Geography

The state of São Paulo has an area of approximately 248,800 km² (95,700 mi²), and a population of about 40 million (21.5% of the population of Brazil), which makes it the most populous [[List of the most populous country subdivisions|country subdivision]] in the [[Western Hemisphere]]. The climate of São Paulo is tropical to subtropical, altitude being the largest contributor to what variation there is. The capital, São Paulo City, barely outside the tropics in the south of the state and about 800 meters (2,600 feet) above sea level, has daily minima and maxima averaging about 19°C and 28°C (66°F and 82°F) respectively at the warmest time of year and about 12°C and 22°C (54°F and 72°F) respectively at the coolest time of year. Temperatures reach around 33°C (91°F) on the hottest days and fall as low as 5°C (41°F) on the coldest nights. In the low-lying northwest of the state, temperatures average around 4°C (7°F) higher.

São Paulo is the richest state in Brazil. It has the second highest per-capita income (lower than only the Federal District) and, with the states of [[Rio Grande do Sul]] and [[Santa Catarina (state)|Santa Catarina]], the highest standard of living in Brazil, despite the poverty in some peripheral parts of the largest cities.

Demographics

São Paulo has the most diverse population of Brazil. Strong immigration in the late 19th century and early 20th century brought people from all over the world to the state.
The main ancestry groups in São Paulo are the Italians,Spaniards and the Portugueses. There are about 15 million people of Italian descent living in the state, and it is one of the largests concentration of Italians outside Italy. São Paulo always had a large Spaniards and Portuguese population, since the 16th century, though most Spaniards and Portuguese arrived in the state in the early 20th century.
The Arab population, mainly Christians of Lebanese or Syrian descent are 5 million, and people of German descent are about 3 million.
The population of Afro-Brazilian descent in São Paulo weren't a big number in the state, but a few communities were found since the last century. The number grew in the last decades, due to strong migration of people from northeastern Brazil, which used to concentrated most of them.
The people of Asian descent make up 12% of the population, most of them of Japanese descent (see Japanese-Brazilian). São Paulo has the largest Japanese population outside Japan. Other Asian groups include Chinese and Koreans.

Sport

Sports are very popular in Brazil, the most notable being ''futebol'' ([[Football (soccer)|football]]). The [[Brazilian national football team]] is very popular, both in Brazil and internationally. The Brazilian national team has been victorious in the [[FIFA World Cup]] tournament a record five times, in [[1958]], [[1962]], [[1970]], [[1994]] and [[2002]]. Brazil has produced many of the world's most [[football in Brazil|famous football stars]], most notably [[Pelé]], [[Ronaldo]] and [[Ronaldinho]].

Brazil is also home to several sports which have become internationally popular, such as [[capoeira]] and [[Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu]].

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