Uberlândia

Uberlândia
—  Municipality  —
The Municipality of Uberlândia
Aerial view of Uberlândia

Flag
Nickname(s): "Portal do Cerrado" (Gate to the Cerrado)
Coordinates:
Country  Brazil
Region Southeast
State Minas Gerais
Founded August 31, 1888
Government
 • Mayor Odelmo Leão Carneiro (PP)
Area
 • Total 4,115.9 km2 (1,589.2 sq mi)
Elevation 863 m (2,831 ft)
Population (2010)[1]
 • Total 604,013
 • Density 147.8/km2 (382.8/sq mi)
Time zone UTC-3 (UTC-3)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-2 (UTC-2)
Postal Code 38400-000
Area code(s) +55 34
Website Uberlândia, Minas Gerais
[2]

Uberlândia is the main town in the Triangle (Triângulo Mineiro) region, west of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. With a population of 604,013 inhabitants, according to 2010 estimates, the city is the second largest in the state second only to Belo Horizonte (2,375,244). The city's name means Fertile Earth.

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Location

Uberlândia is located in the western part of the state of Minas Gerais, in the region called Triângulo Mineiro, one of the richest agricultural regions of Brazil, between the Paranaíba and Grande rivers. It is connected to major cities by the following federal highways: BR-050, BR-365, BR-455, BR-452, and BR-497. Uberlândia is about 580 km away from São Paulo, connected by a modern and safe double trace highway (BR-050). The capital of the state of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, is 560 km away and Brasília, the capital of the country, lies just 440 km to the north. There are railways connecting Uberlândia via the north-south Centro-Atlântica line.

Statistical Micro-region

Uberlândia is a statistical micro-region including the following municipalities: Araguari, Araporã, Canápolis, Cascalho Rico, Centralina, Indianópolis, Monte Alegre de Minas, Prata, Tupaciguara, and Uberlândia. In 2007 the population of these cities' agglomeration was 818,395 inhabitants in a total area of 18,864.20 km². The population density (2000) was 43.38 inhab/km².[3]

Infrastructure

With its strategic location in the central region of Brazil, the city has some of the best logistics infrastructure in the country: there are eight highways, with one being transformed into a four lane highway, the FEPASA railway, more than 1.6 million tons capacity of cereal storage, and more than five thousand trucks to deliver products to companies.

Self-sufficient in electric power, Uberlândia relies on 12 large power plants in operation and two more under construction in a radius of 250 km.

Ten. Cel. Av. César Bombonato Airport is the second largest facility in Minas Gerais and the 27th largest in Brazil in number of passengers transported, with direct flights operating to São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Goiânia, Brasília, Ribeirão Preto, Uberaba and charter flights to the state capitals of Northeast Brazil in the high season.

The city has several colleges and many universities, among these is the Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, which has a university population of approximately thirty thousand students and is one of the most important universities in the country.

Economic importance in Brazil

Uberlândia's GDP was BRL 12,483,820 mil (about USD 6,911 billions) which results in a GDP per capita of USD 11,360. The region where Uberlândia is located takes in a consumer market of three and a half million inhabitants, being the link between the great urban centers of the coast and the hinterland of the country. In a radius of 600 km around Uberlândia there are 50 million inhabitants, responsible for almost two thirds of the Brazilian GDP (about USD 1,313 trillion, which corresponds to two Argentinian economies).

Uberlândia is the main economic center of this region. It is the eighth city in the country in payment of federal taxes and the twentieth considering all the taxes. It is the third city in Minas Gerais in state taxes, after the capital Belo Horizonte and the municipality of Betim, where several automobile assembly plants are located.

Because of its centrality and good transport links Uberlândia has been chosen as a distribution point for the Free Economic Zone of Manaus, the first ever such distribution point. [1]

References

External links