on Brazil from across the Library including digitized primary sources, selected books and periodicals, online databases, and tips for searching. For specific questions or assistance using the Library’s resources, use the Ask a Librarian service to contact a reference librarian.

Brazil: Quick Facts

Henry Charles Carey and Isaac Lea. Brazil. 1822. Library of Congress Geography and Map Division.

Official name: Federative Republic of Brazil (República Federativa do Brasil)

Capital: Brasília

Date of Independence: September 7, 1822.

President: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Population: 214 million

Languages: Portuguese is the official and most spoken language. There are more than 200 indigenous languages spoken including Nheengatu, Guarani, Macuxi, Wapixana, and Lingua Akwe Xerente, among others.

States: (26 states and 1 federal district) Acre, Alagoas, Amapa, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceara, Distrito Federal, Espirito Santo, Goias, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Para, Paraiba, Parana, Pernambuco, Piaui, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondonia, Roraima, Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo, Sergipe, Tocantins.