Valparaíso de Goiás

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Valparaíso de Goiás
State	Goiás
Area:	60.1 km²
Population:	119,493 (IBGE 2005)
Elevation:	1,080m above sea level
Postcode (CEP):	72870-000
IBGE statistical microregion:	Entorno de Brasília
Became a city:	1997
Distance to Goiânia:	191 km.
Website:	none

Valparaíso de Goiás is a city and municipality in east-central Goiás state, Brazil. It is a suburb of Brasília.

1 Location
2 Political Information
3 Demographic Information
4 The Economy
5 Health and Education
6 Origin of the Name
7 Human Development Index
8 See also
9 Sources of Data

[edit] Location

Valparaíso is located on the plateau known as Planalto Central, southwest of Brasília and is part of the greater Brasília area known as the Entorno de Brasília. The distance to the state capital, Goiânia is 191 km.

It has boundaries with:

North: Brasília
South: Luziânia
East: Cidade Ocidental
West: Novo Gama

It is served by highways BR-040, BR-060, BR-020 BR-251, and DF-290. The distance to the state capital of Goiânia is 191 km. and to Brasília (Plano Piloto), 25 km. Highway connections with Goiânia are made by BR-153 / Anápolis / BR-060 / Alexânia / Gama. For the complete list see Seplan

[edit] Political Information

In January 2005 the Mayor was José Valdécio Pessoa. The city council had 11 members and there were 47,069 eligible voters in April 2006.

[edit] Demographic Information

In 2005 the population density was 1,469.11 inhab/km² It is considered one of the most densely populated municipalities in the state. All of the inhabitants live in the urban area since there is no rural area. The population has grown by over 25,000 inhabitants since the first census in 2000.

[edit] The Economy

Commerce, small industries and service-providing enterprises are the base of the economy. The potential for development, with its stands of trees, water sources, abundant energy and strategic location make it an attractive city for investment.

In June 2005 there were 81 industrial units and 590 commercial units in the city. There were four financial institutions: Banco do Brasil S.A. - BRB-Banco de Brasília S.A. - Banco Itaú S.A. - BRADESCO S.A.

The city is cut by highway BR 040, with a daily traffic of approximately 50,000 vehicles, in addition to the railway line, and this is attracting companies specializing in cargo transport.

Because Valparaíso is a suburb of Brasília, where the less privileged economic sectors could afford housing, it is still very dependent on the informal economy, which represents 40% of the base, with civil construction representing 30%, and the rest made up of workers commuting to Brasília.

In 2003 the economic sectors employing more workers were transformation industries--478 workers; commerce--2,671 workers; and public administration--1,690 workers.

In recent years Valparaíso has been attracting furniture industries and the city has implanted a center (polo) for 120 new furniture factories. At the date of this writing there were approximately 100 furniture stores in the city operated by microbusinessmen, with 500 carpenters registered in the area.

In 2004 there were 3,411 automobiles in the city.

[edit] Health and Education

In 2003 there were no hospitals and 22 ambulatory health clinics. There were 108 doctors, 13 nurses, and 20 dentists. The infant mortality rate was 18.98, well below the national average of 33.0.

In 2005 the school system had 59 schools, with 703 classrooms, 1,294 teachers, and 34,937 students. There were 20 middle schools with a total enrollment of 5,540 students. There were 3 institutions of higher learning: Faculdade de Ciências e Educação Sena Aires - FACESA - Instituto de Ciências Sociais e Humanas-ICSH - Faculdade JK . All of them were private and total enrollment in 2003 was 1,461.

In 2000 the adult literacy rate was 93.1%, one of the highest in the state and well above the national average of 86.4%.

[edit] Origin of the Name

The history of the city is very recent, appearing in 1979 as a housing development with precarious services. The name is a tribute to a civil engineer who was from Valparaíso, Chile, and had come to Brazil to be in charge of the first housing project of the future city. There are two neighborhoods whose names are written with the letter "z" – Valparaízo I e II –, according to the Chilean city. But, according to Portuguese spelling, the name of the city began to be written with the letter "s" --Valparaíso.