City South America
Recife
Recife is a big city in Brazil, by the Atlantic Ocean. It has sandy beaches, rivers and bridges.
Recife is a city on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Brazil, where the Capibaribe and Beberibe rivers meet the sea. It grew up around a harbor sheltered by reefs. Its Carnival music and dance, frevo, is on UNESCO's list of the world's living heritage. Brazil's statistics office estimated 1,588,376 people in mid-2025.
Recife, in Pernambuco state, grew from a fishing settlement beside an anchorage sheltered by sandstone reefs (IBGE). It became a city in 1823 and the provincial capital in 1827. IBGE estimate for 1 July 2025: 1,588,376 (2022 census: 1,488,920). Frevo, the performing arts of its Carnival, was inscribed by UNESCO in 2012.
Photo: Portal da Copa/ME, CC BY 3.0 BR, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Recife
Recife is a big city in Brazil. It is next to the Atlantic Ocean.
Two rivers flow through Recife to the sea.
Recife is a city in the state of Pernambuco, on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Brazil. IBGE, Brazil's statistics office, describes how it grew up around an old anchorage between sandstone reefs and the land, where the waters of the sea mixed with those of two rivers, the Capibaribe and the Beberibe.
IBGE estimates that 1,588,376 people lived in Recife on 1 July 2025. The 2022 census had counted 1,488,920.
IBGE (municipal history, 'Histórico'): Recife grew up around the old anchorage, a kind of wide channel between the sandstone reefs and the peninsula, where the sea mixed with the waters of the Capibaribe and Beberibe rivers.
Population: IBGE estimate for 1 July 2025, municipality of Recife (PE), 1,588,376 (published resident-population estimates, 2025). Censuses via City Population (urban area of the municipality, IBGE): 1,422,905 (2000), 1,537,704 (2010), 1,488,920 (2022).
- Country
- Brazil (state of Pernambuco)
- People in Recife (IBGE estimate, 1 July 2025)
- 1,588,376
- 2022 census
- 1,488,920
- Rivers
- the Capibaribe and the Beberibe, which meet the sea here (IBGE)
A beach lined with towers
This picture was taken from high in the sky. You can see a long sandy beach, palm trees and tall buildings. Waves roll in from the sea.
This photo was taken from the air on 13 January 2014, at the start of Avenida Boa Viagem, the avenue that runs along Recife's seafront. A wide, sandy beach with palm trees curves along the ocean, and a long row of tall buildings stands behind it. Far in the distance, more towers rise beyond a green, wooded area.
The photo was made for Portal da Copa, the Brazilian government's website for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Commons: 'Início da Avenida Boa Viagem - Recife, Pernambuco, Brasil', dated 13 January 2014; author Portal da Copa/ME, from the portal's image gallery; CC BY 3.0 BR, the license of all content on that government site; license review passed on 7 June 2016. Categories: Aerial photographs of Recife, Avenida Boa Viagem (Recife), Praia do Pina.
Wikidata: Praia de Boa Viagem (Q10352737), a beach in Recife, 8.77 km SSW of the city point.
- Photo
- the start of Avenida Boa Viagem, Recife, from the air, 13 January 2014
- Photographer
- Portal da Copa, the Brazilian government's website for the 2014 FIFA World Cup
- Praia de Boa Viagem
- a beach in Recife, about 8.8 km from the city's Wikidata point
From a fishing village to a capital
Long ago, a few fishermen and sailors lived here. Ships hid from rough seas behind the rocks of a reef.
Slowly, the little village grew into a big city.
IBGE's history of Recife says it began when some fishermen and sailors settled on a narrow strip of land, with a few warehouses to store sugar. Heavy sailing ships came to shelter behind the reefs, in calmer water than the anchorage at Olinda. For 24 years in the 1600s, until 1654, the town was under Dutch rule.
Later Recife built bridges and filled in flooded land to make new ground. It became a city on 5 December 1823 and the capital of the province in 1827.
IBGE 'Histórico': fishermen and seafarers settled on the narrow strip of land running from Olinda, with warehouses for sugar; sailing ships sought the shelter of the reefs to the south, away from the rough anchorage of Olinda. IBGE's administrative history dates the settlement to 1561. Dutch rule from 1630 lasted 24 years, ending on 23 January 1654. After 1654 the town developed through trade at its port; it gained a customs house, several bridges and landfills on flooded land. City status: 5 December 1823; capital of the province: 1827 (decree of 29 December 1825, confirmed 15 February 1827).
- Beginnings
- fishermen and sailors settled on a narrow strip of land (IBGE)
- Became a city
- 5 December 1823 (IBGE)
- Capital of the province
- 1827 (IBGE)
Rivers, bridges and a metro
Recife has bridges over its rivers. People can ride a train called a metro, too.
IBGE's history says the growing town built several bridges and filled in flooded land to make new ground, and from 1838 a provincial governor added quays, roads, bridges and a water supply.
Today Recife has a metro, a rapid transit system, and Avenida Boa Viagem runs beside the beach.
IBGE 'Histórico': the town marked its progress with a customs house, the construction of several bridges and landfills that gained new usable surface from flooded land; from 1838 the provincial governor Francisco do Rego Barros undertook quays, roads, bridges, a water supply and a public works department; in 1907 work began on a large sanitation plan by the hygienist Saturnino de Brito.
Wikidata: Recife Metro (Q1808272), 'rapid transit system in Recife, Brazil'.
- Bridges
- several built as the city grew, with landfills on flooded land (IBGE)
- Recife Metro
- a rapid transit system in Recife (Wikidata)
- Avenida Boa Viagem
- the avenue along the seafront, seen in the photo (Commons)
Hot all year, with a rainy middle
Recife is hot all year. From March to August it rains a lot.
In the World Meteorological Organization's averages for Recife for 1961 to 1990, the average daily high stays between 27.3 °C in July and 30.2 °C in the warmest months, and the lowest monthly average low is 20.6 °C, in August.
Recife is very wet: about 2,458 millimeters of rain a year. Every month from March to August averages more than 200 millimeters, and June is the wettest at 389.6 millimeters. November is the driest, with 47.8 millimeters.
WMO World Weather Information Service, Recife (8.08° S, 34.90° W; Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia), 1961–1990: mean daily maximum 27.3 °C (July) to 30.2 °C (January, February, December); mean daily minimum 20.6 °C (August) to 22.7 °C (March). Precipitation sums to 2,457.9 mm; June (389.6 mm) is the wettest month and November (47.8 mm) the driest; March to August each exceed 200 mm. The monthly counts of days with at least 0.1 mm add up to 224.
- Average daily highs (WMO, Recife, 1961–1990)
- 27.3 °C (July) to 30.2 °C (January, February and December)
- Average daily lows (same table)
- 20.6 °C (August) to 22.7 °C (March)
- Rain in a year (sum of the monthly averages)
- about 2,458 mm
Frevo and the Carnival
Recife has a famous dance called frevo. People dance it at a big party called Carnival. The music is very fast!
UNESCO describes frevo as a Brazilian art of music and dance, performed mainly during the Carnival of Recife. Its rhythm is quick and lively, mixing marching music, Brazilian tango, square dance, polka and pieces of classical music, played by marching bands and fanfares. In the dance, called passo, dancers improvise leaps. UNESCO added frevo to its list of living heritage in 2012.
IBGE says the first Santa Isabel Theater was the work of the French engineer Louis Léger Vauthier, whom the governor brought from Paris.
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, 'Frevo, performing arts of the Carnival of Recife' (inscribed 2012, 7.COM): music and dance performed mainly during the Carnival of Recife; a quick, frenetic, vigorous rhythm fusing marching music, Brazilian tango, square dance, polka and classical pieces, played by bands and fanfares; the dance, 'passo', draws on the agility of capoeira and improvised leaps; practitioners belong to associations that parade at Carnival and pass on the skills.
IBGE: under governor Francisco do Rego Barros (from 1838) the primitive Santa Isabel Theater was built, the work of the French engineer Louis Léger Vauthier. Wikidata: Paço do Frevo (Q25440244), a museum, 1.31 km SE of the city point.
- Frevo
- music and dance performed mainly during the Carnival of Recife (UNESCO)
- On UNESCO's list
- inscribed in 2012 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
- Santa Isabel Theater
- the first theater was the work of the French engineer Louis Léger Vauthier (IBGE)
Recife on the map
Find Brazil on the globe. Recife is on its northeast coast, beside the Atlantic Ocean.
Recife lies at about 8.1° south and 34.9° west, on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Brazil, in the state of Pernambuco.
Measured from the city's center point on Wikidata, the Santa Isabel Theater is about 0.8 kilometers south-southeast, the Paço do Frevo museum about 1.3 kilometers southeast and Praia de Boa Viagem about 8.8 kilometers south-southwest.
Recife lies at about 8.05° S and 34.88° W (Wikidata point Q48344; the Natural Earth/sheet point is 4.61 km WSW of it). From the Wikidata point: Santa Isabel Theater (Q7419627) 0.80 km SSE; Paço do Frevo (Q25440244) 1.31 km SE; Praia de Boa Viagem (Q10352737) 8.77 km SSW. The WMO station point (8.08° S, 34.90° W) is 3.59 km SW of the Wikidata point.
- Latitude
- about 8.1° south
- Longitude
- about 34.9° west
- Coast
- the Atlantic Ocean, at the mouth of the Capibaribe and Beberibe rivers (IBGE)
Amazing facts
-
Frevo dancers in Recife make up their own jumps as they dance to lively music!
UNESCO says that in frevo's dance, called passo, dancers improvise leaps to fast, electrifying music.
UNESCO: the dance 'passo' draws on the skill and agility of capoeira, with improvised leaps to the music of bands.
-
Long ago, ships hid behind a reef near Recife to stay safe from rough water.
IBGE's history says heavy sailing ships sheltered behind the reefs at Recife, in calmer water than at nearby Olinda.
IBGE: sailing ships sought the shelter of the reefs to the south, free of the rough anchorage of Olinda.
-
In June, Recife gets more rain than in any other month.
In the WMO table, June brings Recife 389.6 millimeters of rain, more than eight times November's 47.8 millimeters.
WMO table for Recife (1961–1990): June 389.6 mm, November 47.8 mm, a ratio of about 8.2.
-
Recife made new land by filling in wet, flooded ground.
IBGE says Recife built several bridges and filled in flooded land to make new ground as it grew.
IBGE: a customs house, several bridges and landfills that gained new usable surface from flooded land marked the town's progress.
Words to know
- reef
- a ridge of rock or coral near the surface of the sea
- anchorage
- a place where ships can stop and drop anchor
- landfill
- ground made by filling in water or wet land with earth and stones
- frevo
- a fast music and dance from Recife, performed mainly at Carnival
- Carnival
- a big festival with music, dancing, costumes and parades
- estimate
- an official count worked out from records instead of asking everyone
Discovery challenge
-
Recife is a city in which country?
Recife is a city on the Atlantic coast of which country?
Recife, capital of Pernambuco state, is in which country?
- Brazil
- Mexico
- Portugal
Show the answer
Brazil
Brazil!
Brazil.
Brazil.
-
What is the name of Recife's famous Carnival dance?
Which music and dance from Recife's Carnival is on UNESCO's list?
Which performing art of the Carnival of Recife did UNESCO inscribe in 2012?
- Frevo
- Flamenco
- Polka
Show the answer
Frevo
Frevo!
Frevo.
Frevo.
-
Long ago, what did ships hide behind near Recife?
According to IBGE, what sheltered the ships at Recife from rough water?
IBGE says Recife grew around an anchorage sheltered by what?
- Reefs
- Glaciers
- Sand dunes
Show the answer
Reefs
Reefs!
Reefs.
Sandstone reefs.
-
When did Recife become a city?
In which year did Recife become a city?
According to IBGE, in which year was Recife raised to the status of a city?
- 1823
- 1923
- 1723
Show the answer
1823
1823!
1823.
1823 (5 December).
-
Which month is the rainiest in Recife?
In the WMO table, which month gets the most rain in Recife?
WMO table for Recife (1961–1990): which month has the highest precipitation, 389.6 mm?
- June
- November
- January
Show the answer
June
June!
June.
June (389.6 mm).
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Recife on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Brazil, where two rivers meet the sea.
- Explain how reefs can shelter ships and help a harbor town grow.
- Describe how a city can make new land with bridges and landfills.
- Read a tropical climate table with a long rainy season.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why do you think sailors looked for calm water behind a reef?
- What might change in a city when people fill in flooded land to build on it?
- Why do festivals like Carnival help keep music and dance alive?
Try at home or in class
- Reef model: in a tray of water, make a 'reef' with a row of stones and blow on the water to see where it stays calm.
- Rain chart: make a bar chart of Recife's monthly rain and color the months above 200 mm.
- Population math: 1,588,376 people in 2025 and 1,488,920 in 2022. How many more is that?
Key vocabulary: reef, anchorage, landfill, frevo, Carnival, estimate
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Recife: Histórico (municipal history) , IBGE, Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics
- Estimativas da população residente nos municípios brasileiros, 1 July 2025 , IBGE, Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics
- Brazil: Cities , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística
- Frevo, performing arts of the Carnival of Recife , UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
- Recife: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- File:Recife - Início da Avenida Boa Viagem.jpg (Portal da Copa, January 2014) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.