The five regions

North Region

• Area
  Area
  Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...
  
  : 3,869,637.,9 km² (45.27%)
• Population
  Population
  A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
  
  : 14,726,059 (3.31 people/km²; 6.2%)
• GDP
  Gross domestic product
  Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
  
  : US$96,2 billion (2008; 4.7%) (5th
  Economy of Brazil
  The economy of Brazil is the world's seventh largest by nominal GDP and eighth largest by purchasing power parity. Brazil has moderately free markets and an inward-oriented economy...
  
  )
• HDI
  Human Development Index
  The Human Development Index is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development" and separate "very high human development", "high human development", "medium human development", and "low human development" countries...
  
  : ~0.764
• Climate
  Climate
  Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
  
  : Equatorial
• States: Acre
  Acre (state)
  Acre is one of the 27 states of Brazil. It is situated in the southwest of the Northern Region, bordering Amazonas to the north, Rondônia to the east, Bolivia to the southeast and the Ucayali Region of Peru to the south and west. It occupies an area of 152,581.4 km2, being slightly smaller...
  
  , Amapá
  Amapá
  Amapá is one of the states of Brazil, located in the extreme north, bordering French Guiana and Suriname to the north. To the east is the Atlantic Ocean, and to the south and west is the Brazilian state of Pará. Perhaps one of the main features of the state is the River Oiapoque, as it was once...
  
  , Amazonas, Pará
  Pará
  Pará is a state in the north of Brazil. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest it also borders Guyana and Suriname, and to the northeast it borders the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Belém.Pará is the most populous state...
  
  , Rondônia
  Rondônia
  Rondônia is a state in Brazil, located in the north-western part of the country. To the west is a short border with the state of Acre, to the north is the state of Amazonas, in the east is Mato Grosso, and in the south is Bolivia. Its capital is Porto Velho. The state was named after Candido Rondon...
  
  , Roraima
  Roraima
  Roraima is the northernmost and least populated state of Brazil, located in the Amazon region. It borders the states of Amazonas and Pará, as well as the nations of Venezuela and Guyana. The population is 400,000 and the capital is Boa Vista...
  
  , Tocantins
  Tocantins (state)
  Tocantins is one of the states of Brazil. . The state was formed in 1988 out of the northern part of Goiás, and construction began on the capital, Palmas, in 1989, in contrast to most of the other cities in the state which date back to the Portuguese colonial period...
  
  
• Largest Cities: Manaus
  Manaus
  Manaus is a city in Brazil, the capital of the state of Amazonas. It is situated at the confluence of the Negro and Solimões rivers. It is the most populous city of Amazonas, according to the statistics of Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, and is a popular ecotourist destination....
  
   (1,403,796); Belém
  Belém
  Belém is a Brazilian city, the capital and largest city of state of Pará, in the country's north region. It is the entrance gate to the Amazon with a busy port, airport and bus/coach station...
  
   (1,279,861); Ananindeua
  Ananindeua
  Ananindeua is a city in Pará, Brazil. It is a part of the Metropolitan Region of Belém, and is the second most populous city in the state. It has a population estimated by IBGE of 498,095 in 2006....
  
   (392,947); Porto Velho
  Porto Velho
  Porto Velho is the capital of the Brazilian state of Rondônia, in the upper Amazon River basin. The population is estimated to be 426,558 people...
  
   (314,525); Macapá
  Macapá
  Macapá is a Brazilian city, capital of Amapá state. Located in the North Region, it is the only state capital that has no highway connections with other capitals...
  
   (282,745); Santarém (262,721); Rio Branco
  Rio Branco
  Rio Branco is a Brazilian city, capital of Acre. Located in the Valley of Acre in northern Brazil, it is the most populous county in the state, with 305,954 inhabitants, according to a 2009 estimate - almost half the state population....
  
   (252,885); Boa Vista
  Boa Vista, Roraima
  Boa Vista is the capital of the Brazilian state of Roraima. Situated on the western bank of the River Branco, the city lies 220 km away from Brazil's border with Venezuela. It is the only Brazilian capital located entirely above the Equator...
  
   (220,383); Palmas
  Palmas, Tocantins
  Palmas is the capital of the Brazilian state of Tocantins. According to IBGE estimates from 2011, the city had 235,315 inhabitants. It has an area of 2474.95 km²....
  
   (208,000).
• Economy
  Economy
  An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
  
  : Iron
  Iron
  Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
  
  , Energy production, electronic manufacturing, tourism.
• Transport
  Transport
  Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
  
  : Mainly rivers (which are abundant in the region). Highways are scarce and present mainly in the east. Airplanes are commonly used in small remote communities and sometimes in the larger cities.
• Vegetation
  Vegetation
  Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...
  
  : Almost the entire region is covered by Amazon Rainforest
  Amazon Rainforest
  The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
  
  , except the state of Tocantins, which has savanna
  Savanna
  A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
  
  -like vegetation (cerrado). Although most of the native vegetation still remains, the region suffers from critical problems due to the growing deforestation
  Deforestation
  Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
  
   of the area.
• Notable characteristics: Presence of the Amazon Rainforest, which is the vegetation dominant in every state but Tocantins. Cities are spread far apart in the region, and it has the lowest population density of the country. There are very few paved highways in the region, as it is almost isolated from the rest of the country. It is also the biggest region of Brazil, being responsible for almost half of the Brazilian territorial extension. Economic growth above national average(especially in Amazonas and in Tocantins).

Northeast Region

• Area: 1,561,177 km² (18.3%)
• Population: 47,700,000 (30.55 people/km²; 27%)
• GDP: US$248,1 billion (2008; ~12%) (3rd
  Economy of Brazil
  The economy of Brazil is the world's seventh largest by nominal GDP and eighth largest by purchasing power parity. Brazil has moderately free markets and an inward-oriented economy...
  
  )
• HDI: ~0.716
• Climate: Very hot all the year long. Tropical near the coast and semi-arid in the interior; semi-equatorial in the far west of the region.
• States: Alagoas
  Alagoas
  Alagoas is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco ; Sergipe ; Bahia ; and the Atlantic Ocean . It occupies an area of 27,767 km², being slightly larger than Haiti...
  
  , Bahia
  Bahia
  Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
  
  , Ceará
  Ceará
  Ceará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...
  
  , Maranhão
  Maranhão
  Maranhão is a northeastern state of Brazil. To the north lies the Atlantic Ocean. Maranhão is neighbored by the states of Piauí, Tocantins and Pará. The people of Maranhão have a distinctive accent...
  
  , Paraíba
  Paraíba
  Paraíba Paraíba Paraíba (Tupi: pa'ra a'íba: "bad to navigation"; Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: is a state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east...
  
  , Pernambuco
  Pernambuco
  Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...
  
  , Piauí
  Piauí
  Piauí is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country.Piauí has the shortest coastline of any of the non-landlocked Brazilian states at 66 km , and the capital, Teresina, is the only state capital in the north east to be located inland...
  
  , Rio Grande do Norte
  Rio Grande do Norte
  Rio Grande do Norte is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern region of the country, occupying the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. Because of its geographic position, Rio Grande do Norte has a strategic importance. The capital and largest city is Natal...
  
  , Sergipe
  Sergipe
  Sergipe , is the smallest state of the Brazilian Federation, located on the northeastern Atlantic coast of the country. It borders on two other states, Bahia to the south and west and Alagoas to the north, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean...
  
  
• Largest Cities: Salvador (2,676,606); Fortaleza
  Fortaleza
  Fortaleza is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. With a population close to 2.5 million , Fortaleza is the 5th largest city in Brazil. It has an area of and one of the highest demographic densities in the country...
  
   (2,447,409); Recife
  Recife
  Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...
  
   (1,536,934); São Luís (1,011,943); Maceió
  Maceió
  Maceió is the capital and the largest city of the coastal state Alagoas, Brazil. The name "maceió" is of Indian origin, and designates the natural spontaneously courses of water which flow out of the soil...
  
   (932,608); Natal (789,836); Teresina
  Teresina
  Teresina is the capital and most populous municipality in the Brazilian state of Piauí. It is located in North-central Piauí 366 km from the coast.It is therefore, the only capital in the Northeast that is not located on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. With 814 439 inhabitants, it is the 19th...
  
   (714,583); João Pessoa
  João Pessoa
  João Pessoa , is the capital city of the state of Paraíba, was founded in 1585 and sometimes called the city where the sun rises first, is a Brazilian city and the easternmost city in the Americas at 34º47'38"W, 7º9'28"S. Local residents call its easternmost point Ponta do Seixas. It is also...
  
   (595,429); Jaboatão dos Guararapes
  Jaboatão dos Guararapes
  Jaboatão dos Guararapes is a city in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. It is a part of the Recife metro area. The population was 687,688 according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics in 2009, making it the second most-populous city in the state of Pernambuco and the 26th in...
  
  ; (580,795); Feira de Santana
  Feira de Santana
  Feira de Santana is a city in Bahia, Brazil. It is the second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 700,000 according to IBGE's estimate. It is located 115 km northwest of Salvador, Bahia's capital city. These cities are connected by BR-324, a four-lane divided highway...
  
   (481,137); Aracaju
  Aracaju
  -Vegetation:Aracaju lies in tropical forest. Rainforests are characterized by high rainfall, with minimum normal annual rainfall between 2,000 mm and 1,700 mm...
  
   (461,083); Olinda
  Olinda
  Olinda is a historic city in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, just north of Recife and south of Paulista...
  
   (368,666); Campina Grande
  Campina Grande
  Campina Grande is the second most populous Brazilian city in the State of Paraíba after João Pessoa, the capital. It is considered to be the most important city of the Northeastern Brazilian subregion called agreste. It is considered one of the main industrial, technological and educational...
  
   (354,546).
• Economy: Tourism, cocoa, machinery manufacturing, textiles.
• Transport: Mainly highways, which are more abundant along the coast, although transport by sea is also important.
• Vegetation: Mainly desert-like vegetation, with tropical forests along the coast and in the west and savanna-like vegetation in the southwest.
• Notable characteristics: This region was the first part of Brazil discovered by the Portuguese, and the first Brazilian capital, Salvador, was founded here. It has the lowest levels in the country in many social indicators, but it had the best economic growth (above national average) between 2000 and 2003.

Central-West Region

• Area: 1,612,077.2 km² (18.86%)
• Population: 11,616,750 (7.2 people/km²; 6.4%)
• GDP: US$174,3 billion (2008; 8.3%) (4th
  Economy of Brazil
  The economy of Brazil is the world's seventh largest by nominal GDP and eighth largest by purchasing power parity. Brazil has moderately free markets and an inward-oriented economy...
  
  )
• HDI: ~0.818
• Climate: Savanna climate (hot, with little precipitation during winter in the northeast and the east; Tropical in the east and in the west; Equatorial in the north; Some temperate climate places in the south).
• States: Goiás
  Goiás
  Goiás is a state of Brazil, located in the central part of the country. The name Goiás comes from the name of an indigenous community...
  
  , Mato Grosso
  Mato Grosso
  Mato Grosso is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest in area, located in the western part of the country.Neighboring states are Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará, Tocantins, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. It also borders Bolivia to the southwest...
  
  , Mato Grosso do Sul
  Mato Grosso do Sul
  Mato Grosso do Sul is one of the states of Brazil.Neighboring Brazilian states are Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay and Bolivia to the west. The economy of the state is largely based on agriculture and cattle-raising...
  
  , Distrito Federal
  Brazilian Federal District
  The Federal District is set apart for Brasília, the capital of Brazil. Located in a region called Planalto Central, or Central Plateau, the Federal District is divided in 29 administrative regions. Brasilia - place where the three branches of the Federal Government are located - is the main...
  
   (Federal District).
• Largest Cities: Brasília
  Brasília
  Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...
  
   (national capital) (2,043,169); Goiânia
  Goiânia
  -Climate:The city has a tropical wet and dry climate with an average temperature of . There's a wet season, from October to April, and a dry one, from May to September. Annual rainfall is around 1,520 mm....
  
   (1,090,737); Campo Grande
  Campo Grande
  -Climate:Campo Grande has a highland tropical climate, semi-humid, hot, and notably seasonal, with a dry winter season from May through September or October. Under the Koppen climate classification Campo Grande features a tropical wet and dry climate, albeit a noticeably cooler version of the...
  
   (662,534); Cuiabá
  Cuiabá
  Under the Koppen climate classification, Cuiaba features a tropical wet and dry climate. Cuiabá is famous for its searing heat, although temperatures in winter can arrive sporadically at 10 degrees, indeed atypical, caused by cold fronts coming from the south, and that may only last one or two...
  
   (483,044); Aparecida de Goiânia
  Aparecida de Goiânia
  Aparecida de Goiânia is a city and municipality in central Goiás, Brazil. It is the second largest city in the state and a bustling industrial center.-Location:...
  
   (335,849); Anápolis
  Anápolis
  Anápolis is the third largest city in the State of Goiás in Brazil. It lies in the center of a rich agricultural region and has become a leader in food processing and pharmaceutical plants.-Location and population:...
  
   (287,666).
• Economy: Livestock, Soybeans, tourism.
• Transport: Highways where they are present (mostly in the center and east regions); transport by rivers is common in the north and in the east; airplanes are used in remote and smaller communities.
• Vegetation: Mainly savanna-like vegetation, including the Pantanal
  Pantanal
  The Pantanal is a tropical wetland and one of the world's largest wetland of any kind. Most of it lies within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but it extends into Mato Grosso and portions of Bolivia and Paraguay, sprawling over an area estimated at between and...
  
   (Chaco
  Chaco Department
  The Paraguayan Chaco or Región Occidental is a semi-arid region in Paraguay, with a very low population density.The Chaco is a large geographic area that is sparsely populated. Many of those living in the region are native peoples...
  
  , in Paraguay
  Paraguay
  Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
  
  ), flooded areas in the west, equatorial rainforests in the north.
• Notable characteristics: With a low population density, most of the land in the region is used for grazing instead of agriculture. The region is also the least industrialized in the country, based mainly in food & meat processing.

Southeast Region

• Area: 927,286 km² (10.85%)
• Population: 72,300,000 (77.96 people/km², 38%)
• GDP: US$1,061 billion (2008; ~49%) (1st
  Economy of Brazil
  The economy of Brazil is the world's seventh largest by nominal GDP and eighth largest by purchasing power parity. Brazil has moderately free markets and an inward-oriented economy...
  
  )
• HDI
  Human Development Index
  The Human Development Index is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development" and separate "very high human development", "high human development", "medium human development", and "low human development" countries...
  
  : ~0.817
• Tropical in the northwest (warm, relatively dry in the winter and wet in the summer); Semi-arid in the north; Temperate in the south
• States: Espírito Santo
  Espírito Santo
  Espírito Santo is one of the states of southeastern Brazil, often referred to by the abbreviation "ES". Its capital is Vitória and the largest city is Vila Velha. The name of the state means literally "holy spirit" after the Holy Ghost of Christianity...
  
  , Minas Gerais
  Minas Gerais
  Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
  
  , Rio de Janeiro
  Rio de Janeiro (state)
  Rio de Janeiro is one of the 27 states of Brazil.Rio de Janeiro has the second largest economy of Brazil behind only São Paulo state.The state of Rio de Janeiro is located within the Brazilian geopolitical region classified as the Southeast...
  
  , São Paulo
  São Paulo (state)
  São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
  
  
• Largest Cities: São Paulo
  São Paulo
  São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
  
   (11.037.593); Rio de Janeiro
  Rio de Janeiro
  Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
  
   (6.186.710); Belo Horizonte
  Belo Horizonte
  Belo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country...
  
   (2.452.617); Guarulhos
  Guarulhos
  Guarulhos is the second largest city in the Brazilian state of São Paulo and a suburb of São Paulo city itself. In the last few years it has outgrown Campinas. The population in 2006 is 1,283,253, the density is 4,035.26 inh./km² and the area is 318 km²...
  
   (1.299.283); Campinas
  Campinas
  Campinas is a city and municipality located in the coastal interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. is the administrative center of the meso-region of the same name, with 3,783,597 inhabitants as of the 2010 Census, consisting of 49 cities....
  
   (1.064.669); São Gonçalo
  São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro
  São Gonçalo is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. It is located at 22 ° 49'37 "south latitude and 43 º 03'14" west longitude at an altitude of 19 meters. Its population in 2008 is 982,832 inhabitants, being the second most populous city in the state after the capital...
  
   (991.382); Duque de Caxias
  Duque de Caxias
  Duque de Caxias is a city in southeast Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, bordered by Rio de Janeiro to the south. Its population was 842,890 and its area is 465 km². Its current Mayor is José Camilo Zito...
  
   (872.762); Nova Iguaçu
  Nova Iguaçu
  Nova Iguaçu is a city in southeast Brazil in the Baixada Fluminense region of Rio de Janeiro state. It was the state's second largest city until Mesquita was split off, and now is the fourth largest after São Gonçalo and Duque de Caxias. It lies northwest of the city of Rio de Janeiro, on the...
  
   (865.089); São Bernardo do Campo
  São Bernardo do Campo
  São Bernardo do Campo is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, in southern Metropolitan São Paulo and São Paulo microregion. The municipality's total area is 408.45 km ² and a population estimated at 1 July 2009, according to the IBGE, was 810,979 inhabitants, which results in a population...
  
   (810.979); Osasco
  Osasco
  Osasco is a municipality and city in São Paulo State, Brazil, is located in the Greater São Paulo and ranking 5th in population among São Paulo municipalities. The current mayor is Emidio Pereira de Souza ....
  
   (718.646); Santo André (673.396); Uberlândia
  Uberlândia
  Uberlândia is the main town in the Triangle region, west of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. With a population of 604,013 inhabitants, according to 2010 estimates, the city is the second largest in the state second only to Belo Horizonte...
  
   (634.345); Contagem
  Contagem
  Contagem is a city in the center of the state of Minas Gerais, in Brazil. It is located only 21 kilometers from the capital, Belo Horizonte and forms part of a metropolitan area with a population of 4.8 million....
  
   (625.393); São José dos Campos
  São José dos Campos
  São José dos Campos is a municipality and a major city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil and one of the most important industrial and research centers in Latin America. It is located in the Paraíba Valley, between the two most active production and consumption regions in the country, São Paulo ...
  
   (615.871); Sorocaba
  Sorocaba
  Sorocaba is a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Sorocaba is the fourth largest city in the state of São Paulo. Outside the Greater São Paulo region, it ranks behind only Campinas, Sao Jose dos Campos and Ribeirão Preto...
  
   (584.313); Ribeirão Preto
  Ribeirão Preto
  Ribeirão Preto is a municipality and city in the Northeastern region of the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is nicknamed Brazilian California, because of a combination of an economy based on agrobusiness plus high technology, wealth and sunny weather all year long. With 605,114 inhabitants,...
  
   (563.107); Juiz de Fora
  Juiz de Fora
  -Industry, Trade, and Culture:Juiz de Fora is the second most important industrial center in the state of Minas Gerais, despite being the fourth largest in terms of population. It was once the state's largest city, position which was held up until the beginning of the 20th century...
  
   (526.706); Belford Roxo
  Belford Roxo
  Belford Roxo is a city in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a part of the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro and was created in 1990. Its population was 480,555 in 2007 and its area is 79 km². Belford Roxo is one of the richest and wealthiest cities in the state, due to its high GDP...
  
   (501.544); Niterói
  Niterói
  Niterói is a municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro, southeast region of Brazil. It has an estimated population of 487,327 inhabitants and an area of ², being the sixth most populous city in the state and the highest Human Development Index. Integrates the Metropolitan Region of Rio de...
  
   (479.384); São João de Meriti
  São João de Meriti
  São João de Meriti is a brazilian city in Rio de Janeiro state. Its historical name is São João do Rio Meriti. Its population was 468.309 inhabitants in 2008...
  
   (469.827); Betim
  Betim
  Betim is a city in Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is located at around . The city belongs to the mesoregion Metropolitan of Belo Horizonte and to the microregion of Belo Horizonte....
  
   (441.748); Campos dos Goytacazes
  Campos dos Goytacazes
  Campos dos Goytacazes is a municipality and city located in the northern area of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, with a population of 463,545 inhabitants. Its area is 4,031.910 km², which makes it the largest municipality in the state and its elevation is 14 m...
  
   (434.008);
• Economy: Manufacturing (machinery, electronics, automobile and aviation), coffee, sugar cane, tourism, petroleum, textiles, energy production (not sufficient, however, to fulfill its demand). It is the business-economic center of Brazil, and most large companies present in Brazil have constructed their headquarters in this region
• Transport: The region is heavily covered by highways, and, to some extent, railways. Railways and rivers are used mainly for freight, and used where they are present. The region also contains several airport hubs
  Airline hub
  An airline hub is an airport that an airline uses as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination. It is part of a hub and spoke model, where travelers moving between airports not served by direct flights change planes en route to their destinations...
  
   which provide many domestic and international air routes.
• Vegetation: Mainly tropical-like semideciduous forests (Mata Atlântica
  Mata Atlântica
  The Atlantic Forest is a region of tropical and subtropical moist forest, tropical dry forest, tropical savanna, semi deciduous forest and mangrove forests which extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the north to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south, and...
  
  ); semi-arid in the north, with almost no vegetation; savannah-like vegetation in the west and in the northwest (Cerrado
  Cerrado
  The Cerrado, is a vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil, particularly in the states of Gioas and Minas Gerais...
  
  ). Very little of the native vegetation still remains (~2%, mostly in parks)
• Notable characteristics: The southeast region is the major powerhouse of the Brazilian economy, being responsible for 58% of the Brazilian GDP (approximately $320 billion). It is also the most populous region in the country, and has the three most important national metropolitan regions (São Paulo
  São Paulo
  São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
  
  , Rio de Janeiro
  Rio de Janeiro
  Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
  
   and Belo Horizonte
  Belo Horizonte
  Belo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country...
  
  ) as well as many other large cities (Campinas
  Campinas
  Campinas is a city and municipality located in the coastal interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. is the administrative center of the meso-region of the same name, with 3,783,597 inhabitants as of the 2010 Census, consisting of 49 cities....
  
  , Nova Iguaçu
  Nova Iguaçu
  Nova Iguaçu is a city in southeast Brazil in the Baixada Fluminense region of Rio de Janeiro state. It was the state's second largest city until Mesquita was split off, and now is the fourth largest after São Gonçalo and Duque de Caxias. It lies northwest of the city of Rio de Janeiro, on the...
  
  , Juiz de Fora
  Juiz de Fora
  -Industry, Trade, and Culture:Juiz de Fora is the second most important industrial center in the state of Minas Gerais, despite being the fourth largest in terms of population. It was once the state's largest city, position which was held up until the beginning of the 20th century...
  
  , Uberlândia
  Uberlândia
  Uberlândia is the main town in the Triangle region, west of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. With a population of 604,013 inhabitants, according to 2010 estimates, the city is the second largest in the state second only to Belo Horizonte...
  
  ).

South Region

• Area: 577,214 km² (6.75%)
• Population: 25,800,000 (43,46 people/km², 12.5%)
• GDP: US$313,8 billion (2008; ~15%) (2nd
  Economy of Brazil
  The economy of Brazil is the world's seventh largest by nominal GDP and eighth largest by purchasing power parity. Brazil has moderately free markets and an inward-oriented economy...
  
  )
• HDI: ~0.9831
• Climate: Subtropical in almost all of the entire region, hot to moderately hot in the summer, mild (though cold for Brazilian standards) and very humid winters. Snow is extremely rare except for the highlands where some occasional light snow might fall. The northeast part of the region has a tropical climate, being hot in the summer and warm/cool during the winter.
• States: Paraná
  Paraná (state)
  Paraná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,...
  
  , Rio Grande do Sul
  Rio Grande do Sul
  Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
  
  , Santa Catarina
  Santa Catarina (state)
  Santa Catarina is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in Latin America. Its capital is Florianópolis, which mostly lies on the Santa Catarina Island. Neighbouring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bounded on the east by...
  
  
• Largest Cities: Curitiba
  Curitiba
  Curitiba is the capital of the Brazilian state of Paraná. It is the largest city with the biggest economy of both Paraná and southern Brazil. The population of Curitiba numbers approximately 1.75 million people and the latest GDP figures for the city surpass US$61 billion according to...
  
   (1,828,092); Porto Alegre
  Porto Alegre
  Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...
  
   (1,441,554); Londrina
  Londrina
  Londrina is a city located in the northern region of the state of Paraná, Brazil, and is 369 km away from the capital, Curitiba. Londrina was originally founded by British settlers. The city exerts great influence on Paraná and Brazil's south region...
  
   (510,707); Joinville
  Joinville
  Joinville is a city in Santa Catarina State, in the Southern Region of Brazil. Joinville is Santa Catarina's largest city. In 2010, its population has reached approximately 520,000, many of whom are of German descent....
  
   (429,004); Caxias do Sul
  Caxias do Sul
  Caxias do Sul is a city in Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil, situated in the state's mountainous Serra Gaúcha region. Coordinates: 29°10′0″ S, 51°11′0″ W....
  
   (360,223); Florianópolis
  Florianópolis
  -Climate:Florianópolis experiences a warm humid subtropical climate, falling just short of a true tropical climate. The seasons of the year are distinct, with a well-defined summer and winter, and characteristic weather for autumn and spring. Frost is infrequent, but occurs occasionally in the winter...
  
   (341,781); Pelotas
  Pelotas
  Pelotas is a Brazilian city and municipality , the third most populous in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. Pelotas is located 270 km from Porto Alegre, the capital city of the state, and 130 km from the Uruguayan border...
  
   (323,034); Canoas
  Canoas
  Canoas , which won city status in 1939, is the fourth largest city in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Its population is over 300,000 people. The city is adjacent to the capital of the gaúcho state: Porto Alegre...
  
   (305,711); Maringá
  Maringá
  Maringá is a city in southern Brazil that was founded on May 10, 1947. Maringá is the third largest city in the state of Paraná. The city has a population of 357,117 , 612,617 in its metropolitan area...
  
   (288.,465); Ponta Grossa
  Ponta Grossa
  Ponta Grossa is a city in the state of Paraná, Brazil. With a population of over 315,000 inhabitants, it is the 4th most populous city of Paraná.It is the second industrial pole of the State, exceeded only by Curitiba—the State's capital and largest city...
  
   (281,000); Blumenau
  Blumenau
  Blumenau is a city in Vale do Itajaí, state of Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil. It was founded on September 2, 1850 by Dr. Hermann Bruno Otto Blumenau along with 17 German immigrants. A few years later Fritz Müller migrated to Blumenau as well....
  
   (277,500); Cascavel
  Cascavel
  Cascavel is a city and municipality in western Paraná state, Brazil. The population is 296.975 inhabitants.The city is on a plateau 781 meters above sea level...
  
   (273,000); Foz do Iguaçu
  Foz do Iguaçu
  Foz do Iguaçu is the 7th largest city in Paraná state, Brazil, with a population of 255,900 inhabitants. It is located approximately 650 km west of Curitiba, Parana's capital city, being the westernmost city in that state...
  
   (269,585); Santa Maria
  Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul
  Santa Maria is a municipality in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil. In 2007, its population was 263,403 inhabitants in a total area of 1,823 km2.-Importance:...
  
   (243,396), Rio Grande
  Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul
  Rio Grande is the oldest city in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul and also the former state capital from 1835 to 1845...
  
   (238,000)
• Economy: Machinery and automobile industries, textiles, tourism, energy production, information technology, orange, apple, grapefruit.
• Transport: There are many developed highways and railways throughout the region, although the latter is mainly used for freight. Rivers are used when possible.
• Vegetation: Rainforests along the coast (Mata Atlântica), tropical semiciduous in the north and west (Araucárias) and prairie-like vegetation in the south (Pampas). Little native vegetation still remains due to deforestation.
• Notable characteristics: The South region is characterized by its high standard of living, with the best social indicators of the country. This region contains the cities with the highest HDI levels: Florianópolis
  Florianópolis
  -Climate:Florianópolis experiences a warm humid subtropical climate, falling just short of a true tropical climate. The seasons of the year are distinct, with a well-defined summer and winter, and characteristic weather for autumn and spring. Frost is infrequent, but occurs occasionally in the winter...
  
   has an HDI of 0.875; Porto Alegre
  Porto Alegre
  Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...
  
   has an HDI of 0.865; Curitiba
  Curitiba
  Curitiba is the capital of the Brazilian state of Paraná. It is the largest city with the biggest economy of both Paraná and southern Brazil. The population of Curitiba numbers approximately 1.75 million people and the latest GDP figures for the city surpass US$61 billion according to...
  
   has an HDI of 0.856 (information accurate as of 1996). The region, along with the state of São Paulo, is also characterized by its strong immigrant presence, with many inhabitants descended from Italian, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Polish, Japanese, Arabic, Ukrainian and Lithuanian immigrants, and have added to the local culture, especially in architecture, cuisine and forms of agriculture.

See also

• Brazil Socio-Geographic Division
  Brazil Socio-Geographic Division
  The Brazil socio-geographic division is a slightly different division than the Brazilian Division by Regions. It separates the country into three different and distinctive regions:*Amazônia Legal*Centro-Sul*Nordeste...
  
  
• List of cities in Brazil
• List of major cities in Brazil