OVERVIEW:
Rio de Janeiro ("River of January", pronounced [ˈhiw dʒi ʒʌˈnejɾu] in Portuguese, /ˈriːoʊ deɪ ʒəˈnɛroʊ/ in English) is the second major city of Brazil, behind only São Paulo. The city is capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. The city was once the capital of Brazil (1763–1960) and of the Portuguese Empire (1808–1821). Commonly known as just Rio, the city is also nicknamed A Cidade Maravilhosa - "The Marvelous City".
It is famous for its spectacular natural setting, its Carnival celebrations, samba and other music, hotel-lined tourist beaches, such as Copacabana and Ipanema, paved with decorated black and cream swirl pattern mosaics. Some of the most famous local landmarks in addition to the beaches include the giant statue of Jesus, known as Christ the Redeemer ('Cristo Redentor') atop Corcovado mountain, which has recently been named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World; Sugarloaf mountain (Pão de Açúcar) with its cable car; the Sambódromo, a giant permanent parade stand used during Carnival; and Maracanã stadium, one of the world's largest football stadiums. Rio also boasts the two world's largest forests inside an urban area. The first is the forest in Parque Estadual da Pedra Branca, or White Stone State Park. The second, almost connected to the first, is the famous Floresta da Tijuca, or 'Tijuca Forest'.
According to the IBGE of 2007, there were 11,714,000 people residing in Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area. The population density was 4.781 inh./km². The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following percentage: 6,278,704 million White people (53.6%), 3,935,904 million Pardo people (33.6%), 1,440,822 million Black people (12.3%) and 58 thousand Asian or Amerindian people (0.5%).
Most of Rio de Janeiro's population is of Portuguese descent, with a large number of people of African descent and Pardos of mixed Portuguese and African descent. Other important ethnic groups are present in the city, such as Germans, Italians, Spaniards, Arabs, Jews, Asians (mostly Koreans, Japanese), mixed Amerindian, etc.
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