Brazil is the world's fifth largest country and the largest nation in South America. Its name derives from the Portuguese word for the brazilwood tree, which has a distinctive red timber. Brazil straddles the equator and contains much of the Amazon Basin. The Brazilian Amazon Region is estimated to contain carbon stores of 120 billion tonnes, while the Amazon is the world's second longest river and largest by volume of water. Brazil has the greatest biodiversity of any county on earth and contains two biodiversity hotspots, the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado. Sao Paulo is the most populous city in Latin America, with a population of more than 20 million.

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