Distrito Federal was particularly set apart for the capital of Brazil, Brasilia. It is situated in the Central Plateau or the Planalto Central.

Compared to other Brazil Federative Units, the Brazilian Federal District or Distrito Federal does not have municipalities as stated in the 18th and 32nd articles of its Federal Constitution. In lieu of this, the district was divided into several administrative regions.

Looking Back…

From Rio de Janeiro, the civil government was moved to Brasilia a day before the new capital city was inaugurated. This was then divided into two parts, Goiás and Minas Gerais. After the move, Rio de Janeiro’s municipality became the State of Guanabara or the Estado da Guanabara. This lasted until 1975 because the Guanabara State and the Rio de Janeiro state were merged and to the latter’s name, with Rio de Janeiro as its capital city.

Majority of the Federal District’s population that time was made up of workers who came from its neighbouring states (called as “Fandango”); these were the people who helped build the new capital city and employees of the federal government who were also transferred to Brasilia.

The Flag

The Federal District’s flag has three main colours: white, green, and yellow. White, which is the background colour, stands for peace, while the two remaining colours are Brazil’s national colours. The four yellow-coloured arrows represent the country’s native people; which also symbolize the directions of the compass. Herald and poet, Guilherme de Almeida was the one who created the flag.

Federal District Stat

In a census conducted in 2007, the Federal District of Brazil has a total population of 2,393,000 (and growing). Majority of this is Brown people who are multiracial then followed by the Whites, the Blacks, Asians, and the Amerindians. The classification is based on Brazil’s official classification of races.

The Economy

Comprising 92.5% of the district’s economy is the service sector. Following it are the industrial and agriculture sectors with 7.1% and 0.4%, respectively.

Facts

As of March 2007, the Federal District has a total of 910,502 vehicles while there are 2.7 million mobile and 884,000 telephones. It only has one city, which is Brasilia; and its size is twice more than Japan’s capital, Tokyo. It is a bit larger than the US state, Rhode Island and a bit smaller than Trinidad and Tobago and Bali, Indonesia.

So while you are spending a vacation in Brasilia, take your time to visit the Federal District as well.