Leme is a municipality in the state of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. The population is 104,346 (2020 est.) in an area of 403 km². At the 2000

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, it had 80,757 residents, 40,830 of whom are men and 39,927 women. 65,885 residents are 10 years old or older, and of these, 59,991, or 91.1%, are

literate Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

. Leme officially became a town on August 29, 1895 (and it celebrates its anniversary on August 29). The municipality is formed by the main district and also includes the rural neighborhoods Taquari, Taquari Ponte and Caju.

Geography

Leme has an area of about 403.1 square kilometers, located in the mid-east of

state, at about 190 kilometers (118 miles) of

. Placed in the Moji-Guaçu River's

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

, Leme has an annual average of about 22 °C (71.6 °F), a dry weather during winter and rainy during summer. Its average altitude is 619 meters above sea level (2030.8 ft). The relief is lightly wavy in the urban area and in most of rural area, which makes the urban expansion and the agricultural cultivation easier, as well as the transport by bicycle (cheap and non-polluting). This kind of transport is very common in Leme.

Hydrography

Main streams of Leme: * Moji-Guaçu River * Capetinga River * do Roque Creek * do Meio Creek * Constantino Creek * Batinga Creek * Serelepe Creek

Economy

The agriculture in Leme has as major crops:

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source o ...

, oranges and

sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...

. In addition there are big granaries and storehouse for grains and coffee, and a

sugarcane mill A sugar cane mill is a factory that processes sugar cane to produce raw sugar or plantation white sugar. Some sugar mills are situated next to a back-end refinery, that turns raw sugar into (refined) white sugar. The term is also used to refer ...

that produces sugar,

ethanol fuel Ethanol fuel is fuel containing ethyl alcohol, the same type of alcohol as found in alcoholic beverages. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. Several common ethanol fuel mixtures are in use aro ...

and

bioenergy Bioenergy is a type of renewable energy that is derived from plants and animal waste. The Biomass (energy), biomass that is used as input materials consists of recently living (but now dead) organisms, mainly plants. Thus, Fossil fuel, fossil fu ...

in the municipality. The animal husbandry activities are more focused on swine and cattle breeding, including the presence of some

meat packing The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally n ...

companies. The

industrial sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in construc ...

is characterized by being very varied, with manufacturers at

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...

beverages A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothie ...

machines A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolec ...

, agricultural inputs,

chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

products, furnitures, precast barbecues, building and electrical materials areas, and others. Leme has industrial districts very close to Anhanguera Highway (SP-330), where most of the industries are located. The commerce and services sector at Leme is increasing. Units of many national and some international chain stores are present in the municipality.

Education

Leme has a primary and secondary education system composed by public and private institutions, including a state technical school called ETEC "Salim Sedeh", providing technical courses of management, pharmacy, multimedia, systems development and others.

Higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

institutes are also present in Leme. The city has a unit of Universidade Anhanguera and the Universidade Virtual do Estado de São Paulo.

Transportation

* Public urban transportation composed by bus lines connecting downtown to urban and rural neighborhoods * Bus station "José Antunes Filho" (in Portuguese: Rodoviária de Leme), connecting Leme to other cities of the

State of São Paulo State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and other Brazilian states. * Aerodrome "Yolanda Penteado"

Highways

* Rodovia Anhangüera (SP-330): a highway that connects the city of

to many other cities of the

, going through Leme.

Media

In telecommunications, the city was served by

Companhia Telefônica Brasileira Companhia Telefônica Brasileira (CTB) was a Brazilian fixed-line telephone company that provided services to the states of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo (state), São Paulo, as well as Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo thr ...

until 1973, when it began to be served by Telecomunicações de São Paulo. In July 1998, this company was acquired by Telefónica, which adopted the Vivo brand in 2012. The company is currently an operator of cell phones, fixed lines, internet (fiber optics/4G) and television (satellite and cable).

Main attractions and events

* 12 Chapels Cycling Circuit (in Portuguese: Circuito das 12 Capelas) * Path of Faith (in Portuguese: Caminho da Fé) * City Park "Dr. Enni Jorge Draib" (City Lake) * Ecological Park "Mourão" * Water Memorial "Prefeito Ricardo Landgraf" * Manoel Leme Square (in Portuguese: Praça Manoel Leme) and the old Train Station of Leme * Historical Museum of Leme * São Manoel Sanctuary Diocese (in Portuguese: Santuário Diocesano de São Manoel) * Rui Barbosa Square (in Portuguese: Praça Rui Barbosa) * Bruno Lazzarini Stadium Every year Leme hosts the "Festa do Peão de Leme", a large festival with Sertanejo music.

Sports

The Bruno Lazzarini Stadium is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

stadium that hosts the games of Lemense FC. Moreover, Leme has some others football pitches, courts, gymnasiums and recreational spaces used by the population.

Religion

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

is present in the city as follows:

Catholic Church

The Catholic church in the municipality is part of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Limeira The Roman Catholic Diocese of Limeira () is a diocese located in the city of Limeira in the ecclesiastical province of Campinas Campinas (, ''Plains'' or ''Meadows'') is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in São Paulo (state), S ...

Protestant Church

The most diverse evangelical beliefs are present in the city, mainly

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

, including the Assemblies of God in Brazil (the largest evangelical church in the country),

Christian Congregation in Brazil The Christian Congregation in Brazil () was founded in Brazil by the Italian-American missionary Luigi Francescon (1866–1964), as part of the larger Christian Congregation (Pentecostal), Christian Congregation movement. History Louis Frances ...

, among others. These denominations are growing more and more throughout Brazil.

References

Municipalities in São Paulo (state) {{MesoregionCampinas-geo-stub