Jequitinhonha

The population as of 2007 was estimated to be 23,982 people living in a total area of 3,518 km². The city belongs to the mesoregion of Jequitinhonha and to the microregion of Almenara.[1]

Jequitinhonha is located on the river of the same name. The elevation is 223 meters. It became a municipality in 1911. The distance to the state capital, Belo Horizonte is 582 km.

Neighboring municipalities are: Joaíma, Felisburgo, Rubim, Almenara, Pedra Azul and Sao Pedro do Jequitinhonha.

The municipality contains most of the 50,890 hectares (125,800 acres) Mata Escura Biological Reserve, created in 2003.[2]

The main economic activities are cattle raising and the cultivation of coffee, sugarcane and corn. The GDP in 2006 was R$66,471,000. There were 02 banking agencies as of 2007. In the same year there were 699 automobiles, which was a ratio of one automobile for every 30 people. In the rural area there were 1,905 producers of which only 51 had tractors. There were 88,000 head of cattle in 2006.[3] This municipality is isolated from major population centers and suffers from drought and poor soils.

• Municipal Human Development Index: .668 (2000)
• State ranking: 679 out of 853 municipalities as of 2000
• National ranking: 3,492 out of 5,138 municipalities as of 2000[4]
• Degree of urbanization: 70.21% (2000)--the rate for Minas Gerais was 82.0%
• Illiteracy rate: 33.68% (15 years old or older) The rate for Minas Gerais was 11.96%; the rate for Brazil was 13.63%
• Urban area covered by sewage system: 38.80%--the rate for Minas Gerais was 81.39%
• Health centers and hospitals: 08 health centers and 01 hospital with 76 beds[5]

• List of municipalities in Minas Gerais