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Brazil is divided into twenty-six ''estados'' ("states"; singular ''estado'') and one district, the ''Distrito Federal'' ("Federal District") which contains the capital city, Brasília.
States are based on historical, conventional borders and have developed throughout the centuries; though some boundaries are arbitrary. The federal district is not a state on its right, but shares some characteristics of a state and some of a municipality.
The Federal District is encompassed by the state of Goiás. The codes given below are defined in .

Contents

History

List of Brazilian states

See also

External links

History

In 1943, with the entrance of Brazil in the Second World War, the Vargas regime detached seven strategic territories from the border of the country in order to administrate them directly: Amapá, Rio Branco, Acre, Guaporé, Ponta Porã, Iguaçu and the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha. After the war, the first three territories were retained as states, with Rio Branco and Guaporé being renamed Roraima and Rondônia, respectively. Ponta Porã and Iguaçu resorted to territorial status. In 1988, Fernando de Noronha became part of Pernambuco.
In 1960, the square-shaped ''Distrito Federal'' was carved out of Goiás in preparation for the new capital, Brasília. The previous federal district became the state of Guanabara until in 1975 it was merged with the state of Rio de Janeiro, becoming the municipality of Rio de Janeiro.
In 1977, Mato Grosso was split into two states. The northern area retained the name Mato Grosso while the southern area became the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, with Campo Grande as its capital. The new Mato Grosso do Sul incorporated the territory of Ponta Porã and the northern part of Iguaçu. Central Iguaçu went to Paraná, and southern Iguaçu went to Santa Catarina.
In 1988, the northern portion of Goiás became the state of Tocantins, with Palmas as its capital.

List of Brazilian states

Flag	State	Abbreviation	Capital	Area	Population (2005)	Density (2005)	GDP (% total) (2004)	GDP per capita (2004)	HDI (2000)	Literacy (2003)	Infant Mortality (2002)	Life Expectancy (2004)
border	Acre	AC	Rio Branco				(%)			84%	‰
border	Alagoas	AL	Maceió				(%)			70%	‰
border	Amapá	AP	Macapá				(%)			91%	‰
border	Amazonas	AM	Manaus				(%)			94%	‰
border	Bahia	BA	Salvador				(%)			79%	‰
border	Ceará	CE	Fortaleza				(%)			78%	‰
border	Distrito Federal	DF	Brasília				(%)			96%	‰
border	Espírito Santo	ES	Vitória				(%)			90%	‰
border	Goiás	GO	Goiânia				(%)			90%	‰
border	Maranhão	MA	São Luís				(%)			77%	‰
border	Mato Grosso	MT	Cuiabá				(%)			90%	‰
border	Mato Grosso do Sul	MS	Campo Grande				(%)			91%	‰
border	Minas Gerais	MG	Belo Horizonte				(%)			89%	‰
border	Pará	PA	Belém				(%)			90%	‰
border	Paraíba	PB	João Pessoa				(%)			75%	‰
border	Paraná	PR	Curitiba				(%)			93%	‰
border	Pernambuco	PE	Recife				(%)			79%	‰
border	Piauí	PI	Teresina				(%)			72%	‰
border	Rio de Janeiro	RJ	Rio de Janeiro				(%)			96%	‰
border	Rio Grande do Norte	RN	Natal				(%)			77%	‰
border	Rio Grande do Sul	RS	Porto Alegre				(%)			95%	‰
border	Rondônia	RO	Porto Velho				(%)			92%	‰
border	Roraima	RR	Boa Vista				(%)			91%	‰
border	Santa Catarina	SC	Florianópolis				(%)			95%	‰
border	São Paulo	SP	São Paulo				(%)			95%	‰
border	Sergipe	SE	Aracaju				(%)			90%	‰
border	Tocantins	TO	Palmas				(%)			83%	‰

See also

★ Brazil Socio-Geographic Division

★ List of major cities in Brazil

★ List of cities in Brazil

External links

★ Map of Brazil

★ Portal of Brazilian municipalities