Virtually all expatriate children living in Brazil attend a private school. There are many good private schools in Brazil's main cities and in other locations with substantial expatriate communities. Some of these are international schools, accredited overseas, which mainly follow the American or British curricula, while others are Brazilian-run. There are also some Christian schools which are popular with expatriates, and a number which offer bi-lingual instruction. The international schools normally have a high percentage of students from the more affluent Brazilian families.

Some expatriate parents choose to send their children to a Brazilian private school with lower fees than an international school. The medium of instruction in Brazilian schools is Portuguese, but some children have additional English language classes. Many expatriate children attend boarding schools in their home countries for their secondary education.

In Brasilia the schools used by most expatriate families are The American School, Brasilia International School, and School of Nations. Rio de Janeiro has an American School and a British School. Sao Paulo has the largest variety of international schools and other private schools favoured by expatriates.

Other Brazilian towns and cities with international schools include Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Bahia and Recife.