Rio de Janeiro; Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈhi.u dʒi ʒaˈne(j)ɾu],River of January), commonly referred to simply asRio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city ofBrazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper,making it the 6th largest in the Americas, and 26th in the world. Rio de Janeiro has become a home of a World Heritage Site named "Rio de Janeiro: Carioca Landscapes between the Mountain and the Sea," as granted by UNESCO on 1 July 2012 in the category Cultural Landscape. The decision was taken by the committee of the assets of the organization. The announcement came during a meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The city was the capital of Brazil for nearly two centuries, from 1763 to 1815 during thePortuguese colonial era, 1815 to 1821 as the capital of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarves, and 1822 to 1960 as an independent nation. Rio is nicknamed the Cidade Maravilhosa or "Marvelous City."
Rio de Janeiro represents the second largest GDP in the country (and 30th largest in the world in 2008), estimated at about R$ 343 billion (IBGE/2008) (nearly US$ 201 billion), and is the headquarters of two major Brazilian companies – Petrobras andVale, and major oil companies and telephony in Brazil, besides the largest conglomerate of media and communications companies in Latin America, the Globo Organizations. The home of many universities and institutes, it is the second largest center of research and development in Brazil, accounting for 17% of national scientific production – according to 2005 data.
