Rio de Janeiro has the second largest municipal GDP in the country,[9] and 30th-largest in the world in 2008.[10] This is estimated atR$343 billion. In the city are the headquarters of Brazilian oil, mining, and telecommunications companies, including two of the country's major corporations,Petrobras andVale, and Latin America's largest telemedia conglomerate,Grupo Globo. The home of many universities and institutes, it is the second-largest center of research and development in Brazil, accounting for 17 percent of national scientific output according to 2005 data.[11] Despite the high perception of crime, the city actually has a lowerincidence of crime than most state capitals in Brazil.[12]
In 1555, one of the islands of Guanabara Bay, now calledVillegagnon Island, was occupied by 500 French colonists under the FrenchadmiralNicolas Durand de Villegaignon. Consequently, Villegagnon builtFort Coligny on the island when attempting to establish theFrance Antarctique colony. Eventually this French settlement became too much of a threat to the established Portuguese colony and in 1560 the order was made to get rid of them. A years-long military aggression was then initiated by the new Governor General of BrazilMem de Sá, and later continued by his nephewEstácio de Sá. On 20 January 1567, a final defeat was imposed on the French forces and they were decisively expelled from Brazil for good.
The city of Rio de Janeiro proper was founded on 1 March 1565 by the Portuguese, led by Estácio de Sá, includingAntônio de Mariz [pt]. It was namedSão Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, in honor of St. Sebastian, thesaint who was the namesake and patron of the Portuguese then-monarchSebastião.Rio de Janeiro was the name of Guanabara Bay. Until early in the 18th century, the city was threatened or invaded by several mostly French pirates and buccaneers, such asJean-François Duclerc andRené Duguay-Trouin.[20]
In the late 17th century,Bandeirantes discovered gold and diamonds in the neighboringcaptaincy ofMinas Gerais, thus Rio de Janeiro became a much more practical port for exporting diversified sources of wealth (gold, precious stones, besides the sugar) thanSalvador, Bahia, much farther northeast. On 27 January 1763,[21] the colonial administration in Portuguese America was moved from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro. The city remained primarily a colonial capital until 1808, when the Portuguese royal family and most of the associatedLisbon nobles, fleeing fromNapoleon's invasion of Portugal,moved to Rio de Janeiro.
View of the bay and the entry of the city of Rio as seen from the terrace of the convent of Santo Antônio, byNicolas-Antoine Taunay (1816)
The kingdom's capital was transferred to the city, which, thus, became the only European capital outside ofEurope. As there was no physical space or urban structure to accommodate hundreds of noblemen who arrived suddenly, many inhabitants were simply evicted from their homes.[22] In the first decade, several educational establishments were created, such as the Military Academy, the Royal School of Sciences, Arts and Crafts and theImperial Academy of Fine Arts, as well as theNational Library of Brazil – with the largest collection inLatin America[23] – and TheBotanical Garden. The first printed newspaper in Brazil, theGazeta do Rio de Janeiro, came into circulation during this period.[24] When Brazil was elevated to Kingdom in 1815, it became the capital of theUnited Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves until the return of thePortuguese Royal Family toLisbon in 1821, but remained as capital of theKingdom of Brazil.[25]
From the colonial period until the first independent era, Rio de Janeiro was a city of slaves. There was a large influx ofAfrican slaves to Rio de Janeiro: in 1819, there were 145,000 slaves in the captaincy. In 1840, the number of slaves reached 220,000 people.[26] Between 1811 and 1831, 500,000 to a million slaves arrived in Rio de Janeiro throughValongo Wharf, which is now aWorld Heritage Site.[27] The Port of Rio de Janeiro was the largest port of slaves in America.[28]
WhenPrince Pedro proclaimed theindependence of Brazil in 1822, he decided to keep Rio de Janeiro as the capital of hisnew empire while the place was enriched with sugar cane agriculture in the Campos region and, especially, with the new coffee cultivation in theParaíba Valley.[25] In order to separate the province from the capital of the Empire, the city was converted in Neutral Municipality in 1834, passing theprovince of Rio de Janeiro to haveNiterói as capital.[25]
As a political center of the country, Rio concentrated the political-partisan life of the Empire. It was the main stage of the abolitionist and republican movements in the last half of the 19th century.[25] At that time the number of slaves was drastically reduced and the city was developed, with modern drains, animal trams, train stations crossing the city, gas and electric lighting, telephone and telegraph wiring, water and river plumbing.[25] Rio continued as the capital of Brazil after 1889, when the monarchy wasreplaced by a republic.
On 6 February 1889 the Bangu Textile Factory was founded, with the name of Industrial Progress Company of Brazil (Companhia Progresso Industrial do Brasil). The factory was officially opened on 8 March 1893, in a complex with varying architectural styles likeItalianate,Neo-Gothic and a tower inMansard Roof style. After the opening in 1893, workers fromGreat Britain arrived in Bangu to work in the textile factory. The old farms became worker villages with red-bricks houses, and a neo-gothic church was created, which still exists as the Saint Sebastian and Saint Cecilia Parish Church. Street cinemas and cultural buildings also appeared. In May 1894,Thomas Donohoe, a British worker fromBusby, Scotland, arrived in Bangu.[29]
Donohoe was amazed to discover that there was absolutely no knowledge of football among Brazilians. So he wrote to his wife, Elizabeth, asking her to bring a football when she joined him. And shortly after her arrival, in September 1894, the first football match in Brazil took place in the field beside the textile factory. It was a five-a-side match between British workers, and took place six months before the first game organized byCharles Miller in São Paulo. However, the Bangu Football Club was not formally created until 1904.[30]
At the time Brazil'sOld Republic was established, the city lackedurban planning andsanitation, which helped spread several diseases, such asyellow fever,dysentery,variola,tuberculosis and evenblack death.Pereira Passos, who was named mayor in 1902, imposed reforms to modernize the city, demolishing thecortiços where most of the poor population lived. These people then moved to live in the city's hills, creating the firstfavelas.[31] Inspired by the city ofParis, Passos built theMunicipal Theater, theNational Museum of Fine Arts and theNational Library in the city's center; broughtelectric power to Rio and created larger avenues to adapt the city toautomobiles.[32] Passos also namedOswaldo Cruz as Director General of Public Health. Cruz's plans to clean the city of diseases included compulsory vaccination of the entire population and forced entry into houses to kill mosquitoes and rats. The people of the city rebelled against Cruz's policy, in what would be known as theVaccine Revolt.[33]
Until the early years of the 20th century, the city was largely limited to the neighborhood now known as the historic city center (see below), on the mouth of Guanabara Bay. The city's center of gravity began to shift south and west to the so-calledZona Sul (South Zone) in the early part of the 20th century, when the first tunnel was built under the mountains betweenBotafogo and the neighborhood that is now known asCopacabana. Expansion of the city to the north and south was facilitated by the consolidation and electrification of Rio's streetcar transit system after 1905.[34] Botafogos natural environment, combined with the fame of theCopacabana Palace Hotel,the luxury hotel of the Americas in the 1930s, helped Rio to gain the reputation it still holds today as a beach party town. This reputation has been somewhat tarnished in recent years by favela violence resulting from the narcotics trade andmilitias.[35]
A convoy ofM41 Walker Bulldog tanks along the streets of the city in 1968 during themilitary rule. At the time, Rio de Janeiro was a city-state, capital ofGuanabara
Plans for moving the nation's capital city from Rio de Janeiro to the center of Brazil had been occasionally discussed, and whenJuscelino Kubitschek was elected president in 1955, it was partially on the strength of promises to build a new capital.[36] Though many thought that it was justcampaign rhetoric, Kubitschek managed to have Brasília and a newFederal District built, at great cost, by 1960. On 21 April of that year, the capital of Brazil was officially moved to Brasília. The territory of the former Federal District became its own state, Guanabara, after the bay that borders it to the east, encompassing just the city of Rio de Janeiro. After the1964 coup d'état that installed amilitary dictatorship, thecity-state was the only state left in Brazil to oppose the military. Then, in 1975, a presidential decree known as "The Fusion" removed the city's federative status and merged it with theState of Rio de Janeiro, with the city of Rio de Janeiro replacingNiterói as the state's capital, and establishing theRio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region.[37]
Rio de Janeiro is near the west end of a strip (fromCabo Frio to just east ofIlha Grande) of Brazil's Atlantic coast close to theTropic of Capricorn where the shoreline is oriented east and west; the city thus faces largely south. It was founded at the entrance to an inlet,Guanabara Bay (Baía de Guanabara), which is marked by a point of land called Sugar Loaf (Pão de Açúcar) – a "calling card" of the city.[38]
The population of the city of Rio de Janeiro, occupying an area of 1,182.3 km2 (456.5 sq mi),[39] is about 6,000,000.[40] The population of the greater metropolitan area is estimated at 11–13.5 million. Residents of the city are known ascariocas. The official song of Rio is "Cidade Maravilhosa", by composerAndré Filho.
The city has parks and ecological reserves such as the Tijuca National Park, the world's first urban forest andUNESCO Environmental Heritage and Biosphere Reserve;Pedra Branca State Park, which houses the highest point of Rio de Janeiro, the peak of Pedra Branca; theQuinta da Boa Vista complex; theBotanical Garden;[41] Rio's Zoo;Parque Lage; and thePasseio Público, the first public park in theAmericas.[42] In addition theFlamengo Park is the largest landfill in the city, extending from the center to the south zone, and containing museums and monuments, in addition to much vegetation.
Since 1961, theTijuca National Park (Parque Nacional da Tijuca), the largest city-surroundedurban forest and the second largest urban forest in the world, has been a National Park. The largest urban forest in the world is the Floresta da Pedra Branca (White Rock Forest), which is located in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro.[43]
Due to the high concentration of industries in the metropolitan region, the city has faced serious problems of environmental pollution. TheGuanabara Bay has lost mangrove areas and suffers from residues from domestic and industrial sewage, oils and heavy metals. Although its waters renew when they reach the sea, the bay is the final receiver of all the tributaries generated along its banks and in the basins of the many rivers and streams that flow into it. The levels of particulate matter in the air are twice as high as that recommended by theWorld Health Organization, in part because of the large numbers of vehicles in circulation.[44]
The waters of Sepetiba Bay are slowly following the path traced by Guanabara Bay, with sewage generated by a population of the order of 1.29 million inhabitants being released without treatment in streams or rivers. With regard to industrial pollution, highly toxic wastes, with high concentrations of heavy metals – mainlyzinc andcadmium – have been dumped over the years by factories in the industrial districts ofSanta Cruz,Itaguaí andNova Iguaçu, constructed under the supervision of State policies.[45]
The Marapendi lagoon and theRodrigo de Freitas Lagoon have suffered with the leniency of the authorities and the growth in the number of apartment buildings close by. The illegal discharge of sewage and the consequent deaths of algae diminished the oxygenation of the waters, causing fish mortality.[46][47]
There are, on the other hand, signs of decontamination in the lagoon made through apublic-private partnership established in 2008 to ensure that the lagoon waters will eventually be suitable for bathing. The decontamination actions involve the transfer of sludge to large craters present in the lagoon itself, and the creation of a new direct and underground connection with the sea, which will contribute to increase the daily water exchange between the two environments. However, during the Olympics the lagoon hosted the rowing competitions and there were numerous concerns about potential infection resulting from human sewage.[48]
Panorama of the city of Rio de Janeiro highlighting the mountains ofCorcovado (left),Sugarloaf (center, background) and Two Brothers (right), from theChinese Belvedere
Rio has atropical wet and dry climate (Köppen:Aw,Trewartha:Awab), and is often characterized by long periods of heavy rain between December and March.[49] The city experiences hot, humid summers, and warm, sunny winters. In inland areas of the city, temperatures above 40 °C (104 °F) are common during the summer, though rarely for long periods, while maximum temperatures above 27 °C (81 °F) can occur on a monthly basis.
Along the coast, the breeze, blowing onshore and offshore, moderates the temperature. Because of its geographic situation, the city is often reached by cold fronts advancing fromAntarctica, especially during autumn and winter, causing frequent weather changes. In summer there can be strong rains, which have, on some occasions, provoked catastrophic floods and landslides. The mountainous areas register greater rainfall since they constitute a barrier to the humid wind that comes from the Atlantic.[50] The city has had rarefrosts in the past. Some areas withinRio de Janeiro state occasionally have falls ofsnow grains andice pellets (popularly calledgranizo) andhail.[51][52][53]
Drought is very rare, albeit bound to happen occasionally given the city's strongly seasonal tropical climate. The Brazilian drought of 2014–2015, most severe in theSoutheast Region and the worst in decades, affected the entire metropolitan region's water supply (a diversion from theParaíba do Sul River to theGuandu River is a major source for the state's most populous mesoregion). There were plans to divert the Paraíba do Sul to theSistema Cantareira (Cantareira system) during the water crisis of 2014 in order to help the critically drought-strickenGreater São Paulo area. However, availability of sufficient rainfall to supply tap water to both metropolitan areas in the future is merely speculative.[54][55][56]
Roughly in the same suburbs (Nova Iguaçu and surrounding areas, including parts of Campo Grande and Bangu) that correspond to the location of the March 2012, February–March 2013 and January 2015 pseudo-hail (granizo) falls, there was atornado-like phenomenon in January 2011, for the first time in the region's recorded history, causing structural damage and long-lastingblackouts, but no fatalities.[57][58] TheWorld Meteorological Organization has advised that Brazil, especially its southeastern region, must be prepared for increasinglysevere weather occurrences in the near future, since events such as the catastrophicJanuary 2011 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslides are not an isolated phenomenon. In early May 2013, winds registering above 90 km/h (56 mph) caused blackouts in 15 neighborhoods of the city and three surrounding municipalities, and killed one person.[59] Rio saw similarly high winds (about 100 km/h (62 mph)) in January 2015.[60]
Temperature also varies according to elevation, distance from the coast, and type of vegetation or land use. During the winter, cold fronts and dawn/morning sea breezes bring mild temperatures; cold fronts, theIntertropical Convergence Zone (in the form of winds from theAmazon Forest), the strongest sea-borne winds (often from anextratropical cyclone) and summerevapotranspiration bring showers or storms. Thus the monsoon-like climate has dry and mild winters and springs, and very wet and warm summers and autumns. As a result, temperatures over 40 °C (104 °F), that may happen about year-round but are much more common during the summer, often mean the actual "feels-like" temperature is over 50 °C (122 °F), when there is little wind and therelative humidity percentage is high.[61][62][63][64]
According to data from the Brazilian National Institute of Meteorology (INMET), since 1931, the absolute minimum temperature recorded in Rio de Janeiro was 6.4 °C on August 18, 1933,[65] at the meteorological station in theBangu neighborhood (deactivated in March 2004). This same station, located in the city's hottest neighborhood,[66] recorded a maximum temperature of 43.1 °C on January 14, 1984, which held the record for the highest temperature in the city until December 26, 2012, when 43.2 °C was recorded at theSanta Cruz station.[67] The record for rainfall within 24 hours is 349.4 mm, recorded on February 26, 1971, at the former station in theEngenho de Dentro neighborhood.[68]
Climate data for Rio de Janeiro (Saúde), elevation 11 m (36 ft), (1981–2010 normals, extremes 1961–1990)
According to the2010 IBGE Census, there were 5,940,224 people residing in the city of Rio de Janeiro.[91] Since 1960, when it was surpassed bySão Paulo, the city of Rio de Janeiro has been the second-most populous city in Brazil.[92]
Theblack community was formed by residents whose ancestors had been trafficked into slavery, mostly fromAngola andMozambique, as well by people of Angolan, Mozambican andWest African descent who moved to Rio from other parts of Brazil. Nearly half of the city's population is by phenotype mixed or black.[95]White in Brazil is defined more by having a European-looking phenotype rather than ancestry, and two fullsiblings can be of different "racial" categories[96] in askin color andphenotype continuum frompálido (branco) or fair-skinned, throughbrancomoreno or swarthy Caucasian,mestiço claro or lighter skinned multiracial,pardo (mixed race) tonegro orblack.Pardo, for example, in popular usage includes those who arecaboclos (mestizos),mulatos (mulattoes),cafuzos (zambos),juçaras (archaic term fortri-racials) and westernizedAmerindians (which are calledcaboclos as well), being more of a skin color rather than a racial group in particular.
Different ethnic groups contributed to the formation of the population of Rio de Janeiro. Before European colonization, there were at least seven differentindigenous peoples speaking 20 languages in the region. A part of them joined the Portuguese and the other the French. Those who joined theFrench were then exterminated by the Portuguese, while the other part was assimilated.[97]
Rio de Janeiro is home to the largestPortuguese population outside ofLisbon in Portugal.[98] After independence from Portugal, Rio de Janeiro became a destination for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Portugal, mainly in the early 20th century. The immigrants were mostly poor peasants who subsequently found prosperity in Rio as city workers and small traders.[99]
Portuguese immigrant in Rio de Janeiro, considered the largest "Portuguese city" outside Portugal[100]
The Portuguese cultural influence is still seen in many parts of the city (and many other parts of the state of Rio de Janeiro), including architecture andlanguage. Most Brazilians with some cultural contact with Rio know how to easily differentiate between the local dialect,Carioca, and other Brazilian dialects. People ofPortuguese ancestry predominate in most of the state. The Brazilian census of 1920 showed that 39.7% of the Portuguese who lived in Brazil lived in Rio de Janeiro. Including all of the Rio de Janeiro, the proportion raised to 46.3% of the Portuguese who lived in Brazil. The numerical presence of the Portuguese was extremely high, accounting for 72% of the foreigners who lived in the capital. Portuguese born people accounted for 20.4% of the population of Rio, and those with a Portuguese father or a Portuguese mother accounted for 30.8%. In other words, native born Portuguese and their children accounted for 51.2% of the inhabitants of Rio, or a total of 267,664 people in 1890.[101]
Genomic ancestry of non-related individuals in Rio de Janeiro[104]
Race or skin color
Number of individuals
Amerindian
African
European
White
107
6.7%
6.9%
86.4%
Pardo (Mixed race)
119
8.3%
23.6%
68.1%
Black
109
7.3%
50.9%
41.8%
According to an autosomal DNA study from 2009, conducted on a school in the poor suburb of Rio de Janeiro, the "pardos" there were found to be on average about 80% European, and the "whites" (who thought of themselves as "very mixed") were found to carry very little Amerindian and/or African admixtures. The results of the tests of genomic ancestry are quite different from the self made estimates of European ancestry. In general, the test results showed that European ancestry is far more important than the students thought it would be. The "pardos" for example thought of themselves as1⁄3 European,1⁄3 African and1⁄3 Amerindian before the tests, and yet their ancestry on average reached 80% European.[105][106] Other studies showed similar results[104][107]
Rio de Janeiro has had a rich and influential Catholic tradition. TheRoman Catholic Archdiocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro is the second largest archdiocese in Brazil afterSão Paulo.[109] TheRio de Janeiro Cathedral was inaugurated in 1979, in the central region of the city. Its installations have a collection of great historical and religious value: the Archdiocesan Museum of Sacred Art and the Archdiocesan Archive.[110] In aContemporary architecture, it has a conical shape, with 96 meters of internal diameter and capacity to receive up to 20 thousand faithful. The splendor of the building, with straight and sober lines, is due to the changing stained glass windows carved on the walls up to the dome. Its design and execution was coordinated byMonsignor Ivo Antônio Calliari (1918–2005).[110]Saint Sebastian is recognized as the city'spatron saint, which is why it received the canonical name of "Saint Sebastian of Rio de Janeiro".[111]
Afro-Brazilian religions such asUmbanda andCandomblé find support in various social segments, although professed by less than 2% of the population, many Cariocas simultaneously observe those practices with Roman Catholicism.[108][112]
TheCathedral of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, orMetropolitan Cathedral, was inaugurated in 1979 in thecentral region of the city. Its facilities house a collection of great historical and religious value: the Archdiocesan Museum of Sacred Art and the Archdiocesan Archive. The Banco da Providência and the ArchdiocesanCaritas are also based there. In a contemporary architectural style, it has a conical shape, with an internal diameter of 96 meters and a capacity to hold up to 20,000 worshippers. The splendor of the building, with its straight and sober lines, is due to the changingstained glass windows carved into the walls up to thedome. Its design and execution were coordinated byMonsignorIvo Antônio Calliari (1918–2005).[114]
ThePortuguese language is the official andnational language, and thus the primary language taught in schools.English andSpanish are also part of the official curriculum. There are also international schools, such as theAmerican School of Rio de Janeiro, Our Lady of Mercy School, SIS Swiss International School, the Corcovado German School, the Lycée Français and the British School of Rio de Janeiro.[116]
Primary schools are largely under municipal administration, while the state plays a more significant role in the extensive network of secondary schools. There are also a small number of schools under federal administration, such as Pedro II School, Colégio de Aplicação da UFRJ, and the Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica of Rio de Janeiro (CEFET-RJ). In addition, Rio has an ample offering of private schools that provide education at all levels. Rio is home to many colleges and universities. The literacy rate forcariocas aged 10 and older is nearly 95 percent, well above the national average.[123] In Rio, there were 1,033 primary schools with 25,594 teachers and 667,788 students in 1995. There are 370 secondary schools with 9,699 teachers and 227,892 students. There are 53 University-preparatory schools with 14,864 teachers and 154,447 students. The city has six major universities and 47 private schools of higher learning.[124]
There are significant disparities between the rich and the poor in Rio de Janeiro, and different socioeconomic groups are largely segregated into different neighborhoods.[125] Although the city clearly ranks among the world's major metropolises, large numbers live in slums known asfavelas, where 95% of the population are poor, compared to 40% in the general population.[126]
There have been a number of government initiatives to counter this problem, from the removal of the population from favelas tohousing projects such asCidade de Deus to the more recent approach of improving conditions in the favelas and bringing them up to par with the rest of the city, as was the focus of the "Favela Bairro" program and deployment ofPacifying Police Units.
Rio has more people living in slums than any other city in Brazil, according to the 2010 Census.[127] More than 1,500,000 people live in its 763 favelas, 22% of Rio's total population.São Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, has more favelas (1,020), but proportionally has fewer people living in favelas than Rio.
Rio also has a large proportion of state-sanctioned violence, with about 20% of all killings committed by state security.[128] In 2019, police killed an average of five people each day in the state of Rio de Janeiro, with a total of 1,810 killed in the year. This was more police killings than any year since official records started in 1998.[129]
In Rio de Janeiro, the executive power is represented by the mayor and the cabinet of secretaries, in accordance with the model proposed by the Federal Constitution. The Organic Law of the Municipality and the current Master Plan, however, stipulate that the public administration must provide the population with effective tools for the exercise of participatory democracy. In this way, the city is divided into subprefectures, each of which is headed by a sub-mayor appointed directly by the mayor.[130]
Legislative power is constituted by the municipal council, composed of 51 councilors[131] elected for four-year terms (in compliance with the provisions of article 29 of the Constitution, which disciplines a minimum number of 42 and a maximum of 55 for municipalities with more than five million inhabitants).[132] It is up to the House to prepare and vote on fundamental laws for the administration and the Executive, especially the participatory budget (Lei de Diretrizes Orçamentárias). Although the veto power is granted to the mayor, the process of voting on the laws that oppose him usually generates conflicts between the Executive and the Legislative.[133]
There are also municipal councils, which complement the legislative process and the work engendered in the secretariats. Compulsorily formed by representatives of various sectors of organized civil society, they are on different fronts — although their effective representation is sometimes questioned. The following are currently in operation: Municipal Council for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (CMPC), Defense of the Environment (CONDEMAM), Health (CMS), the Rights of Children and Adolescents (CMDCA), Education (CME), Social Assistance (CMAS) and Anti-Drugs.[134]
As the capital of the homonymous state, the city is the seat of the state government. TheGuanabara Palace (formerly known as Paço Isabel) is located in the Laranjeiras neighborhood, in the south zone, and is the official seat of the Rio de Janeiro executive power. Not to be confused with Palácio Laranjeiras, situated in the same neighborhood, which is the official residence of the governor of Rio de Janeiro.[135]
The Court of Justice of the State of Rio de Janeiro (TJRJ) is the highest body of the judiciary in the state. Its central court is located in downtown Rio de Janeiro, but, from 2013 to July 2018, some of the courts of this court were moved to Cidade Nova.[139]
The city of Rio de Janeiro was successively the capital of the Portuguese colony of theState of Brazil (1621–1815), after theUnited Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves (1815–1822), theEmpire of Brazil (1822–1889) and from the Republic of the United States of Brazil (1889–1968) until 1960, when the seat of government was definitively transferred to the then newly builtBrasília.[140]
Despite the change in the federal capital, 59% of civil servants in the Executive Branch of federal agencies and public companies remained in the city. Rio de Janeiro is also the only Brazilian state where the number of federal employees exceeds the number of state employees. About a third of all federal public bodies and companies remain in the former capital, with 50 public offices, including agencies, autarchies, foundations and public companies, such as theNational Library, theNational Nuclear Energy Commission,Fiocruz,BNDES,Petrobras,Eletrobras,IBGE,Casa da Moeda, theNational Archives, among others.[140]
Municipality of Rio de Janeiro and its division into zones and neighborhoods
West Zone
North Zone
South Zone
Central Zone
The city is commonly divided into the historic center (Centro); the tourist-friendly wealthier South Zone (Zona Sul); the residential less wealthy North Zone (Zona Norte); peripheries in the West Zone (Zona Oeste), among themSanta Cruz,Campo Grande and the wealthy newerBarra da Tijuca district. Rio de Janeiro is administratively divided into 33distritos (districts) namedRegiões Administrativas ("Administrative Regions") and 166bairros (neighborhoods).[141]
Subprefectures are officially grouped into four regions (or "zones"), taking into account geographic position and occupation history; however these do not have any administrative or political power over the municipality. The official political division of the municipality takes into account historical-cultural characteristics to divide the neighborhoods.[142] Most of its population is concentrated in the neighborhoods of Campo Grande, Santa Cruz, Bangu, Tijuca, Realengo, Jacarepaguá, Copacabana, Barra da Tijuca, Maré, Guaratiba and Taquara together, these eleven neighborhoods concentrate a population of 1.5 million inhabitants, according to the 2010 census.[143]
Centro or Downtown is the historic core of the city, as well as its financial and commercial center. Sites of interest include thePaço Imperial, built during colonial times to serve as a residence for the Portuguese governors of Brazil; many historic churches, such as theCandelária Church (the former cathedral), São Jose, Santa Lucia, Nossa Senhora do Carmo, Santa Rita, São Francisco de Paula, and the monasteries of Santo Antônio and São Bento. The Centro also houses the modern concreteRio de Janeiro Cathedral. Around theCinelândia square, there are several landmarks of theBelle Époque of Rio, such as theMunicipal Theater and theNational Library building. Among its several museums, theMuseu Nacional de Belas Artes (National Museum of Fine Arts) and theMuseu Histórico Nacional (National Historical Museum) are the most important.
The Cultural Corridor in Rio's City Center is home to one of the most architecturally and historically preserved districts, known as the Sociedade de Amigos das Adjacências da Rua da Alfândega (SAARA). This association was formed by merchants operating near Rua da Alfândega in the Historic Center of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The area is renowned for its stores specializing in popular home goods and fabrics, housed withinveral historic buildings.The name comes from the occupation of the region by Muslim, Jewish and Maronite Christian immigrants from the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century, for commercial purposes. The region preserves examples of various architectural styles, from Portuguese colonial, through Neoclassical, Eclectic, Art Deco and Modernism, making the region a rich tapestry of historical architecture that refers to the city's colonial and imperial past.
TheSouth Zone (Zona Sul) is composed of several districts, among which areSão Conrado,Leblon,Ipanema,Arpoador,Copacabana, andLeme, which compose Rio's Atlantic beach coastline.[144] The neighborhood of Copacabana beach hosts one of the world's most spectacular New Year's Eve parties ("Reveillon"), as more than two million revelers crowd onto the sands to watch thefireworks display. From 2001, the fireworks have been launched from boats, to improve the safety of the event.[145]
The North Zone (Zona Norte) begins at Grande Tijuca (the middle class residential and commercialbairro ofTijuca), just west of the city center, and sprawls for miles inland untilBaixada Fluminense and the city's Northwest.[146] This region is home to the Maracanã (located in Grande Tijuca), once the world's highest capacityfootball venue, able to hold nearly 199,854 people,[147] as it did for theWorld Cupfinal of1950. This region is also home to most of thesamba schools of Rio de Janeiro such as Mangueira, Salgueiro, Império Serrano, Unidos da Tijuca, Imperatriz Leopoldinense, among others. Some of the main neighborhoods of Rio's North Zone are Alto da Boa Vista which shares theTijuca Rainforest with the South and Southwest Zones; Tijuca, Vila Isabel, Méier,São Cristovão, Madureira, Penha, Manguinhos, Fundão, Olaria among others. Many of Rio de Janeiro'sslums (favelas), are located in the North Zone.[148]
West Zone (Zona Oeste) of Rio de Janeiro is a vaguely defined area that covers some 50% of the city's entire area, including Barra da Tijuca and Recreio dos Bandeirantes neighborhoods. The West Side of Rio has many historic sites because of the old "Royal Road of Santa Cruz" that crossed the territory in the regions of Realengo, Bangu, and Campo Grande, finishing at the Royal Palace of Santa Cruz in the Santa Cruz region. The highest peak of the city of Rio de Janeiro is the Pedra Branca Peak (Pico da Pedra Branca) inside thePedra Branca State Park. It has an altitude of 1024m. The Pedra Branca State Park (Parque Estadual da Pedra Branca)[149] is the biggest urban state park in the world comprising 17 neighborhoods in the west side, being a "giant lung" in the city with trails,[150] waterfalls and historic constructions like an old aqueduct in the Colônia Juliano Moreira[151] in the neighborhood ofTaquara and a dam inCamorim. Santa Cruz and Campo Grande Region have exhibited economic growth, mainly in theCampo Grande neighborhood. Industrial enterprises are being built in lower and lower middle class residentialSanta Cruz, one of the largest and most populous of Rio de Janeiro's neighborhoods, most notablyTernium Brasil, a new steel mill with its own private docks on Sepetiba Bay, which is planned to be South America's largest steel works.[152] A tunnel calledTúnel da Grota Funda, opened in 2012, creating apublic transit facility between Barra da Tijuca and Santa Cruz, lessening travel time to the region from other areas of Rio de Janeiro.[153]
Rio de Janeiro has the second-largestGDP of any city in Brazil, surpassed only bySão Paulo. According to theIBGE, it was approximately US$201 billion in 2008, equivalent to 5.1% of the national total. Taking into consideration the network of influence exerted by the urbanmetropolis (which covers 11.3% of the population), this share in GDP rises to 14.4%, according to a study released in October 2008 by the IBGE.[197]
Greater Rio de Janeiro, as perceived by the IBGE, has a GDP of US$187 billion, constituting the second largest hub of national wealth. Per capita GDP is US$11,786.[198] It concentrates 68% of the state's economic strength and 7.9% of all goods and services produced in the country.[199] The services sector comprises the largest portion of GDP (65.5%), followed by commerce (23.4%), industrial activities (11.1%) and agriculture (0.1%).[200][201]
Benefiting from the federal capital position it had for a long period (1763–1960), the city became a dynamic administrative, financial, commercial and cultural center. Rio de Janeiro became an attractive place for companies to locate when it was the capital of Brazil, as important sectors of society and of the government were present in the city. The city was chosen as headquarters forstate-owned companies such asPetrobras,Eletrobras,Caixa Econômica Federal,National Economic and Social Development Bank andVale (which was privatized in the 1990s). TheRio de Janeiro Stock Exchange (BVRJ), which currently trades only government securities, was the first stock exchange founded in Brazil in 1845.
The off-shore oil exploration in theCampos Basin began in 1968 and became the main site for oil production of Brazil. This caused many oil and gas companies to be based in Rio de Janeiro, such as the Brazilian branches ofShell,EBX andEsso. For many years Rio was the second largest industrial hub of Brazil,[202] withoil refineries, shipbuilding industries, steel,metallurgy, petrochemicals, cement,pharmaceutical, textile, processed foods and furniture industries.
Major international pharmaceutical companies have their Brazilian headquarters in Rio such as:Merck,Roche, Arrow, Darrow,Baxter, Mayne, and Mappel.
Recent decades have seen a sharp transformation in its economic profile, which is becoming more and more one of a major national hub of services and businesses.[203] The city is the headquarters of large telecom companies, such asIntelig,Oi andEmbratel. Major Brazilian entertainment and media organizations are based in Rio de Janeiro likeOrganizações Globo and also some of Brazil's major newspapers:Jornal do Brasil,O Dia, andBusiness Rio.
Tourism and entertainment are other key aspects of the city's economic life. The city is the nation's top tourist attraction for both Brazilians and foreigners.[204]
In Greater Rio, which has one of the highest per capita incomes in Brazil, retail trade is substantial. Many of the most important retail stores are located in the center, but others are scattered throughout the commercial areas of the other districts, where shopping centers, supermarkets, and other retail businesses handle a large volume of consumer trade.[205]
Rio de Janeiro is (as of 2014[update]) the second largest exporting municipality in Brazil. Annually, Rio exported a total of $7.49B (USD) worth of goods.[206] The top three goods exported by the municipality werecrude petroleum (40%),semi finished iron product (16%), and semi finished steel products (11%).[207] Material categories of mineral products (42%) and metals (29%) make up 71% of all exports from Rio.[208]
Compared to other cities, Rio de Janeiro's economy is the second-largest in Brazil, behindSão Paulo, and the30th largest in the world with a GDP ofR$ 201,9 billion in 2010. The per capita income for the city was R$22,903 in 2007 (aroundUS$14,630).[209] Largely because of the strength of Brazil's currency at the time,Mercer'scity rankings of cost of living for expatriate employees, reported that Rio de Janeiro ranked 12th among the most expensive cities in the world in 2011, up from the 29th position in 2010, just behind São Paulo (ranked 10th), and ahead of London, Paris,Milan, and New York.[210][211] Rio also had the most expensive hotel rates in Brazil, and the daily rate of itsfive star hotels were the second most expensive in the world after only New York.[212]
This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(August 2024)
Rio de Janeiro is home to many of Brazil's largest business conglomerates. Among them are the three largest multinationals in the energy and mining sectors:Petrobras,Vale S.A., and theEBX Group; the largest media and communications group in Latin America,Grupo Globo; and major telecommunications companies likeCorpCo (owner ofOi andPortugal Telecom),TIM,Embratel,Intelig, andStar One (the largest satellite management company in Latin America).[213]
In the petrochemical sector, there are more than 700 companies, including Brazil's largest (Shell,Esso,Ipiranga,Chevron,PRIO,Repsol). Most maintain research centers throughout the state and together produce over four-fifths of the petroleum and fuels distributed at service stations nationwide.[citation needed] TheCompanhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN),[214]Ternium Brasil[215] (the largest steel mill in Latin America[216]) and the Brazilian branch ofBHP Billiton[217] play significant roles in the mining sector. The city also hosts the main national and international groups of theshipbuilding industry and the largest shipyards in the state and throughout Brazil, which produce about 90% of the ships andoffshore equipment in Brazil.[218]
Rio de Janeiro has inherited a strong cultural vocation from its past. It currently hosts the main production centers of Brazilian television: theEstúdios Globo ofTV Globo, theCasablanca Estúdios ofRecord, and thePolo de Cinema de Jacarepaguá — responsible for creating about 10,000 direct jobs and 30,000 indirect jobs. In 2006, 65% of Brazilian cinema production was done exclusively by studios in Rio, generating 91 million reais in federal funds throughtax incentive laws.[citation needed] A significant part of the Brazilian editorial graphic industry is also present. In the phonographic industry, companies such asEMI,[224]Universal Music,[225]Sony Music,[226]Warner Music[227] andSom Livre are present.[228]
Rio de Janeiro is Brazil's primary tourist attraction and resort. It receives the most visitors per year of any city in South America with 2.82 million international tourists a year.[238]
Attractions in the city include approximately 80 kilometers of beaches,Corcovado andSugarloaf mountains, and theMaracanã Stadium. While the city had in past had a thriving tourism sector, the industry entered a decline in the last quarter of the 20th century. Annual international airport arrivals dropped from 621,000 to 378,000 and average hotel occupancy dropped to 50% between 1985 and 1993.[239] The fact thatBrasília replaced Rio de Janeiro as the Brazilian capital in 1960 and thatSão Paulo replaced Rio as the country's commercial, financial and main cultural center during the mid-20th century, has also been cited as a leading cause of the decline.[240]
Rio de Janeiro's government has since undertaken to modernize the city's economy, reduce its chronic social inequalities, and improve its commercial standing as part of an initiative for the regeneration of the tourism industry.[240]
Rio de Janeiro is an international hub of highly active and diversenightlife withbars, dance bars andnightclubs staying open well past midnight.[241] The city is an important globalLGBTQ destination, with 1 million LGBT tourists visiting each year.[242]
Farme de Amoedo Street (Rua Farme de Amoedo) is located inIpanema. The street and the nearby beach are popular in theLGBTQ community.[243][244]
In 2022, the average amount of time people spent commuting with public transit in Rio de Janeiro on a weekday was 67 minutes. 12% of public transit riders had commutes that took more than two hours per day. The average amount of time people waited at a stop or station for public transit was 21 minutes, with 12% of riders waiting less than 5 minutes and 41% of riders waiting for over 20 minutes. The average distance people usually traveled in a single trip with public transit was 11.4 km (7.1 mi). The average distance people walked on their commute was 634 m (0.39 miles). 11% of people made exactly two transfers during their commute, and 2% of commuters made 3 or more transfers.[249]
As of 2023, there are 354 municipal bus lines serving over 1.75 million passengers per day, as well as intercity lines.[250] The city has 20bus lanes.[251] Most conventional bus routes are operated by 28 private companies divided into 4consortiums, though 3 routes are run by the city government.[252][253] Although most buses areconventional city buses, there are also a handful ofcoach buses used for local intracity service with more expensive fares.[254][255][256][257][258]
In addition to buses, Rio de Janeiro also has an extensive system ofvans used for public transport. This mode can more effectively traverse the steep, narrow and winding roads common in manyfavelas than buses and is often a lifeline for them.[261][262][263] However, most vans are run bycriminal organizations, particularlypolice militias, which use their fares as a major source of revenue: Of the approximately 10,000 vans used for public transport in the city, only 2,000 are legal. The 2,000 legal vans carry approximately 310,000 passengers per day.[264][265][266]
The Santa Teresa Tram runs fromCarioca toSanta Teresa and is the oldest operating electrictramway inLatin America,[285] having commenced electric operation in 1896, replacinghorse-drawn trams and extending the route.[286] At this time the gauge was altered to1,100 mm (3 ft 7+5⁄16 in) so that the trams would fit on top ofCarioca Aqueduct.[286][287] It was designated a national historic monument in 1985.[286]: 111 After aderailment occurred on 27 August 2011,[288] which left six dead, tram service was suspended to improve the system. The elderly tramcars, which dated from the 1950s,[289] were retired and replaced with newly built replicas that have the appearance of the old fleet but with new mechanical equipment and additional safety features;[290] delivery began in 2014.[291] The line's track was also rebuilt, and after some delays, about one-third of the line reopened in July 2015. More sections reopened later in stages, following repair of additional sections of track. The main section of the line was restored to its full pre-2011 length of 6 km (4 mi) in January 2019.[292] The 1.7 km (1.1 mi) Paula Mattos branch to Largo das Neves, which was also closed in 2011, was reopened in January 2025.[293] Santa Teresa residents can ride the tram for free, but ticket prices are prohibitively expensive for othercariocas and, because of this, the line is primarily used by tourists.[294] The tram gets an average of 1900 passengers per day.[295]
Rio de Janeiro has 8 publicinclined elevators climbing 5hills, all of which are run by themunicipal government through the Municipal Energy and Illumination Company (RioLuz).[307][308] The Santa Marta Inclined Elevator runs upDona Marta Hill[309] in two sections with 5 total stations[310] and carries 5000passengers per day.[311] The Pavão-Pavãozinho Inclined Elevator runs fromGeneral Osório/Ipanema station toCantagalo-Pavão-Pavãozinho and consists of a single 153 m (502 ft) long line with 5 stations[312] that carries 4000 passengers per day.[313] The Penna Church Inclined Elevator is 70 m (230 ft) long[307] and runs fromJacarepaguá to Our Lady of Penna Church at the top of Penna Hill,[314][315] carrying 180 passengers per day.[313] The Father Laércio Dias de Moura Inclined Elevator is a group of three inclined elevators[316] that connectPenha station toVila Cruzeiro and theBasilica of Our Lady of Penha;[317] the inclined elevators have a total length of 426 m (1,398 ft)[318][319] and carry 3000 passengers per day.[313] The Outeiro da Glória Inclined Elevator is 65 m (213 ft) long and runs fromGlória station to Our Lady of Glória do Outeiro Church, carrying 200 passengers per day.[320][313]
Streetscape in Rio de JaneiroPedestrian infrastructure in Rio de JaneiroBike Rio rental station inMauá Square, Downtown Rio
Rio de Janeiro has 601 km (373 mi) oflimited-access roads, 731 km (454 mi) ofarterial roads, 1,245 km (774 mi) ofcollector roads and 6,678 km (4,150 mi) oflocal roads with vehicular traffic. Despite representing 72% of roads with vehicular traffic, just 14% oftraffic collisions and 14% oftraffic fatalities are on local roads; 38% of traffic fatalities happen on 20 roads, withAvenida Brasil alone accounting for 14%. Rio de Janeiro had 694 traffic deaths in 2022, equivalent to 11 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.[321]
Despite being in theAtlantic Forest, Rio de Janeiro has a severe lack ofstreet trees, and the distribution of the trees that do exist is highly unequal: poorer neighbourhoods in the North side of the city are disproportionately likely to lack tree cover, as are neighbourhoods with higher populations ofpardo andblack people. Overall, 35% ofcariocas live on streets without any trees at all, and another 26% live on streets with fewer than 5 trees. Thisenvironmental racism directly causes poorer neighbourhoods to suffer from more extreme weather, including moresevere flooding andhigher temperatures - for example,Lagoa has a mean income per capita nearly 10 times higher than that ofDel Castilho and has a mean temperature of 26 °C (79 °F), as opposed to Del Castilho's 33 °C (91 °F).[326][327][328]
Despite Rio de Janeiro's amplesidewalk coverage, many sidewalks are narrow, inaccessible fordisabled people, and filled with obstacles.Traffic lights frequently prioritize vehicular traffic on busy roads significantly more than pedestrian traffic, which can significantly increase pedestrian travel times.Portuguese pavement, which is common in Rio de Janeiro,[329] is extremely slippery in the rain and gets easily damaged by tree roots, which further harms pedestrian accessibility. The city haspedestrian zones in thecity center,Paquetá Island and concentrated around thesuburban rail stations inBangu,Campo Grande andPenha, as well as infavelas. Part of the city has a wayfinding system similar toLegible London.[330][331][332][333]
Rio de Janeiro has approximately 247 km ofshared-use paths, 119 km ofsharrows, 64 km of segregatedcycle tracks, and 28 km of roadsidebike lanes. 16% ofcariocas live within 300 meters ofbicycle infrastructure; the bicycle infrastructure network also reaches 30% of jobs, 16% of schools and 21% ofhealth facilities. 127 of the city's 288 medium- and high-capacity public transport (BRT,ferry,light rail,metro andsuburban rail) stations are served by bicycle infrastructure. Bicycle infrastructure in the city is frequently narrow, with 66% of it failing to reach the city government's minimum standards. The city also has abicycle sharing system calledBike Rio with 430 stations and 6700 bicycles.[334][335][336]
TheRio-Niterói Bridge is a 13 km (8 mi) longbox girder bridge that runs between thePort of Rio de Janeiro and thePort of Niterói [pt] via Mocanguê Island. The bridge, which is part ofBR-101, is the only direct road connection between the east and west sides ofGuanabara Bay and is therefore a critical traffic bottleneck, carrying 150,000 vehicles per day, including over 7000 trucks. Most of the bridge is 60 m (197 ft) above the water, with the central span rising to 72 m (236 ft) to allow for large ships to pass. There is atoll booth in the eastbound direction.[360][361][362][363][364]
Santos Dumont Airport: used mainly for services toSão Paulo, some short and medium-haul domestic flights, andgeneral aviation.[383] As of 2025, the airport's passenger capacity is capped by the federal government at 6.5 million per year.[384] The airport is connected to the city'slight rail system, which connects it to several other transport modes in the city center.[385]
Afonsos Air Force Base: One of the historical Brazilian Air Force airbases. It is also the location of the University of the Air Force (Universidade da Força Aérea),[390] theMuseu Aeroespacial,[391] and where air shows take place.
ThePort of Rio de Janeiro is Brazil's tenth busiest publically-ownedport in terms of cargo volume,[392] and it is the main port forcruise vessels. Located in theZona Central and on the west coast ofGuanabara Bay, it primarily serves theSoutheastern states ofRio de Janeiro,São Paulo,Minas Gerais, andEspírito Santo. The port is managed overall by the Companhia Docas do Rio de Janeiro, though some parts of it are operated by private companies. The Port of Rio de Janeiro stretches from Mauá Pier in the east[393] to Caju Wharf in the north and includes threewharves with a total length of 6,740 m (22,110 ft). Gamboa Wharf is 3,042 m (9,980 ft) long and includes 20berths and 19warehouses; this wharf is shallower than the others and therefore typically handleswheat onHandysize andHandymax ships. Since Gamboa Wharf includes the cruise ship terminal at Mauá Pier, this also prevents thelargest cruise ships from docking in the port. São Cristóvão Wharf is 1,259 m (4,131 ft) long and has 12 berths and two warehouses; the eastern end of this wharf is also shallow enough to restrict shipping operations. Caju Wharf is 2,439 m (8,002 ft) long and includes 6 berths, 7 warehouses and 24storage tanks, with 5,000 m3 (180,000 cubic feet) of storage tank space reserved forsodium hydroxide and the remaining 12,000 m3 (420,000 cubic feet) reserved forpetroleum products. There is also a group of storage tanks just outside the port with a total capacity of 22,000 tonnes and pipelines that connect them to São Cristóvão Wharf. The berths at Caju Wharf are large enough for ships of up to 349 m (1,145 ft)length overall.[394][395]
In 2024, the Port of Rio de Janeiro handled 15.5 million tonnes of cargo, 11.8 million tonnes of which werecontainerized into 937,000TEUs. In addition to container cargo, the port also handled 1.1 million tonnes ofiron andsteel products, 873,000 tonnes ofpetroleum products (not includingcrude oil), 444,000 tonnes ofwheat, 370,000 tonnes ofcrude oil and 205,000 tonnes ofmotor vehicles. 10.2 million tonnes of cargo were moved internationally, 5.2 million tonnes were moved viashort-sea shipping and 0.075 tonnes were moved throughinland navigation.[392] The Port of Rio de Janeiro also moved 327,000 passengers on 36cruise ships making 107 calls during the 2024/25 cruise season.[396]
In addition to the Port of Rio de Janeiro, the city also has ten private port facilities, nine of which are onGuanabara Bay and one of which is onSepetiba Bay [pt]. The Guanabara Bay port facilities collectively handled 16.6 million tonnes ofpetroleum products in 2024 and no other cargo. 15.8 million tonnes of this cargo were shipped through the Ilha d'Água Terminal, which is owned byTranspetro and has a pipeline connected toREDUC [pt] (Duque de Caxias Refinery).[397][398] 14 million tonnes of cargo were moved throughshort-sea shipping and 2.6 million tonnes were moved internationally. The port on Sepetiba Bay, which is owned byTernium, moved 7.3 million tonnes of cargo in 2024 to support itssteel mill inSanta Cruz, almost all of it internationally. This port moved 3.2 million tonnes ofiron andsteel, 2.4 million tonnes ofcoal, 0.8 million tonnes oflimestone, 0.4 million tonnes ofmineral oils, 0.4 million tonnes ofiron ore and 0.2 million tonnes ofpetroleum coke in 2024.[392][395][399]
National policy changes in 2020–2021 for the universalization of sanitation kept the 2007 policy defining the municipality as the provider of sanitation service, delegating the organization, supervision, and provision of services to third parties.[407][408] TheNational Water and Basic Sanitation Agency [pt] (ANA) is responsible for the setting standards regulating basic public sanitation services.[408] In 2021–2022, distribution and treatment of sewage of theRio de Janeiro State Water and Sewage Company [pt] (CEDAE) was divided into four blocks and auctioned to Aegea (Águas do Rio) and Iguá; CEDAE remained in control of water collection and treatment of drinking water.[409][410] TheRio de Janeiro State Environmental Institute [pt] (INEA) has primary responsibility for water pollution monitoring and enforcement.[411]
As of 2021[update] only 65% of sewage was properly treated, leaving 35% to be improperly discharged.[409] As of 2022[update] there were at least 400 illicit sewage disposal points in the drainage network.[411]
Solid waste management in Rio de Janeiro is done by the Companhia Municipal de Limpeza Urbana (Municipal Urban Cleaning Company orComlurb), which is the largest municipalwaste management company inLatin America.[412] Rio de Janeiro produces over 3.2 million tonnes of solid waste per year. After being collected throughout the city, solid waste is sent through one of fivewaste transfer stations and then on to asanitary landfill inSeropédica,[413] which produces 24,000 m³ ofbiogas and 5,000 m³ ofbiomethane per hour;leachate is also treated and used to produce over 60m³ ofdistilled water per hour.[414] Despite 40% of the city's waste being made of recyclable materials, only 2% of it is actuallyrecycled.[415]
Rio de Janeiro is a main cultural hub in Brazil. Its architecture embraces churches and buildings dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries, blending with the world-renowned designs of the 20th century. Rio was home to thePortuguese Imperial family and capital of the country for many years, and was influenced byPortuguese,English, andFrench architecture.[416]
Rio de Janeiro has inherited a strong cultural role from the past. In the late 19th century, there were sessions held of the first Brazilian film and since then, several production cycles have spread out, eventually placing Rio at the forefront of experimental and national cinema. TheRio de Janeiro International Film Festival[417] has been held annually since 1999.[418]
Rio currently brings together the main production centers of Brazilian television.[419] Major international films set in Rio de Janeiro includeBlame it on Rio; theJames Bond filmMoonraker; the Oscar award-winning, critically acclaimedCentral Station byWalter Salles, who is also one of Brazil's best-known directors; and the Oscar award-winning historical drama,Black Orpheus, which depicted the early days of Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro. Internationally distributed Brazilian-made movies illustrating a darker side of Rio de Janeiro includeElite Squad andCity of God.
After Brazilian independence from Portugal in 1822, Rio de Janeiro quickly developed aEuropean-style bourgeois cultural life, including numerous newspapers, in which most 19th-century novels were initially published in serial.Joaquim Manuel de Macedo'sA Moreninha (1844) was perhaps the first successful novel in Brazil and inaugurates a recurrent 19th-century theme: a romantic relationship between idealistic young people in spite of cruelties of social fortune.
The first notable work of realism focusing on the urbanlower-middle class isManuel Antônio de Almeida'sMemórias de um sargento de milícias (1854), which presents a series of picaresque scenes, and evokes the transformation of a town into a city with suggestive nostalgia. Romantic and realist modes both flourished through the late 19th century and often overlapped within works.[420]
Machado de Assis is from Rio de Janeiro, and is widely regarded as the greatest writer ofBrazilian literature[421] and considered the founder ofRealism in Brazil, with the publication ofThe Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas (1881).[422] He commented on and criticized the political and social events of the city and country such as the abolition of slavery in 1888 and the transition fromEmpire to Republic with his numerouschronicles published in newspapers of the time.[423] Many of his short stories and novels, likeQuincas Borba (1891) andDom Casmurro (1899), are placed in Rio. The headquarters of theBrazilian Academy of Letters is based in Rio de Janeiro. It was satirized by the novelistJorge Amado inPen, Sword, Camisole. Amado, himself, went on to be one of the 40 members of the academy.
The Biblioteca Nacional (National Library of Brazil) ranks as one of the largest libraries in the world. It is also the largest library in all of Latin America.[424] Located inCinelândia, the National Library was originally created by the King of Portugal, in 1810. As with many of Rio de Janeiro's cultural monuments, the library was originally off-limits to the general public. The most valuable collections in the library include: 4,300 items donated by Barbosa Machado including a precious collection of rare brochures detailing theHistory of Portugal andBrazil; 2,365 items from the 17th and 18th centuries that were previously owned by Antônio de Araújo de Azevedo, the "Count of Barca", including the 125-volume set of prints "Le Grand Théâtre de l'Univers;" a collection of documents regarding the Jesuítica Province of Paraguay and the "Region of Prata;" and the Teresa Cristina Maria Collection, donated byEmperor Pedro II. The collection contains 48,236 items. Individual items of special interest include a rare first edition ofOs Lusíadas byLuis de Camões, published in 1584; two copies of the Mogúncia Bible; and a first edition of Handel's Messiah.[425]
The Real Gabinete Português de Leitura (Portuguese Royal Reading Library) is located at Rua Luís de Camões, in the Centro (Downtown). The institution was founded in 1837 by a group of forty-threePortuguese immigrants,political refugees, to promote culture among the Portuguese community in the then capital of the Empire. The history of theBrazilian Academy of Letters is linked to the Real Gabinete, since some of the early meetings of the academy were held there.[426]
Tom Jobim in 1972. Considered one of the great exponents of Brazilian music, Jobim internationalizedbossa nova and, with the help of important American artists.Tim Maia, the greatest representative ofsoul music in the country's history, from Rio de Janeiro
The official song of Rio de Janeiro is "Cidade Maravilhosa", which means "marvelous city". The song is considered the civic anthem of Rio, and is always the favorite song during Rio'sCarnival in February. Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, are considered the center of theurban music movement in Brazil.[427]
Brazil's return to democracy in 1985 allowed for a new music expression which promoted creativity and experimentation in expressive culture, in a wave of Rock'n'roll that swept the 80s.Lobão emerged as the most legendary rocker in Brazil.[429] Commercial and cultural imports from Europe and North America have often influenced Brazil's own cultural output. For example, the hip hop that has stemmed from New York is localized into forms of musical production such as Funk Carioca andBrazilian hip hop. Bands from Rio de Janeiro also had influence in the mid-to-late development of thePunk in Brazil, and that ofBrazilian thrash metal. Democratic renewal also allowed for the recognition and acceptance of this diversification of Brazilian culture.[430]
Rio de Janeiro'sTheatro Municipal is one of the most attractive buildings in the central area of the city. Home of one of the largest stages in Latin America and one of Brazil's best-known venues for opera, ballet, and classical music, the building was inspired by thePalais Garnier, home of theParis Opera. Construction of the Theatro Municipal began in 1905 following designs of the architect Francisco Pereira Passos. The statues on the top, of two women representing Poetry and Music, are byRodolfo Bernardelli, and the interior is rich with furnishings and fine paintings. Inaugurated in 1909, the Teatro Municipal has close to 1,700 seats. Its interior includes turn of the century stained glass from France, ceilings of rose-colored marble and a 1,000 pound crystal bead chandelier surrounded by a painting of the "Dance of the Hours". The exterior walls of the building are dotted with inscriptions bearing the names of famous Brazilians as well as many other international celebrities.[431]
Cidade das Artes (City of Arts) is a cultural complex in Barra da Tijuca in the Southwest Zone of Rio de Janeiro, which was originally planned to open in 2004. Formally known as "Cidade da Música" (City of Music), it was finally inaugurated at the beginning of 2013.The project will host the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra becoming a main center for music as will be the largest modern concert hall in South America, with 1,780 seats. The complex spans approximately 90×10^3 m2 (1×10^6 sq ft) and also features a chamber music hall, three theaters, and 12 rehearsal rooms. From the terrace there is a panoramic view of the zone. The building was designed by the French architectChristian de Portzamparc and construction was funded by the city of Rio de Janeiro.
A series of covered theaters collectively known asLona Cultural, administered by the city's Municipal Secretary of Culture, serve throughout the city as venues for cultural activities such as concerts, plays, workshops, art and craft fairs, and courses.
Every 31 December, 2.5 million people gather atCopacabana Beach to celebrate New Year's in Rio de Janeiro. The crowd, mostly dressed in white, celebrates all night at the hundreds of different shows and events along the beach. It is the second-largest celebration only next to theCarnival. People celebrate the New Year by sharing chilled champagne. It is considered good luck to shake the champagne bottle and spray around at midnight. Chilled champagne adds to the spirit of the festivities.[432]
Rio Carnival is an annual celebration in the Roman Catholic tradition that allows merry-making and red meat consumption before the more sober 40 days of Lent penance which culminates with Holy or Passion Week and Easter. The tradition of Carnaval parades was probably influenced by the French or German courts and the custom was brought by the Portuguese or Brazilian Imperial families who had French and Austrian German ancestors. Up until the time of themarchinhas, the revelry was more of a high class and Caucasian-led event. The influence of the African-Brazilian drums and music became more noticeable from the first half of the 20th century. Rio de Janeiro has many Carnaval choices, including thesamba school (Escolas de Samba)[433] parades in thesambadrome exhibition center and the popularblocos de carnaval, street revelry, which parade in almost every corner of the city.[434] In 1840, the first Carnival was celebrated with a masked ball. As years passed, adorned floats and costumed revelers became a tradition among the celebrants. Carnival is known as a historic root ofBrazilian music.[435]
Rock in Rio is a music festival conceived by entrepreneur Roberto Medina for the first time in 1985, and since its creation, recognized as the largest music festival in the Latin world and the largest in the world, with 1.5 million people attending the first event, 700,000 attending the second and fourth, about 1.2 million attending the third, and about 350,000 people attending each of the 3Lisbon events. It was originally organized in Rio de Janeiro, from where the name comes from, has become a world level event and, in 2004, had its first edition abroad inLisbon, Portugal, beforeMadrid, Spain andLas Vegas, United States. The festival is considered the eighth best in the world by the specialized site Fling Festival.[436]
Samba Parade at theSambódromo (Sambadrome) during the Rio Carnival
As in the rest of Brazil,association football is the most popular sport. The city's major teams areFlamengo,Vasco da Gama,Fluminense andBotafogo.Madureira,Bangu,Portuguesa,America andBonsucesso are small clubs. Players born in the city includeZico,Romário andRonaldo.[437] Rio de Janeiro was one of the host cities of the1950 and2014 FIFA World Cups, for which on both occasions Brazil was the host nation. In 1950, the Maracanã Stadium hosted 8 matches, including all but one of the host team's matches. The Maracanã was also the location of the tournament-deciding match betweenUruguay andBrazil, where Brazil only needed a draw to win the final group stage and the whole tournament. Brazil ended up losing 2–1 in front of a home crowd of more than 199,000. In 2014, the Maracanã hosted seven matches, includingthe final, whereGermany beatArgentina 1–0.[438]
On 2 October 2009, theInternational Olympic Committee selected Rio de Janeiro to host the2016 Summer Olympics.[439] Rio made their first bid for the1936 Summer Olympics, but lost to Berlin. They later made bids for the2004 and2012 Games, but failed to become a candidate city both times. Those games were awarded toAthens andLondon respectively.[440] Rio is the first Brazilian and South American city to host the Summer Olympics. Rio de Janeiro also became the first city in thesouthern hemisphere outside of Australia to host the games –Melbourne in1956 andSydney in2000. In July 2007, Rio successfully organized and hosted theXV Pan American Games. Rio de Janeiro also hosted the2011 Military World Games from 15 to 24 July 2011. The 2011Military World Games were the largest military sports event ever held in Brazil, with approximately 4,900 athletes from 108 countries competing in 20 sports.[441] Rio de Janeiro hosted the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics. The Olympic Games were held from 5 to 21 August 2016. The Paralympics were held from 7 to 18 September 2016.
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^"Partner cities". Yerevan Municipal Government.Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved18 April 2018.
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^Castro Brunetto, Carlos Javier (2013). "Arte popular y estética contemporánea en las escuelas de samba de Río de Janeiro".Between categories, beyond boundaries: Arte, ciudad e identidad. Granada: Libargo. pp. 112–130.ISBN978-84-938812-9-0.
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