Greater Porto Alegre or the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre is the 5th most populous

metro area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually co ...

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 List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...

, the capital of the state of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...

. 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 GaWC a ...

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 often ...

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 a sepa ...

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.

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 The Porto Alegre Metro (Portuguese: ''Metrô de Porto Alegre'', commonly called ''Trem'' or ''Trensurb'') is a transit system operated jointly by the federal government, the state government of Rio Grande do Sul and the city of Porto Alegre thro ...

, by the

Aeromovel An atmospheric railway uses differential air pressure to provide power for propulsion of a railway vehicle. A static power source can transmit motive power to the vehicle in this way, avoiding the necessity of carrying mobile power generating eq ...

, a compressed air moved light rail. The airport is operated by the German company

Fraport AG Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide,Salgado Filho 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– ...

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 Brazi ...

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 The Ragamuffin War (Portuguese: ''Guerra dos Farrapos'' or ''Revolução Farroupilha'') was a Republican uprising that began in southern Brazil, in the province (current state) of Rio Grande do Sul in 1835. The rebels were led by generals Bent ...

Rail

The Greater Porto Alegre is served by

, 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 Esteio is a municipality situated in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, the state capital. About 9.3 miles from Porto Alegre, and neighboring Canoas and Sapucaia do Sul, it has about 83,000 inhabit ...

, 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 Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional Association football, football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Série A, the first divisio ...

, 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