Brasília

Since Brasília is less than 50 years old (2005), only about half of the city's population consists of people born there. Most other inhabitants have moved in from the surrounding states of Goiás, Minas Gerais, as well as from the North Eastern states and Rio de Janeiro.

The city was originally planned for 500,000 people, but the total population of Brasilia has already reached 2.2 million (2004 est.), when the surrounding towns, known as satellite cities, are considered. Central Brasília, known as the Plano Piloto, has a population of around 200,000 and still has some areas in the North Wing for expansion. Most people, however, live in these satellite cities created to house the exceeding population. The most important of these towns are: Ceilândia 350,000; Taguatinga 243,000; Sobradinho, Brasília 130,000; Planaltina 150,000; and Gama 131,000. Another large part of the population lives in the so-called dormitory cities in the surrounding State of Goiás--Luziânia, �guas Lindas de Goiás, Planaltina de Goiás, Cidade Ocidental and Valparaíso are some of the largest of these.

Brasília is just one of the 29 administrative regions within a federal district that is 5,822 square km in area [1]. Officially, only 'Asa Sul' (South Wing), 'Asa Norte' (North Wing), and the central area of 'Plano Piloto' (Pilot Plan) are parts of Brasília. Unofficially, however, Brasília can mean both the 'Plano Piloto' area and all of its administrative regions and satellite cities; hence, the term is often used to refer to the federal district as a whole.

Whilst most of the transportation within the federal district occurs via motorways and buses, a basic underground railway system, the Brasília Metro, also provides transportation between Brasilia and the satellite cities of Guara, Ceilandia, Taguatinga and Samambaia, through Asa Sul. It also links Park Shopping, one of the city's largest shopping centres, with a few other terminals in the south and central areas of the city; nevertheless, it does not extend into the city's northern half. Aside from the underground railway and the more comprehensive bus-based public transportation system, there is also a railway connection with São Paulo, but no passenger trains operate any longer.

Brasília is served by roads that link the city to all other regions of the country. It is also a national hub for air transport. It is served by Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport, which currently (2005) has the third largest air traffic in the country. Most international flights, however, require connections through São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro.