10 interesting facts about Brazil that few people know

1. Brazil is home to many UNESCO-recognized heritage sites.

Brazil is home to 7 natural and 14 cultural World Heritage Sites recognized by UNESCO. Among the natural sites recognized by UNESCO, the most prominent are the beautiful archipelagos and Iguaçu National Park.

Cultural sites including the historic center of San Luis, the Valongo Wharf archaeological site and the Carioca landscape are also notable.

Brazil is the perfect place for history buffs as well as nature lovers.

2. Rio de Janeiro hosts the biggest carnival

Every year, the Carnival street festival in Rio de Janeiro attracts millions of revelers, making it the largest carnival celebration on the planet. Rio de Janeiro has seen 2 million people take to the streets to enjoy dancing, music and parades in incredible costumes.

The country has celebrated Carnival since 1723, and for centuries it has been the most vibrant, culturally significant and anticipated festival.

Often dubbed the “world’s biggest party,” Carnival is always on a backpacker’s bucket list.

3. Brazil's area is much larger

Brazil holds the title of the 5th largest country in the world, both by population (214 million) and area (8,516,000 km2). Brazil occupies nearly 50% of the entire South American continent and borders every South American country except Ecuador and Chile.

4. Brazil's highest mountain was only recently discovered.

Brazil's highest mountain is Pico de Neblina or Mist Peak in English. Surprisingly, it was not discovered until recently.

Pico de Neblina was discovered in 1950 and did not grow taller for the next 15 years.

5. Brazil is the world's largest coffee exporter.

Brazil has been the world's largest coffee exporter for over 150 years. The country first began exporting coffee in the 1920s, and they supply up to 80% of the world's coffee.

Today, Brazilians earn more than $5 billion in annual revenue from coffee.

6. Home to some of the world's worst traffic jams

Sao Paulo is home to some of the worst traffic jams in the world.

According to a study by Companhia de Engenharia de Tráfego (Traffic Engineering Company), Sao Paolo set a record for traffic congestion in November 2013, including a 309km-long traffic jam around the city.

7. The Amazon River is the largest river in the world.

The Amazon is the world's most powerful river. Every second, the Amazon pours about 210,000 cubic meters of water into the Atlantic Ocean. In terms of length, the Amazon River is second only to the Nile.

It is home to a wide variety of animals including Amazon river dolphins, electric eels and green anacondas.

8. Brazil has 4 time zones

The reason Brazil has four time zones is because it is so large that there are large differences in sunset times across the country.

9. The Brazilian flag has 27 stars.

The Brazilian flag is green with a yellow diamond in the center and a blue globe. The globe has 27 white stars with a central motto "Ordem e Progresso", which means Order and Progress.

10. About 60% of the Amazon rainforest is in Brazil

Most of the Amazon rainforest is in Brazil, known as the “green lungs of the Earth” because the trees here release large amounts of oxygen to combat climate change.

Unfortunately, the Amazon rainforest is being cut down and burned for cattle ranching and palm oil plantations. This is making climate change worse.

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