Moving to Brazil

It has been said that Brazil has been sleeping for quite some time, and the dream of Brazil being “The Country of Tomorrow” has not yet been realized.

However, the stabilization plan called "Plano Real", the launch of new Real currency, brought inflation under control and the removal of foreign investment barriers led to the re-awakening of this South American Giant.

In Latin America, Brazil has the largest national economy with a GDP growth of 7.5% in 2010, dominated by the country's agricultural, mining, and manufacturing sectors. Brazil's presence is now felt by the international market due to its booming export industry as the world's leading exporter of sugar, coffee, beef and orange juice.

In terms of market exchange rate, Brazil has emerged as the world's seventh largest economy. Its diverse industry ranges from automobiles to steel to petrochemicals and aircraft production. Also, Brazil is one of the world's leading producers of hydroelectric power.

Brazil's other export goods include transportation equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, motor vehicles and tropical hardwoods. The country’s biggest trade partners are the United States, Argentina, China and Germany.

Occupying most of the eastern coast of South America, Brazil, by geographical area, is the fifth largest country in the world with a total area of 8,514,877 square kilometers. It shares borders with most South American countries. The country is delicately shaped with the Amazon basin in the North and Brazilian Highlands in the Southeast. Brazil's winter season starts in July and lasts until September, with a humid summer starting in November and ending in March.

Like many other developed countries, Brazil has an apparent crisis with the teeming population. It ranks fifth as the most populous nation in the world. The total population is at 190,755,799 and an average population density of 22 people per square kilometer. Brazil's business capital, São Paulo, is the largest and richest city with 11 million inhabitants and is the most populated metropolitan area in Brazil.

Expats easily adapt to Brazil's diverse culture, especially with the welcoming hospitality traits of the Brazilians. Being religious is an innate quality amongst the Brazilians; they dutifully follow Catholicism - giving up meat, alcohol and other indulgences during Lent.

The spectacle of carnivals or carnaval is an annual festivity that marks the start of Lent and normally begins on the Friday before Ash Wednesday. These carnivals are not just held in the "Carnival Capital of the World," Rio de Janeiro, but celebrated widely throughout Brazil in a variety of styles.

This Portuguese-speaking nation is home to diverse wildlife. Amazon rainforests cover 60% of Brazil and contain one-third of all living species. In 2008, the New Seven Wonders of the World Foundation short-listed the Amazon rainforest as one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature.

The Brazilian government combines democracy and federalism and is divided into 26 states and one federal district. The national capital, Brasilia, is the venue for political events and serves as the seat of all three branches of the government.

As an export-oriented economy and a leading producer of ethanol, Brazil has certainly awoken from a deep slumber to become one of the important exporters in the world market.