Brazil

Brasília is Brazil’s capital. The government moved the capital from coastal Rio de Janeiro to the planned inland city of Brasília in 1960 to promote national integration and develop the interior. Designed by urban planner Lúcio Costa and architect Oscar Niemeyer, its modernist plan resembles an airplane and concentrates federal buildings in the Distrito Federal. Don’t be fooled by famous cities: Rio was the capital until 1960, São Paulo is the largest city and economic hub, and Salvador was the colonial capital. Memory tip: “Bra-sília for Bra-sil”—the capital shares the name’s root and sits near the country’s center, not on the coast.