Pontalina

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Pontalina is a small city and municipality in south-central Goiás state, Brazil.

Population: 17,257 (2005 estimate)
Area of the municipality (2002): 1,428.1 km²
Statistical microregion: Meia Ponte Microregion
Elevation: 610 meters
Became a municipality: 1935
Postal code: 75620-000

1 Geography
2 Political Information
3 Demographic Information
4 Economic Information
5 Education (2005)
6 Health (2003)
7 History
8 Quality of Life
9 See also
10 Sources of Data

[edit] Geography

Pontalina is 125 kilometers from the state capital, Goiânia. It is connected by highways BR-153 and GO-19. Neighboring municipalities are Mairipotaba, Piracanjuba, Morrinhos, Aloândia, Joviânia, Vicentinópolis, Edéia, Edealina and Cezarina.

The climate is hot in summer and mild in winter, with an average annual temperature of 25ºC. The fauna is represented by jacarés, catitus, pacas, deer, and capivaras, whose preferred habitat is the Rio dos Bois. The flora has suffered with deforestation but there are still stands of jatobá, angico, aroeira, ipê and peroba.

[edit] Political Information

Mayor: Sebastião Vieira Rosa (January 2005)
Eligible voters: 13,780 (April 2006)
City council: 9 members

[edit] Demographic Information

Population density: 12.08 inhab/km² (2005)
Urban population: 13,729(2003)
Rural population: 3,172 (2003)
Population growth or loss: a loss of about 2,000 people since 1980

[edit] Economic Information

The economy is based on agriculture, cattle raising, services, public administration, and small transformation industries. There is a large production of milk.

Industrial units: 38 (2005), employing 291 workers in 2003
Commercial units: 168 (2005), employing 256 workers in 2003
Bank agencies: Banco do Brasil S.A. - BRADESCO S.A. - Banco Itaú S.A.

(June 2005)

Dairy: Parmalat Brasil S/A - Indústria de Alimentos (22/05/2006)
Meat packing plant: none (22/05/2006)
Motor vehicles: 1,737 automobiles (2004)
Cattle herd: 119,656 head (2004)
Poultry: 60,080 head (2004)
Swine: 10,708 (2004)
Dairy cows: 24,358 (2004)
Main crops (2005): pumpkin, rice (1,000 hectares), banana, beans (1,000 hectares), watermelon, soybeans (27,100 hectares), tomatoes, wheat, and corn (2,750 hectares).

[edit] Education (2005)

Schools: 16
Classrooms: 112
Teachers: 210
Students: 4,423
Middle school enrollment: 772 students
Higher education: none
Adult literacy rate: 86.2% (2000) (national average was 86.4%)

[edit] Health (2003)

Hospitals: 2
Hospital beds: 41
Ambulatory clinics: 9
Doctors, nurses, dentists: 23, 4, 7 (2002)
Infant mortality rate: 14.22 (2000) (national average was 33.0).

[edit] History

The origins of the town go back to the nineteenth century when cattle ranchers established themselves in the region. In 1938 what was once a district of Morrinhos became a city with the name Pontalina, derived from the proximity of the Rio dos Bois and the Meia Ponte

[edit] Quality of Life

Pontalina is one of the best places to live in the state. In the United Nations Human Development Index(2000)- Pontalina had a rating of 0.805, which ranked it in 8th place out of a total of 242 municipalities in the state of Goiás. Nationally it was ranked 467 out of 5,507 municipalities.

For the complete list see Frigoletto