Minas Gerais

Minas Gerais (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈminɐs ʒeˈɾajs]) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It has the second highest number of people. It has the fourth largest area. The capital is the city of Belo Horizonte, near the center of the state. The name means "General mines". Minas Gerais was formed mainly by colonists searching for gold, gemstones and diamonds.

Coat of arms of
 
Location of State of Minas Gerais in Brazil
Location of State of Minas Gerais in Brazil
Coordinates: 19°49′S 43°57′W / 19.817°S 43.950°W / -19.817; -43.950Coordinates: 19°49′S 43°57′W / 19.817°S 43.950°W / -19.817; -43.950
Country22x20px Brazil
Capital and Largest CityBelo Horizonte
Government
 • GovernorRomeu Zema (Novo)
Area
 • Total586,528.29 km2 (226,459.84 sq mi)
 • Rank4th
Population
 (2012)[1]
 • Total19,855,332
 • Rank2nd
 • Density33.8523006/km2 (87.6770561/sq mi)
  • Rank14th
GDP
 • Year2006 estimate
 • TotalR$ 214,814,000,000 (3rd)
 • Per capitaR$ 11,028 (10th)
HDI
 • Year2005
 • Category0.800 – high (9th)
Time zoneUTC-3 (BRT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-2 (BRST)
Postal Code
30000-000 to 39990-000
ISO 3166 codeBR-MG
Websitemg.gov.br

Location

Minas Gerais is in the west of the southeastern part of Brazil. That area also has the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo. Minas Gerais shares borders with Bahia and Goiás (north), Mato Grosso do Sul (far west), the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (south) and the state of Espírito Santo (east). It also shares a short border with the Brazilian Federal District.

Cities

Even though it is not the largest state in Brazil, Minas Gerais is the state with the most cities. Of the more than 5,500 municipalities in Brazil, Minas has more than 850 of them. The most important ones are the capital Belo Horizonte, Contagem, Betim, Ribeirão das Neves, Juiz de Fora, Montes Claros, Uberlândia and Ouro Preto.

Notable people

Minas Gerais Media

References

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  2. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).

Other websites

16x16px Media related to Minas Gerais at Wikimedia Commons


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