Brasília quick facts

• Brasília is the federal capital of Brazil.
• Brasília has a population of about 2,557,000 (3,599,000 in the metropolitan area) as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the fourth largest city in Brazil.
• The population density of Brasilia is 354,3 people per square kilometer, making it the most densely populated place in the entire nation of Brazil.
• The city was planned and developed in 1956 with Lúcio Costa as the principal urban planner and Oscar Niemeyer as the principal architect.
• In 1960, it formally became Brazil's national capital.
• People from the city of Brasília are known as brasilienses or candangos.
• Brasilia was built in just four years and, although the modern Brasilia varies from the original plan, many regard it as a futuristic model of the planned city of the future.
• President Juscelino Kubitschek ordered the construction of Brasília, fulfilling an article of the country's constitution dating back to 1891 stating that the capital should be moved from Rio de Janeiro to a place close to the center of the country.
• Brasilia has two football (soccer) teams, Gama and Brasiliense.