regions of brazil

Brazil is currently divided in five regions, by the IBGE. These divisions are composed by states with similar cultural, economical, historical and social aspects, and although thru the scientific point of view information given by this type of division is not very accurate, because official information given by the IBGE uses this system, this division is the most widely used in Brazil.

North Region

3.869.637,9 km(45.28%)
Population: 11.290.100 hab (2.92 hab/km; 6.2%)
GDP: ~9.6bi US$ (2%)
HDI: ~0,750
Climate: Equatorial (high temperatures and high annual precipitation)
States: Acre, Amap, Amazonas, Par, Rondnia, Roraima and Tocantins
Largest Cities: Manaus (1.403.796); Belm (1.279.861); Ananindeua (392.947); Porto Velho (314.525); Macap (282.745); Santarm (262.721); Rio Branco (252.885); Boa Vista (200.383); Palmas (137.045), Boa Vista (122.000).
Economy: Iron, Energy production, eletronic manufacturing, latex, tourism.
Transport: Mainly rivers (which are abundant in the region). Highways are scarce and present mainly in the east. Airplanes are commonly used in small remote comunities
Vegetation: Almost the entire region is covered by the Amazon Rainforest, except the state of Tocantins, with a savanna-like vegetation (cerrado). Although most of the native vegetation still remains, the region suffers critical problems from deforestation occurring quickly in the area
Marcant characteristics: Presence of the Amazon Rainforest, that is the vegetation dominant in every state but Tocantins. Cities are all spread apart in the region, that has the lowest populational density of the country. Very few paved highways passes the region, that 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 grow above national average (especially in Amazonas and in Tocantins)

Northeast Region

Area: 1.561.177 km (27.50%)
Population: 47.700.000 hab (30.55 hab/km; 16%)
GDP: ~48.1bi US$ (~12%)
HDI: ~0.715
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, Bahia, Cear, Maranho, Paraba, Pernambuco, Piau, Rio Grande do Norte, Sergipe
Largest Cities: Salvador (2.440.828); Fortaleza (2.138.234); Recife (1.421.993); So Lus (868.047); Macei (796.842); Teresina (714.583); Natal (709.536); Joo Pessoa (595.429); Jaboto dos Guararapes; (580.795); Feira de Santana (481.137); Aracaj (461.083); Olinda (368.666); Campina Grande (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: Desert-like vegetation mainly, with tropical forests along the coast and in the west, and savanna-like vegetation in the southwest
Marcant characteristics: This region was the first found by the Portuguese, and the first Brazilian capital, Salvador, was founded here. Lowest social indicators of the country, but had the best economic grow (above national average) between 2000 and 2003

Center-West Region

Area: 1.612.077,2 km (28,3%)
Population: 11.616.750 hab (7,2 hab/km; 6,4%)
GDP: ~40bi US$ (8%)
HDI: ~0.775
Climate: Savanna climate (hot, with relative few precipitation during the year) in the northeast and the east; Tropical in the east and in the west; Equatorial in the north
States: Gois, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul; along with Distrito Federal (Federal District), where Brazil's national capital, Braslia, is situated.
Largest Cities: Braslia (2.043.169); Goinia (1.090.737); Campo Grande (662.534); Cuiab (483.044); Aparecida de Goinia (335.849); Anpolis (287.666), Corumb (95.704)
Economy: Pecuary, "politic business", tourism
Transport: Highways were 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 comunnities.
Vegetation: Mainly savanna-like vegetation, including the "Pantanal" (Chaco, in Paraguay), flooded areas in the west, equatorial rainforests in the north.
Marcant characteristics: Low populational density, marcant presence of pecuary instead of agriculture - The region is the least industrialized in the country, based mainly in food & meat processing

Southeast Region

Area: 927.286 km (12%)
Population: 72.300.000 hab (77,96 hab/km, 38%)
GDP: ~320bi US$ (58,5%)
HDI: ~0,790
Climate: Tropical along the coast, humid, hot in the summer and warm in the winter); 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: Esprito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, So Paulo
Largest Cities: So Paulo (10.405.867); Rio de Janeiro (5.851.914); Belo Horizonte (2.232.747); Guarulhos (1.071.268); Campinas (968.172); Nova Igua (915.366); So Gonalo (889.828); Duque de Caxias (770.865); So Bernardo do Campo (701.289); Osasco (650.993); Santo Andr (648.443); So Jos dos Campos (538.909); Contagem (537.806); Ribeiro Preto (505.053); Uberlndia (500.488); Sorocaba (494.649); Niteri (458.465); Juiz de Fora (456.432); Santos (412.243), Vila Velha (357.952), Bauru (310.000), Vitria (291.941)
Economy: Machine and eletronic manufacturing, automobile and aviation industry, coffee, soil, sugar cane, tourism, oil&sub-products (gasoline, diesel, etc), textiles, energy production (not sufficient, however, to attend its demand); it is the business-economic center of Brazil, most bigger Brazilians companies and foreign companies installed in Brazil have their headquaters installed in this region
Transport: The region is heavily covered by highways, and in a somewhat extent, railways. Railways and rivers are used mainly for freight, and used when they are present. Regional, domestic and international air routes connects larger cities, with the main hubs for airlines in the country
Vegetation: Mainly tropical-like semideciduous forests (Mata Atlantica), semi-arid in the north, with almost no vegetation, savanna-like vegetation in the west and in the northwest (cerrado). Very little of the native vegetation still remains (~2%, mostly in parks)
Marcant characteristics: The southeast region is the major powerhouse of the Brazilian economy, being responsible for 58% of the Brazilian GDP (~320 bi US$). It is also the most populated region in the country, where the two national metropolitan regions of the country are located (Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro), among other three regional metropolitan regions, Belo Horizonte, Campinas and Santos.

South Region

Area: 577.214 km (6,2%)
Population: 25.800.000 hab (43,46 hab/km, 12,5%)
GDP: ~91,5bi US$ (16,5%)
HDI: ~0,805
Climate: Temperate in almost all the entire region, warm in the summer and cold in the winter (sometimes there is snow in the southern regions of the region). The northeast part of the region have a Tropical climate, being hot in the summer and warm/cool during the winter, with some cold days.
States: Paran, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina
Largest Cities: Curitiba (1.586.848); Porto Alegre (1.360.033); Londrina (446.822); Joinville (429.004); Caxias do Sul (360.223); Florianpolis (341.781); Pelotas (323.034); Canoas (305.711); Maring (288.465); Ponta Grossa (281.000); Blumenau (277.500); Cascavel (273.000); Foz do Iguau (269.585); Santa Maria (243.396), Rio Grande (238.000)
Economy: Machinery and automobile industry, textiles, tourism, energy production, computer programming, soil, orange, apple, grapefruit.
Transport: Highways and railways are heavily present thoughout the region, although the latter is mainly used for freight. Rivers are used when possible
Vegetation: Rainflorest along the coast (Mata Atlantica), tropical semiciduous in the north and west (Araucrias) and praire-like vegetation in the south (Pampas). Little native vegetation still actually remains
Marcant characteristics: The South region is characterized by its high standard of living, with the best social indicators of the country - The best city to live in and the best capitals to live in are all here: Feliz, HDI of 0.834 (1st in Brazil); Florianpolis, HDI of 0.833 (15th); Porto Alegre, HDI of 0.825; Curitiba, HDI of 0.820 (information of 2001). The region, along with the state of So Paulo, is characterized also for the strong immigrant presence (German, Italians, Portuguese, Spanish, Poles, Japanese, Arabs, Ukranians and Lithuanians), that gave the region their typical aspects (architecture, culinary, agriculture of subsitance, etc).

Observations

The number in % between parenthesis is the percentage compared to the whole nation
The population of the cities (e.g. Curitiba, 1.586.848) is valid only for the city itself, not the whole metropolitan region