Brazil

With 186 million inhabitants, Brazil is the largest and most populated country in Latin America, and the fifth largest in the world. Spanning a vast area between central South America and the Atlantic Ocean, it is the eastern most country of the Americas. Named after brazilwood, a tree highly valued by early colonists, Brazil is home to both extensive agricultural lands and rainforests. Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, it is South America's leading economic power and a regional leader. As a former colony of Portugal, Portuguese is its official language.

History

Brazil is thought to have been inhabited for at least 10,000 years by semi-nomadic people when the first Portuguese explorers, led by Pedro Álvares Cabral, disembarked in the 1500's. Over the next three centuries, it was resettled by the Portuguese and exploited initially for brazilwood, and later for sugarcane and gold. Slavery was very popular until it was abolished in 1888, and intensive European immigration created the basis for industrialization.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Brazil attracted over 5 million European and Japanese immigrants. Industrialisation, accompanied further development, the population grew and the country expanded. Democracy was replaced by dictatorships three times: 1930–1934 and 1937–1945 under Getúlio Vargas, and 1964–1985, under a succession of generals appointed by the military. The modern Brazil is considered to be a democracy since 1985.

Climate

Brazil is fine to visit at any time of the year. It has 3 climatic zones: a tropical north, a subtropical middle section, and seasonable changes in the south. These seasons are contrary to ours, but they are much less distinctive.

Culture

Brazilian Culture is very diverse. The main religion is Roman Catholic. In fact, Brazil is the largest country in the world, where the main religion is Roman Catholic. Many other beliefs have been incorporated into the Brazilian catholic belief system such as Spiritism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Ayahuasca, and Judaism.
The population of Brazil and the United States, has flourished through immigration. Each immigrant bringing with him his own culture. The Brazilian culture was not only influenced by the portuguese, but more so from the natives (Indios), Africans, Europeans and Asians. Although the Americans pride themselves on their cultural diversity and their generally peaceful coexistence, the Brazilian idea of culture is one of mixed unity.

Languages

Portuguese is the official language, and it is spoken by the entire population. It is virtually the only language used in schools, newspapers, on the radio and on TV, and for all business and administrative purposes. Brazil is the only Portuguese speaking nation in the Americas, giving it a national culture distinct from its Spanish speaking neighbors.
The language spoken in Brazil is slightly different from that spoken in Portugal and other Portuguese speaking countries. Brazilian Portuguese is more archaic than European Portuguese, and has some phonological and orthographic differences, although they can understand one another.
Spanish is understood in various degrees by most people, since it is very similar to Portuguese and is spoken on the border of Brazil and Spanish speaking countries. English is part of the official high school curriculum, but very few people achieve any usable degree of fluency.
Many minority languages are spoken daily throughout Brazil. Half of these languages are spoken by the indigenous people, mainly in Northern Brazil.
Still others are spoken by communities of descendants of immigrants, who are for the most part bilingual, in rural areas of Southern Brazil. These communities speak dialects of Italian, German, Polish or Japanese languages.

Visa information

(valid for Swiss citizens only)

You do not need a visa to enter Brazil, only a valid passport (valid for at least 6 months). Upon arrival the return ticket can be asked for. A stay of 90 days is possible with a one time extension for an additional 90 days, which has to be requested at a Brazilian police office(policia federal). The whole stay should not exceed 180 days within a period of 12 months.

Health

The risk of getting Malaria varies according to the area you are in, and vaccination is recommended.
Other recommended vaccinations are for yellow fever, tetanus, hepatitis A, and diphtheria.
The doctor or the Tropical Institute can give you information about existing illnesses and if you are sufficiently vaccinated or not.