In the city are the headquarters of Brazilian oil, mining, and telecommunications companies, including two of the country's major corporations, Petrobras and Vale, and Latin America's largest telemedia conglomerate, Grupo Globo.

[11] Rio de Janeiro is one of the most visited cities in the Southern Hemisphere and is known for its natural settings, carnival, samba, bossa nova, and balneario beaches[12] such as Barra da Tijuca, Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon.

The city remained primarily a colonial capital until 1808, when the Portuguese royal family and most of the associated Lisbon nobles, fleeing from Napoleon's invasion of Portugal, moved to Rio de Janeiro.

[27] When Prince Pedro proclaimed the independence of Brazil in 1822, he decided to keep Rio de Janeiro as the capital of his new empire while the place was enriched with sugar cane agriculture in the Campos region and, especially, with the new coffee cultivation in the Paraíba Valley.

[29] At the time Brazil's Old Republic was established, the city lacked urban planning and sanitation, which helped spread several diseases, such as yellow fever, dysentery, variola, tuberculosis and even black death.

Since the early 2010s, Rio de Janeiro has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its arts, urban culture and designed landscapes set around a natural environment.

The decontamination actions involve the transfer of sludge to large craters present in the lagoon itself, and the creation of a new direct and underground connection with the sea, which will contribute to increase the daily water exchange between the two environments.

[56][57] The World Meteorological Organization has advised that Brazil, especially its southeastern region, must be prepared for increasingly severe weather occurrences in the near future, since events such as the catastrophic January 2011 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslides are not an isolated phenomenon.

[95] The black community was formed by residents whose ancestors had been brought as slaves, mostly from Angola and Mozambique, as well by people of Angolan, Mozambican and West African descent who moved to Rio from other parts of Brazil.

The following are currently in operation: Municipal Council for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (CMPC), Defense of the Environment (CONDEMAM), Health (CMS), the Rights of Children and Adolescents (CMDCA), Education (CME), Social Assistance (CMAS) and Anti-Drugs.

[146] The neighborhood of Copacabana beach hosts one of the world's most spectacular New Year's Eve parties ("Reveillon"), as more than two million revelers crowd onto the sands to watch the fireworks display.

Taking into consideration the network of influence exerted by the urban metropolis (which covers 11.3% of the population), this share in GDP rises to 14.4%, according to a study released in October 2008 by the IBGE.

The city was chosen as headquarters for state-owned companies such as Petrobras, Eletrobras, Caixa Econômica Federal, National Economic and Social Development Bank and Vale (which was privatized in the 1990s).

[citation needed] The Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN),[215] Ternium Brasil[216] (the largest steel mill in Latin America[217]) and the Brazilian branch of BHP Billiton[218] play significant roles in the mining sector.

[241] Rio de Janeiro's government has since undertaken to modernize the city's economy, reduce its chronic social inequalities, and improve its commercial standing as part of an initiative for the regeneration of the tourism industry.

Although cheap and frequent[citation needed], Rio's transportation policy has been moving towards trains and subway in order to reduce surface congestion and increase carrier capacity.

[265][266] The trams are the first in the world to use a combination of ground-level power supply (APS) and on-board supercapacitor energy storage (SRS), in order to eliminate overhead lines along the entire route.

The elderly tramcars, which dated from the 1950s,[274] were retired and replaced with newly built replicas that have the appearance of the old fleet but with new mechanical equipment and additional safety features;[275] delivery began in 2014.

These buses run several routes, the main being from Centro through Botafogo, Copacabana and Ipanema to Leblon (and vice versa), and from the International Airport to Barra, through the beach road.

In the late 19th century, there were sessions held of the first Brazilian film and since then, several production cycles have spread out, eventually placing Rio at the forefront of experimental and national cinema.

Rio de Janeiro’s architectural heritage is a vivid chronicle of its layered history—from its early colonial foundations through its imperial grandeur, its mid‑20th‑century modernist breakthroughs, to its current phase of dynamic urban renewal.

The award highlighted how Rio’s landmark buildings, from the majestic Municipal Theater to the iconic Catete Palace, and its ongoing urban renewal projects, create a built environment that is as dynamic as it is historic.

Residential areas in upscale neighborhoods such as Ipanema and Leblon prioritize open, airy designs that invite natural light and breezes, while public spaces like parks, plazas, and waterfront promenades are meticulously landscaped to enhance both beauty and functionality.

Legacy and Ongoing Evolution From colonial fortresses and imperial palaces to modernist masterpieces and cutting-edge urban projects, Rio de Janeiro’s architecture tells a story of transformation and resilience.

Joaquim Manuel de Macedo's A Moreninha (1844) was perhaps the first successful novel in Brazil and inaugurates a recurrent 19th-century theme: a romantic relationship between idealistic young people in spite of cruelties of social fortune.

[296] He commented on and criticized the political and social events of the city and country such as the abolition of slavery in 1888 and the transition from Empire to Republic with his numerous chronicles published in newspapers of the time.

[304] Some of the best artists in the history of Brazilian popular music hail from Rio de Janeiro, including aforementioned Lobão, Tim Maia, Agepê, Emílio Santiago, Evandro Mesquita, Byafra, Erasmo Carlos, Elymar Santos, Kátia Cega, Ivan Lins, Marcos Valle, Jorge Ben Jor e Wilson Simonal.

Its interior includes turn of the century stained glass from France, ceilings of rose-colored marble and a 1,000 pound crystal bead chandelier surrounded by a painting of the "Dance of the Hours".

[306] Rio Carnival is an annual celebration in the Roman Catholic tradition that allows merry-making and red meat consumption before the more sober 40 days of Lent penance which culminates with Holy or Passion Week and Easter.

It was originally organized in Rio de Janeiro, from where the name comes from, has become a world level event and, in 2004, had its first edition abroad in Lisbon, Portugal, before Madrid, Spain and Las Vegas, United States.