States of Brazil

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The Federal Republic of Brazil is a union of twenty-six estados ("states"; singular estado) and formed by the states and one district, the Distrito Federal ("Federal District") which contains the capital city, Brasília.

States are based on historical, conventional borders and have developed throughout the centuries; though some boundaries are arbitrary. The federal district is not a state on its right, but shares some characteristics of a state and some of a municipality.

The Federal District is encompassed by the state of Goiás and Minas Gerais. The codes given below are defined in BR.

History

In 1943, with the entrance of Brazil into the Second World War, the Vargas regime detached seven strategic territories from the border of the country in order to administrate them directly: Amapá, Rio Branco, Acre, Guaporé, Ponta Porã, Iguaçu and the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha. After the war, the first three territories were retained as states, with Rio Branco and Guaporé being renamed Roraima and Rondônia, respectively. Ponta Porã and Iguaçu resorted to territorial status. In 1988, Fernando de Noronha became part of Pernambuco.

In 1960, the square-shaped Distrito Federal was carved out of Goiás in preparation for the new capital, Brasília. The previous federal district became the state of Guanabara until in 1975 it was merged with the state of Rio de Janeiro, becoming the municipality of Rio de Janeiro.

In 1977, Mato Grosso was split into two states. The northern area retained the name Mato Grosso while the southern area became the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, with Campo Grande as its capital. The new Mato Grosso do Sul incorporated the territory of Ponta Porã and the northern part of Iguaçu. Central Iguaçu went to Paraná, and southern Iguaçu went to Santa Catarina.

In 1988, the northern portion of Goiás became the state of Tocantins, with Palmas as its capital.


List of Brazilian states

Flag State BR Capital Area (km²) Population (2005) Density (2005) GDP (% total) (2004) GDP per capita (2004) HDI (2000) Literacy (2003) Infant Mortality (2002) Life Expectancy (2004)
Acre AC Rio Branco (%) 84%
Alagoas AL Maceió (%) 70%
Amapá AP Macapá (%) 91%
Amazonas AM Manaus (%) 94%
Bahia BA Salvador (%) 79%
Ceará CE Fortaleza (%) 78%
Distrito Federal DF Brasília (%) 96%
Espírito Santo ES Vitória (%) 90%
Goiás GO Goiânia (%) 90%
Maranhão MA São Luís (%) 77%
Mato Grosso MT Cuiabá (%) 90%
Mato Grosso do Sul MS Campo Grande (%) 91%
Minas Gerais MG Belo Horizonte (%) 89%
Pará PA Belém (%) 90%
Paraíba PB João Pessoa (%) 75%
Paraná PR Curitiba (%) 93%
Pernambuco PE Recife (%) 79%
Piauí PI Teresina (%) 72%
Rio de Janeiro RJ Rio de Janeiro (%) 96%
Rio Grande do Norte RN Natal (%) 77%
Rio Grande do Sul RS Porto Alegre (%) 95%
Rondônia RO Porto Velho (%) 92%
Roraima RR Boa Vista (%) 91%
Santa Catarina SC Florianópolis (%) 95%
São Paulo SP São Paulo (%) 95%
Sergipe SE Aracaju (%) 90%
Tocantins TO Palmas (%) 83%

See also

External links




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Last updated on Wednesday February 20, 2008 at 23:07:56 PST (GMT -0800)
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