BRAZIL

Brazil is by far the biggest country in South America and about eighty per cent of Amazonia lies within its borders. Portuguese is the main language, unlike most other South American countries where the official language is Spanish. The main industries in the Brazilian Amazon are rainforest products and minerals. A number of "mega-projects" have contributed to severe degradation of some parts of the Brazilian Amazon. (See Deforestation from space). Upstream of Manaus, the Brazilians call their section of the river the Solimões, but this convention is rarely recognized outside Brazil.