A relative newcomer to the overseas property market, Brazil is developing a name for itself as an investment and holiday-home hotspot without losing the image for which it has always been revered - that of a fun-loving, booty-shaking nation with a vast and beautiful landscape that features, among other things, 8,000km of largely untouched coastline. Brazil is emerging as a country with a stable government and a thriving economy.

In fact, in a paper published by Goldman Sachs in 2006, the company emphasised Brazil's investment potential and reported that its economy is set to surpass that of the UK within the next 30 years. With a huge local demand for vacation rental properties and holidaymakers alike, Brazil property should be a definite addition to any diversified portfolio.