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<p><b>Brazil</b>, officially the <b>Federative Republic of Brazil</b>, is the largest country in both <a href="/pages/w/103119346395240">South America</a> and <a href="/pages/w/109561929062777">Latin America</a>. As the world's fifth-largest country by <a href="/pages/w/144119202266188">area</a> and sixth by <a href="/pages/w/404452586396420">population</a>, it is the largest country to have <a href="/pages/w/103759889662235">Portuguese</a> as an <a href="/pages/w/379694798852078">official language</a> and the only one in the <a href="/pages/w/109514409074808">Americas</a>. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a <a href="/pages/w/182203518507691">coastline</a> of 7491km It borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile and covers 47.3% of the continent's land area. Its <a href="/pages/w/108841909149157">Amazon River basin</a> includes a <a href="/pages/w/114678761881052">vast tropical forest</a>, home to diverse <a href="/pages/w/135970316433745">wildlife</a>, a variety of <a href="/pages/w/143589955654832">ecological system</a>s, and extensive natural resources spanning numerous <a href="/pages/w/201652546569021">protected habitats</a>. This unique environmental heritage makes Brazil one of 17 <a href="/pages/w/135411399823746">megadiverse countries</a>, and is the subject of significant global interest and debate regarding deforestation and environmental protection.</p><p>Brazil was inhabited by <a href="/pages/w/112842728742318">numerous tribal nations</a> prior to the landing in 1500 of explorer <a href="/pages/w/111960852153116">Pedro Álvares Cabral</a>, who claimed the area for the <a href="/pages/w/106774162694659">Portuguese Empire</a>. Brazil remained a <a href="/pages/w/142494075767251">Portuguese colony</a> until 1808, when the capital of the empire was <a href="/pages/w/200807883300275">transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro</a>. In 1815, the colony was elevated to the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the <a href="/pages/w/132309153475319">United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves</a>. <a href="/pages/w/159561770781561">Independence</a> was achieved in 1822 with the creation of the <a href="/pages/w/110522455664939">Empire of Brazil</a>, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. The ratification of the first constitution in 1824 led to the formation of a bicameral legislature, now called the <a href="/pages/w/112634665452253">National Congress</a>. The country <a href="/pages/w/215366971835523">became a presidential republic</a> in 1889 following a military <a href="/pages/w/107931039234406">coup d'état</a>. An authoritarian <a href="/pages/w/144163005599508">military junta</a> came to power <a href="/pages/w/134917289872789">in 1964</a> and ruled until 1985, after which civilian governance resumed. Brazil's current <a href="/pages/w/136905456330932">constitution</a>, formulated in 1988, defines it as a <a href="/pages/w/107576895938927">democratic</a> <a href="/pages/w/111471832211420">federal republic</a>. The federation is composed of the union of the <a href="/pages/w/107975825901498">Federal District</a>, the 26 <a href="/pages/w/116628385050899">states</a>, and the 5,570 <a href="/pages/w/116780535003233">municipalities</a>.</p>