Brasília is the federal capital of Brazil and the capital of the Federal District. The city is located along the Brazilian Highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded on April 21, 1960, to serve as the new national capital. Brasília had an estimated population of 2,789,761 in 2013, making it the 4th most populous city in Brazil.
Brasília was planned and developed by Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer in 1956 in order to move the capital from Rio de Janeiro to a more central location. The landscape architect was Roberto Burle Marx. The city's design divides it into numbered blocks as well as sectors for specified activities, such as the Hotel Sector, the Banking Sector and the Embassy Sector. Brasília was chosen as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its modernist architecture.
The city has a unique status in Brazil, as it is an administrative division rather than a legal municipality like other cities in Brazil. Nationally, the term is almost always used synonymously with the Federal District, which constitutes an indivisible Federative Unit, analogous to a state. Several "satellite cities" (suburbs) are also part of the Federal District.
The centers of all three branches of the federal government of Brazil are in Brasília, including the Congress, President, and Supreme Court. The city also hosts 124 foreign embassies. Brasília International Airport connects the capital to all major Brazilian cities and many international destinations, and is the third busiest airport in Brazil.
