| Rio de Janeiro | |||
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| — State — | |||
| Estado do Rio de Janeiro State of Rio de Janiero |
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| Motto: Recte Rem Publicam Gerere (Latin) "Conduct the affairs of the public with righteousness" |
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| Anthem: November 15th | |||
| Location of State of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Brazil | ||
| Capital and Largest City | Rio de Janeiro | ||
| Government | |||
| • Governor | Sérgio Cabral Filho | ||
| • Vice Governor | Luís Fernando de Sousa | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 43,696.1 km2 (16,871.2 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 24th | ||
| Population (2010 census)[1] | |||
| • Total | 15,993,583 | ||
| • Rank | 3rd | ||
| • Density | 366/km2 (948/sq mi) | ||
| • Density rank | 2nd | ||
| Demonym | Fluminense | ||
| GDP | |||
| • Year | 2008 estimate | ||
| • Total | R$ 343,182,000,000 (2nd) | ||
| • Per capita | R$ 21,621 (3rd) | ||
| HDI | |||
| • Year | 2005 | ||
| • Category | 0.832 – high (3rd) | ||
| Time zone | BRT (UTC-3) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | BRST (UTC-2) | ||
| Postal Code | 20000-000 to 28990-000 | ||
| ISO 3166 code | BR-RJ | ||
| Website | governo.rj.gov.br | ||
Rio de Janeiro (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈxiu dʒi ʒaˈnejɾu][2]) is one of the 27 states of Brazil.
Rio de Janeiro has the second largest economy of Brazil behind only São Paulo state.
The state of Rio de Janeiro is located within the Brazilian geopolitical region classified as the Southeast (assigned by IBGE). Rio de Janeiro share borders with all the other states in the same Southeast macroregion: Minas Gerais (N and NW), Espírito Santo (NE) and São Paulo (SW). It is bounded on the east and south by the Atlantic Ocean. Rio de Janeiro has an area of 43,653 km². Its capital is the city of Rio de Janeiro, which was the capital of the Portuguese Colony of Brazil from 1763 to 1815, capital of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves from 1815 to 1822, and capital of independent Brazil from 1822 to 1960.
The state's largest cities are Rio de Janeiro, São Gonçalo, Duque de Caxias, Nova Iguaçu, Belford Roxo, Niterói, São João de Meriti, Campos dos Goytacazes, Petrópolis, Volta Redonda, Magé, Itaboraí, Macaé, Mesquita, Cabo Frio, Nova Friburgo, Barra Mansa and Angra dos Reis.
Rio de Janeiro is the smallest state in the Southeast macroregion and one of the smallest in Brazil. It has, however, the third longest coastline in the country (second only to those of Bahia and Maranhão).
In the Brazilian flag, the state is represented by the Beta star in the Southern Cross (β = Mimosa).
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The state is part of the Mata Atlântica biome and is made up of two distinct morphological areas: a coastal plain, known as baixada, and a plateau, which are disposed in parallel fashion from the shoreline on the Atlantic Ocean inland towards Minas Gerais.
The coastline extends 635 kilometers and is formed by the bays of Guanabara, Sepetiba, and Ilha Grande. There are prominent slopes near the ocean, featuring also diverse environments, such as restinga vegetation, bays, lagoons and tropical forests.
Most of the state however consists of highlands, often higher than 1000 m, formed by several mountain chains like the Serra do Mar which separates Rio from the state of São Paulo. The highest point of the state, the Pico das Agulhas Negras (Black Needles Pëak) is located in the Serra da Mantiqueira which forms the physical border with neighbouring Minas Gerais.
Its principal rivers are the Guandu, the Piraí, the Paraíba do Sul, the Macaé and the Muriaé.
Tropical forests used to cover more than 90% of the territory of Rio; large portions were devastated for urbanization and for plantations (coffee, sugar cane); preserved areas can be found in the steepest parts of the mountain chains.
The entire state is located within the tropical zone (the Tropic of Capricorn is located just a few degrees south of Rio) so tropic climate is predominant, with local variations due to altitude.
European presence in Rio de Janeiro is as old as Brazil itself, dating back to 1502. Rio de Janeiro originated from parts of the captainships of de Tomé and São Vicente. Between 1555 and 1567, the territory was occupied by the French, who intended to install a colony, France Antarctique. Aiming to prevent the occupation of the Frenchmen, in March 1565, the city of Rio de Janeiro was established by Estácio de Sá.
In the 17th century, cattle raising and sugar cane cultivation stimulated the city's progress, which was definitively assured when the port started to export gold extracted from Minas Gerais in the 18th century. In 1763, Rio de Janeiro became the capital of Colonial Brazil. With the flight of the Portuguese royal family from Portugal to Brazil in 1808, the region soon benefited from urban reforms to house the Portuguese. Chief among the promoted changes were: the transformation of agencies of public administration and justice, the creation of new churches, and hospitals, the foundation of the first bank of the country - the Banco do Brasil - and the Royal Press, with the Gazette do Rio of Janeiro. The following years witnessed the creation of the Jardim Botânico (Botanical Garden) and the Academia Real Militar.
There followed a process of cultural enhancement influenced not only by the arrival of the Royal Family, but also by the presence of European graphic artists who were hired to record the society and Brazilian natural features. During this same time, the Escola Real de Ciências, Artes e Ofícios (The Royal School of Sciences, Arts, and Works) was founded as well.
In 1834, the city of Rio de Janeiro was transformed into a neutral city, remaining as capital of the state, while the captainships became provinces, with headquarters in Niterói, a neighboring city. In 1889, the city became the capital of the Republic, the neutral city became the federal district and the province in State. With the relocation of the federal capital to Brasilia in 1960, the city of Rio de Janeiro became the State of Guanabara.
In 1975, the states of Guanabara and Rio de Janeiro were merged under the name of Rio de Janeiro, with the city of Rio de Janeiro as state capital. The symbols of the former State of Rio de Janeiro were preserved, while the symbols of Guanabara were kept by the city of Rio de Janeiro.
According to the IBGE of 2008, there were 15,772,000 people residing in the state. The population density was 352.58 inhabitants per square kilometre (913.2 /sq mi).
Urbanization: 96.9% (2004); Population growth: 1.3% (1991–2000).
The last PNAD (National Household Survey) census revealed the following numbers: 8,509,000 White people (54.25%), 5,302,000 Brown (Multiracial) people (33.81%), 1,809,000 Black people (11.53%), 25,000 Asian people (0.16%), 19,000 Amerindian people (0.12%).[3]
People of Portuguese ancestry predominate in most of the state. Other European ethnic groups, such as Swiss and Germans settled mostly in the mountainous areas (Nova Friburgo, Petrópolis, etc.) and in the capital. Italians and Spaniards are also present in the capital as well as in the surrounding cities.[4][5]
People of African descent are numerous, particularly in the capital city. Those of mixed-race ancestry (mulattoes) make up the majority of the population in some towns. The city of Itaguaí was considered as a Japanese colony in the 20th century, but many of the Asian Fluminenses that one day lived there moved overseas (most of them to Japan) as well to other Brazilian states like São Paulo.
The industrial sector is the largest component of GDP at 51.6%, followed by the service sector at 47.8%. Agriculture represents 0.6% of GDP (2004). Rio de Janeiro (state) exports: petroleum 44.8%, fuel 17.5%, siderurgy 13%, chemicals 3.6%, not ferrous metals 2.8%, vehicles 2.1% (2002).
Participation in the Brazilian economy: 15.6% (2004).[6]
There are 3,915,724 vehicles in the state (as of Jan. 2006), 10 million mobile phones, 5.3 telephones, and 92 cities.
The occasion of the last five days leading up to Lent is annually cause for a great explosion of joy in Rio – a round-the-clock party uniting emotions, creativity, plasticity, colours, sounds and much fantasy. It is the greatest popular party in the world, a unique record of the rich cultural melting pot typical of Brazil. In Rio, it is celebrated in various ways, most famously through the elaborate competition of samba schools comprising thousands of dancers in each school, each of which has composed a new "enredo de samba" (samba script) for the year that is released and popularized by the time Carnaval arrives, thus already recognizable for its lyrics, themes, and rhythms by the energized audience in the bleachers thronging to see the all-night competition of one samba school after another until dawn. Each samba school consists of 'alas' (wings) of samba dancers costumed to carry out one aspect of the theme of the song they all sing. This event began in the 1930s as a diversion for what politicians sought to assuage as an otherwise restive populace. It came to be held on the bleacher-lined Marques du Sapucai for decades until a covered Sambodromo was built in the 1980s.
In other parts of the city, Carnaval festivities include the Banda de Ipanema, a street parade of transvestite costuming that draws its throngs of revelers to the streets of Ipanema. In the city center on the final night of Carnaval, into the wee hours of Quarta Cinza (Ash Wednesday), a very different flavor of street parade is provided by Quilombo (the word given to slave refugee colonies) with authentic African costuming. For others, Carnaval is a time of clubbing in costume in more exclusive locales in the Zona Sul.
The film Black Orpheus is set in the context of Carnaval in Rio.
In Rio de Janeiro, a globally unique New Year's Eve celebration involves the whole city population. Local inhabitants and visitors join in flocking to the ocean to celebrate the night of the year when thanks are given and wishes are made to the goddess of the sea, Iemanja. In honor of her traditional garb, celebrants dress in white and bear gifts like flowers, especially white, and even blancmange. At midnight, beachgoers on the typically hot midsummer night, walk into the surf and cast their flowers (and wishes for the coming year) on the lapping waves to be carried out to honor the goddess. Nearby parties, concerts and music last into the dawn, many choosing to sleep it off on the beach on New Year's Day. In recent years, campfires and the oral tradition of shared stories around statues of Iemanja has modernized into massive fireworks displays and to a mega-concert on the famous beach of Copacabana.
Since August 2004, with the transfer of many flights from Santos Dumont Airport, Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport has returned to being the main doorway to Brazil. According to data from the official Brazilian travel bureau, Embratur, nearly 40% of foreign tourists who visit Brazil choose Rio as their gateway, meaning Galeão Airport. Besides linking Rio to the rest of Brazil with domestic flights, Galeão has connections to 18 other countries. It can handle up to 15 million passengers a year in two passenger terminals. Located 20 kilometers from downtown Rio, the international airport is served by several quick access routes, such as the Linha Vermelha and Linha Amarela freeways and Avenida Brasil, thus conveniently serving residents of the city's southern, northern and western zones. There are special shuttle buses linking Galeão to Santos Dumont, and bus and taxi service to the rest of the city. The airport complex also has Brazil's longest runway at 4,240 metres (13,910 ft), and one of South America's largest and best equipped cargo logistics terminals.
The main Federal highways that cross the state are:
Sports are a very popular pastime in Rio de Janeiro. The most popular is futebol (soccer). Rio de Janeiro is home to four traditional Brazilian football clubs: Flamengo, Vasco, Fluminense and Botafogo. Rio de Janeiro will be hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The city has built a new stadium near the Maracanã, to hold 45,000 people. It was named after Brazilian ex-FIFA president João Havelange.
Other notable sports events in Rio include the MotoGP Brazilian Grand Prix and the World Beach volleyball finals. Jacarepaguá was the place of Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix into 1978-1990 and the Champ Car event into 1996-1999. WCT/WQS Surf championships were contested on the beaches from 1985-2001.
On 2 October 2009, Rio de Janeiro was selected to host the 2016 Olympic Games, which will be the first to be held in South America.[7]
In the foreground of the state flag, an eagle, symbol of Brazil's royal family, appears. In the background, the rock formation Dedo de Deus ("The Finger of God"), which is visible from the city of Rio de Janeiro in a clear day. The outer part of the coat of arms represents the state's agricultural richness, sugarcane (left) and coffee (right).
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