Greater Porto Alegre or the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre is the 5th most populous metro area in Brazil, with an estimated population of 4.3 million inhabitants encompassing 34 municipalities around

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the twelfth most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fif ...

, the capital of the state of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a state in the southern region of Brazil. It is the fifth-most-populous state and the ninth largest by area. Located in the southernmost part of the country, Rio Grande do Sul is border ...

. Currently, it comprises 10 234,012 km² with a total population of 4 293 050 inhabitants, according to IBGE data of 2017. Only the metropolitan areas of

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

, and

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

, respectively, are larger than

. Porto Alegre has the 4th largest

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...

in the country, estimated at 92 billion dollars. Greater Porto Alegre is a strategic area for the development of the state, the

Southern Cone The Southern Cone ( es, Cono Sur, pt, Cone Sul) is a geographical and cultural subregion composed of the southernmost areas of South America, mostly south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Traditionally, it covers Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, bou ...

, and the Mercosur, with an economy based on manufacturing, chemicals, automotive, food, education, steel production, semiconductors, and services, to name a few. It possesses an enormous industrial potential and is home to some of the largest companies in Brazil, and also of many multinationals. The region is also home to several technology parks and universities, with the federal university

UFRGS The Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul ( pt, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, UFRGS) is a Brazilian public federal research university based in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. UFRGS is among the largest and highest-rated univers ...

being recognized by the Ministry of Education (MEC) as the best in Brazil for three years in a row.

Municipalities

Education

The region is home to a few research institutions, such as the federal university

, UFCSPA,

PUCRS The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul ( pt, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS) is a private non-profit Catholic university. With campuses in the Brazilian cities of Porto Alegre and Viamão, it is the ...

and

Unisinos Unisinos ( Portuguese: ''Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos'' -- literally "University of Bells' River Valley") is a Brazilian private Jesuit university founded in 1969. Its main campus is located in Southern Brazil, in the city of São Leopo ...

, several other smaller universities and colleges. All three major universities have their own technology park, hosting multinational companies such as

SAP AG Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is ...

Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...

, and

Oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word ...

, as well as several start-ups. There are also technical high-schools in the region, providing early technical education and workforce for local companies.

Culture

Events

The main event in the region is the state fair, called

Expointer Expointer is an agricultural show with national importance in Brazil that occurs every year in the Parque de Exposições Assis Brasil in the city of Esteio, in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. It ...

Transportation

Airports

The main airport serving the region is the

Salgado Filho International Airport Salgado Filho Porto Alegre International Airport is the airport serving Porto Alegre and the region of Greater Porto Alegre, Brazil. It is named after the Senator and first Minister of the Brazilian Air Force Joaquim Pedro Salgado Filho (1888� ...

, which underwent major expansions in recent years, expanding its passager terminals and parking facilities. The main runway is currently being expanded, allowing longer flights in the future. The airport is linked to the region's subway system, Trensurb, by the Aeromovel, a compressed air moved light rail. The airport is operated by the German company Fraport AG. Because Salgado Filho Airport cannot expand beyond its only runway, a new airport was proposed in the city of Portao and

Nova Santa Rita Nova Santa Rita is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. See also *List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), located in the South Region of Bra ...

that would house up to four runways. The new airport is named 20 de Setembro Airport after the symbolic state independence from Brazil in the Farrapos War.

Rail

The Greater Porto Alegre is served by Trensurb, a heavy-rail system linking downtown Porto Alegre to downtown

Novo Hamburgo Novo Hamburgo (Portuguese for ''New Hamburg''; german: Neu-Hamburg) is a municipality in the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, located in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre, the state capital. As of 2020, its population was 247, ...

passing through

Canoas Canoas (), which earned city status in 1939, is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. With more than 340,000 inhabitants, it is part of the Porto Alegre conurbation and has the second highest GDP in the state. It is also th ...

, Esteio, Sapucaia, and

São Leopoldo São Leopoldo () (Portuguese for ''Saint Leopold'') is a Brazilian industrial city located in the south state of Rio Grande do Sul. Geography It occupies a total area of 103.9 km² (around 80 km² urban area) at ''circa'' 30 km fro ...

. There are plans to expand the line to the city of Portao and to the southern neighborhoods of

. The line comprises a mix of elevated and surface-level rail. A second line of heavy-rail is planned to run from

Cachoeirinha Cachoeirinha (lit. "Little Waterfall") is a city in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Cachoeirinha is an alternative for the people who want to be near Porto Alegre (capital of Rio Grande do Sul). The city is situated at a strategic point ...

to downtown Porto Alegre and up to Viamao, but recent economic downturns have halted the project. This line will include an underground and elevated rail. Several projects of light-rail are planned or under construction in the area, linking the main subway line to the neighborhoods in Canoas and Porto Alegre.

Highways

The major highways that cross the region are BR-290 (Freeway), BR-116, BR-290, BR-386, BR-448, RS-040, and RS-118.

Ports

The major port is Porto Alegre, but several companies have private terminals along the regions' rivers. The region also has ferry lines, linking Porto Alegre to Guaiba and between neighborhoods in the capital.

Sports

Football

With soccer being the most popular in Brazil and in the region, the two main sports clubs are Gremio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense, or just Gremio, and Sport Club Internacional, or International. Both teams have won all major domestic and international competitions, such as the World-Cup Club, Libertdores Cup, Brasileirao, and Brasil Cup.

References

{{coord, 30.0328, S, 51.2300, W, source:wikidata, display=title Populated places in Rio Grande do Sul

Porto Alegre