Teófilo Otoni is a municipality in northeast

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literall ...

state,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The population of the municipality was 140,937 in 2020 and the area is 3,242.818 km².

Origin of the name

The city is named after (Vila do Príncipe, 27 January 1807 - Rio de Janeiro, 17 October 1869), who was a provincial deputy representing Minas Gerais; a national deputy and a senator in the

Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and (until 1828) Uruguay. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom ...

from 1864 to 1869; and founder of the city of the same name.

Geography

It lies at an elevation of 319 meters on the Todos os Santos River, a tributary of the Mucuri. It is part of the Valley of the Mucuri, a region which includes 27 municipalities. Situated on the Rio-Bahia Interstate Highway BR 116, it is 130 km. north of the regional center, Governador Valadares, on the

Doce River The Doce River (literally the "sweet river"; pt, Rio Doce ) is a river in southeast Brazil with a length of . The river basin is economically important. In 2015 the collapse of a dam released highly contaminated water from mining into the river ...

, and 478 km north of the state capital,

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 ...

. It was founded in 1853 by German colonists and given city status in 1878. Municipal boundaries are with: * North: Novo Oriente de Minas and Itaipé * South: Ouro Verde de Minas, Ataléia, Frei Gaspar and Itambacuri * East: Pavão and

Carlos Chagas Carlos Justiniano Ribeiro Chagas, or Carlos Chagas (; July 9, 1879 – November 8, 1934), was a Brazilian sanitary physician, scientist, and bacteriologist who worked as a clinician and researcher. He discovered Chagas disease, also called ''A ...

* West: Poté and LadainhaCitybrazil
/ref> Distances to important cities: *

: 450 km *

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 ...

: 1,162 km *

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 ...

: 730 km *

Salvador Salvador, meaning " salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

: 900 km *

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 ...

: 1,050 km * Vitória: 550 kmPrefeitura Teófilo Otoni

Statistical region

According to the modern (2017) geographic classification by Brazil's National Institute of Geography and Statistics (

IBGE The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; IBGE) is the agency responsible for official collection of statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental informat ...

), the city is the main municipality in the Intermediate Geographic Region of Teófilo Otoni. Until 2017, Teófilo Otoni used to be a statistical microregion including the following municipalities: Ataléia, Catuji, Franciscópolis, Frei Gaspar, Itaipé, Ladainha,

Malacacheta Malacacheta is a Brazilian municipality located in the northeast of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2020 was estimated to be 18,602 people living in a total area of 719 km2. The city belongs to the mesoregion of Vale do Mu ...

, Novo Oriente de Minas, Ouro Verde de Minas, Pavão, Poté, Setubinha, and Teófilo Otoni. The population of this region was 253,679 in 2000 and the area was 11,296.80 km² (roughly the size of

The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

and a little larger than

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

. The population density was 22.46 inhabitants/km².

The economy

Teófilo Otoni is a trade centre for an agricultural hinterland in which livestock raising is of some importance. The city has small-scale manufacturing and food-processing plants. Poor soils for agriculture and lack of industry have made Teófilo Otoni a major source of immigration to other regions of Brazil. In 2005 the GDP was R$723 million, of which 515 million was from services, 101 was from industry, and 37 million was from agriculture. Industry employed about 2,000 workers, services employed 8,800 workers, and public administration employed 2,300 workers.IBGE
/ref> Téofilo Otoni's strongest economic sector is a diverse and bustling service industry. The city has several commercial areas and a shopping mall, City Mall. Prominent businesses in Teófilo Otoni include Pharmacy Indiana, Stationery Graffite, the store Magda Magazin, and Ramos Transport. The trade in precious stones is also quite important as the city is considered an International Capital of Precious Stones, which comprises a good portion of its economy. In October 1994, government of Brazil created an Export Processing Zone of 14.31 hectares in Teófilo Otoni, attracting several industries since then. The city was granted the FIPP (International Fair of Precious Stones) recognized worldwide. The city is served by Kemil Kumaira Airport.

Agricultural Data

* Cattle herd: 177,000 (2006) * Rural producers: 2,422 * Agricultural area: 337,062 hectares * Planted area: 13,200 ha. * Natural pasture land: 125,506 ha. * Persons working in agriculture: 7,000 * Tractors: 149 * Main crops: bananas, coffee, oranges, tangerines, and sugarcane

Mining

Extensive mining and gem trading for aquamarines, topaz, brazilianite, and various forms of quartz take place there. A Gem and Mineral Show (Feira Internacional de Pedras Preciosas (FIPP), is held here every year, attracting international buyers. The fair provides the opportunity to buy both rough and cut stones directly from local producers, miners and cutters.

Health and education

The population was served by 61 health clinics and 4 hospitals (417 beds in 2005). There were several institutes of higher education: Faculdade de Tecnologia Egídio José da Silva (private), Instituto de Ensino Superior Integrado (private), Instituto de Educação Superior São Francisco de Assis de Teófilo Otoni (private philanthropic), Faculdades Unificadas Doctum de Teófilo Ottoni (private), a campus of the Federal University of Vales do Jequitinhonha and Mucuri - UFVJM (public) and a campus of the Federal Institute of Northern Minas Gerais - IFNMG (public). Municipal

Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, w ...

* MHDI: .742 (2000) * State ranking: 343 out of 853 municipalities * National ranking: 2,097 out of 5,138 municipalities * Life expectancy: 69 * Literacy rate: 81Frigoletto
/ref>

Notable people

* Aécio Cunha, politician * Bruno Barros di Pietro, footballer *

Fahel Leandro Fahel Matos or simply Fahel (born 15 August 1981 in Teófilo Otoni), is a Brazilian football coach and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. He previously played for Atlético Paranaense and Botafogo. Honours ;Botafog ...

, footballer * Félix Guisard, businessman *

Fred Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Rod ...

, footballer * Wernonn Ramalho, businessman * Nilmário Miranda, politician * Tristão Ferreira da Cunha, politician

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teofilo Otoni Municipalities in Minas Gerais