8.5 million square kilometers of territory (almost half of the Latin America), 26 states, 5,563 towns. Even so, Brazil seems small for such a diversity! Since the Portuguese colonization in Brazil had taken place, the blend of peoples constituted a great characteristic. Then, in the 16th century, in Brazil there were already Spanish, French, and Netherlanders living together with indigenous tribes and with people from African nations.

Besides cultural riches, Brazil is a biological potency, holding 20% of the world-wide biodiversity, which greater part is situated in the Brazilian Amazon with 3.6 million square kilometers.

However, on the last decades, Brazil has been playing an important role not only because its natural and cultural components but also for the international relations and economic prosperity (The Growth Development Product exceeded 2 trillion in 2006) and for its increasing diplomatic performance (participation in blocks as Mercosul and G-20).

Especially on the engineering area, Brazil has become a relevant international investor. With the performance of national big enterprises as Oderbrecht, Mendes Júnior, Vale do Rio Doce, Embraer and Petrobrás, Brazilian investments on foreign countries has increased 44% from 2001 to 2005. In 2006, the total number reached the historical mark of US$ 23.8 billion.

Get to know more about Brazil: www.brasil.gov.br.