Free Translation provided courtesy of ALS

States of Brazil

Country overview:

Short name	BRAZIL
ISO code	BR
FIPS code	BR
Language	Portuguese (pt)
Time zone	Zones
Capital	Brasília

Brazil has been an independent country for the whole 20th century. Its primary subdivisions have been estados (states), territórios (territories), and a distrito federal (federal district). The generic name for all types of primary subdivision is unidades da federação (units of the federation).

Primary subdivisions:

Brazil is divided into 26 estados (states) and one distrito federal (federal district).

Further subdivisions:

The states are subdivided into municípios (municipalities). There were 4,493 municípios in 1992; 3,950 in 1976. The municípios are subdivided into distritos (districts). The federal district is subdivided into 13 administrative regions. Regions (região, pl. regiões, sometimes grande região) seem to have no administrative function but are often used for statistical analysis.

Reg	Name	English
CO	Centro-Oeste	Center-West
N	Norte	North
NE	Nordeste	North-East
S	Sul	South
SD	Sudeste	South-East

State	HASC	FIPS	Tz	Population	Area(km.²)	Area(mi.²)	Capital	Reg	Adjective	CEP
Acre	`BR.AC`	`BR01`	-5	557,526	152,522	58,889	Rio Branco	N	acreano	699-699
Alagoas	`BR.AL`	`BR02`	-3	2,822,621	27,819	10,741	Maceió	NE	alagoano	570-579
Amapá	`BR.AP`	`BR03`	-3	477,032	142,816	55,142	Macapá	N	amapaense	685-689
Amazonas	`BR.AM`	`BR04`	-4	2,812,557	1,570,947	606,546	Manaus	N	amazonense	690-698
Bahia	`BR.BA`	`BR05`	-3	13,070,250	564,273	217,867	Salvador	NE	baiano	400-489
Ceará	`BR.CE`	`BR06`	-3	7,430,661	145,712	56,260	Fortaleza	NE	cearense	600-639
Distrito Federal	`BR.DF`	`BR07`	-3 ~	2,051,146	5,802	2,240	Brasília	CO	brasiliense	700-709
Espírito Santo	`BR.ES`	`BR08`	-3 ~	3,097,232	46,047	17,779	Vitória	SD	capixaba	290-299
Goiás	`BR.GO`	`BR29`	-3 ~	5,003,228	340,118	131,320	Goiânia	CO	goiano	740-774
Maranhão	`BR.MA`	`BR13`	-3	5,651,475	331,918	128,154	São Luís	NE	maranhense	650-659
Mato Grosso	`BR.MT`	`BR14`	-4	2,504,353	903,386	348,799	Cuiabá	CO	matogrossense	780-788
Mato Grosso do Sul	`BR.MS`	`BR11`	-4 ~	2,078,001	357,140	137,893	Campo Grande	CO	sul-mato-grossense	790-799
Minas Gerais	`BR.MG`	`BR15`	-3 ~	17,891,494	586,552	226,469	Belo Horizonte	SD	mineiro	300-399
Pará	`BR.PA`	`BR16`	-3	6,192,307	1,247,703	481,741	Belém	N	paraense	660-684
Paraíba	`BR.PB`	`BR17`	-3	3,443,825	56,341	21,753	João Pessoa	NE	paraibano	580-589
Paraná	`BR.PR`	`BR18`	-3 ~	9,563,458	199,282	76,943	Curitiba	S	paranaense	800-869
Pernambuco	`BR.PE`	`BR30`	-3	7,918,344	98,527	38,041	Recife	NE	pernambucano	500-569
Piauí	`BR.PI`	`BR20`	-3	2,843,278	251,312	97,032	Teresina	NE	piauiense	640-649
Rio de Janeiro	`BR.RJ`	`BR21`	-3 ~	14,391,282	43,797	16,910	Rio de Janeiro	SD	fluminense	200-289
Rio Grande do Norte	`BR.RN`	`BR22`	-3	2,776,782	53,077	20,493	Natal	NE	potiguar	590-599
Rio Grande do Sul	`BR.RS`	`BR23`	-3 ~	10,187,798	281,734	108,778	Porto Alegre	S	gaúcho	900-999
Rondônia	`BR.RO`	`BR24`	-4	1,379,787	237,565	91,724	Porto Velho	N	rondoniano	789-789
Roraima	`BR.RR`	`BR25`	-4	324,397	224,118	86,532	Boa Vista	N	roraimense	690-698
Santa Catarina	`BR.SC`	`BR26`	-3 ~	5,356,360	95,285	36,790	Florianópolis	S	catarinense	870-899
São Paulo	`BR.SP`	`BR27`	-3 ~	37,032,403	248,177	95,822	São Paulo	SD	paulista	000-199
Sergipe	`BR.SE`	`BR28`	-3	1,784,475	21,962	8,480	Aracaju	NE	sergipano	490-499
Tocantins	`BR.TO`	`BR31`	-3	1,157,098	277,298	107,065	Palmas	N	tocantinense	775-779
27 divisions				169,799,170	8,514,215	3,287,357
State: except for Distrito Federal, which is a federal district. HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes. If periods are replaced by hyphens, these are the same as the state codes from ISO standard 3166-2. The two-letter state codes, or siglas, are defined by the Brazilian government, and are widely used and recognized in Brazil. FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4. Tz: Time zones. Convert from UTC to local time by adding this number of hours. Tilde (~) indicates areas where daylight saving time is in effect during summer. In states with multiple zones, majority zone was selected. Population: Source: Preliminary synopsis of 2000-08-01 census. Reg: For code, see table of regions below. CEP: Brazilian códigos de endereçamento postal (postal addressing codes) are five digits, with an optional three-digit extension. With a few exceptions, postal codes for each state have their first three digits falling into a defined range. The exceptions are cases where a city is served from a distribution center in a neighboring state. Also, Amazonas and Roraima share a block of codes.

Population history:

Unit	1900-12-31	1920-01-01	1940-01-01	1950-07-01	1960-09-01	1970-09-01	1980-09-01	1991-09-01	2000-08-01
Acre		92,379	79,768	114,755	160,208	215,299	301,303	417,100	557,526
Alagoas	649,273	978,748	951,300	1,093,137	1,271,062	1.5 88,109	1,982,591	2,512,661	2,822,621
Amapá				37,477	68,889	114,359	175,257	289,041	477,032
Amazonas	249,756	363,166	438,008	514,099	721,215	955,235	1,430,089	2,102,771	2,812,557
Bahia	2,117,956	3,334,465	3,918,112	4,834,575	5,990,605	7,493,470	9,454,346	11,867,328	13,070,250
Ceará	849,172	1,319,228	2,091,032	2,695,450	3,337,856	4,361,603	5,288,253	6,366,117	7,430,661
Distrito Federal					141,742	537,492	1,176,935	1,601,095	2,051,146
Espírito Santo	209,783	457,328	790,149	957,238	1,418,348	1.5 99,333	2,023,340	2,600,624	3,097,232
Fernando de Noronha				581	1,389	1,241	1,279
Guanabara	811,443	1,157,873	1,764,141	2,377,451	3,307,163	4,251,918
Goiás	255,284	511,919	826,414	1,214,921	1,954,862	2,938,677	3,859,602	4,017,510	5,003,228
Maranhão	499,308	874,337	1,235,169	1,583,248	2,492,139	2,992,686	3,996,404	4,929,687	5,651,475
Mato Grosso	118,025	246,612	432,265	522,044	910,262	1.5 97,090	1,138,691	2,026,078	2,504,353
Mato Grosso do Sul							1,369,567	1,780,370	2,078,001
Minas Gerais	3,594,471	5,888,174	6,763,368	7,782,188	9,960,040	11,487,415	13,378,553	15,743,561	17,891,494
Pará	445,356	983,507	944,644	1,123,273	1.5 50,935	2,167,018	3,403,391	4,949,217	6,192,307
Paraíba	490,784	961,106	1,422,282	1,713,259	2,018,023	2,382,617	2,770,176	3,201,319	3,443,825
Paraná	327,136	685,711	1,236,276	2,115,547	4,296,375	6,929,868	7,629,392	8,448,600	9,563,458
Pernambuco	1,178,150	2,154,835	2,688,240	3,395,185	4,136,900	5,160,640	6,143,272	7,127,942	7,918,344
Piauí	334,328	609,003	817,601	1,045,696	1,263,368	1,680,573	2,139,021	2,582,077	2,843,278
Rio de Janeiro	926,035	1.5 59,371	1,847,857	2,297,194	3,402,728	4,742,884	11,291.5 20	12,807,220	14,391,282
Rio Grande do Norte	274,317	537,135	768,018	967,921	1,157,258	1.5 50,244	1,898,172	2,415,092	2,776,782
Rio Grande do Sul	1,149,070	2,182,713	3,320,689	4,164,821	5,448,823	6,664,891	7,773,837	9,138,453	10,187,798
Rondônia				36,935	70,783	111,064	491,069	1,133,268	1,379,787
Roraima				18,116	29,489	40,885	79,159	217,584	324,397
Santa Catarina	320,289	668,743	1,178,340	1.5 60,502	2,146,909	2,901,734	3,627,933	4,542,044	5,356,360
São Paulo	2,282,279	4,592,188	7,180,316	9,134,423	12,974,699	17,771,948	25,040,712	31.5 88,801	37,032,403
Sergipe	356,264	477,064	542,326	644,361	760,273	900,744	1,140,121	1,491,871	1,784,475
Tocantins								918,387	1,157,098
27 divisions	17,438,479	30,635,605	41,236,315	51,944,397	70,992,343	93,139,037	119,003,985	146,815,818	169,799,170

Tocantins is the newest state in Brazil. Settlement in Tocantins has occurred in the past 20 years, as reflected by the chart above. Everything is new and opportunities abound in Tocantins.

Tocantins

Capital: Palmas

Contents

Federal State

	Name	Abr.	Status	Capital	A (km2)	Cf 1980-09-01	Cf 1991-09-01	Cf 2000-08-01	E 2003-07-01
+	Tocantins	TO	FSt	Palmas	278,421	Goiás	919,863	1,157,098	1,230,181
	Brazil	BRA		Brasília	8,547,404	119,002,706	146,825,475	169,799,170	176,871,437

Principal Cities

	Name	C E 2003-07-01
1	Palmas	168,200
2	Araguaína	112,500
3	Gurupi	66,700

Table of the Cities

	Name	C Cf 1991-09-01	C Cf 2000-08-01	C E 2003-07-01
+	Araguaína	84,614	105,874	112,500
+	Colinas do Tocantins	19,061	24,114	25,400
+	Gurupi	52,523	63,486	66,700
+	Miracema do Tocantins	15,723	20,435	21,800
+	Palmas	19,246	134,179	168,200
+	Paraíso do Tocantins	24,282	34,379	36,800
+	Porto Nacional	34,654	38,766	39,500
+	Tocantinópolis	14,740	18,878	20,300

Tocantins

The creation of the state of Tocantins, which occupies an area which was previously the northern territory of the state of Goiás, was determined by the 1988 Constitution. Tocantins covers a transitional area between the Amazon Forest and the Savannah, with vegetation and fauna belonging to both eco-systems. The state is crossed from north to south by two long rivers, the Tocantins and the Araguaia, where tourists can enjoy a succession of beaches and appreciate the beauty of the region's nature. The land is suitable for agriculture and cattle raising.

Opened up by Jesuit missionaries, who founded a mission in 1625 in the north of what was the state of Goiás, Tocantins was always different from the other regions of the state to which it belonged. The difficulties of travel in the area which now forms the state of Tocantins led to greater settlement, and therefore development, in the south and south east, strengthening regional differences and encouraging separatist ideals. The first stirrings towards self government began in 1809, as a reaction to the levying of heavy taxes on mining, and were followed by various attempts at separation in the nineteenth century, all of which failed. From the 1970s onwards, the movement grew stronger, and the creation of the state of Tocantins was finally decided by the new Brazilian Constitution of 1988.

Construction of Palmas, the new capital, started in 1989 and lent the region a touch of modernity. The architecture of Palmas contrasts with that of the other cities in the state, which were mostly founded during the colonial period and show traces of the architecture and culture of the eighteenth century.

Mainly in the period from June to September, when the rivers are low, white sand beaches offer a great variety of leisure options, from camping by the riverside to sports such as fishing and canoeing. In order to encourage tourism, which is still little publicised, the state government has defined four tourist regions: Palmas, Bico, Lagos and Termas & Gerais. The state of Tocantins also possesses 20 archaeological sites, which have been studied by researchers from various parts of the country.

In need of economic development, Tocantins is growing thanks to extensive cattle raising, to subsistence agriculture, and to the establishment of commercial agriculture, whose principal product, pineapples, supplies other Brazilian states and is now an important item on the list of exports to other Mercosul countries. Largely in the extreme north of the state, there is also a vegetable extraction industry, centred round the babaçu palm tree, from which both oil and charcoal are obtained. With a view to economic expansion and diversification, Tocantins also has several special projects, ranging from the construction of the Lajeado hydro-electric scheme and the Araguaia - Tocantins waterway to the extension of the North South Railway.

With large tracts of land inhabited almost exclusively by Indians, Tocantins has developed an unprecedented education program for indigenous peoples. Developed in four schools, the program includes the training of Indian teachers in their own language and in Portuguese. Besides encouraging education, the main concern is to respect the customs and traditions of the six Indian villages in the state. The Programme for Indigenous Education has been recognized by Unesco as a model to be followed by countries which possess indigenous populations.

Information Table - Tocantins
TO
www.tocantins.to.gov.br

Capital	Palmas
Area	278,420.7 km²
Towns	139
Location	South-west of the North Region
Population	1,155,913 inhabitants (2000)
Population in the Capital	150,000 inhabitants
Climate	Tropical
Mean Annual Temperature (capital)	26º C
Time in Relation to Brasília	The same
Density of Population	4.2 inhabitants/km²
Urbanization Index	74.3% (2000)
Infant Mortality	32.7 per thousand live-born (2000)
Illiteracy Rate	21% (2000)
Contribution to GDP	0.1%
Representation at National Congress	11 Members of Parliament
Vegetation	Amazon rain forest to the norh, savanna across most of the territory, with a small area of tropical forest
Tourist Information	Governo do Estado do Tocantins Tel/fax: (63) 218-2362 ACSO I, Conjunto 3, lote 33 77163-070 Tocantins - TO

Sources:
- IBGE 2000 and Projections for 2002
- Abril Almanac
- Gabeira, Gabriel Luiz - "Synthesis of the Brazilian Economy", Rio de Janeiro, National Trade Confederation (CNC), 1999

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