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Maranhão () is a state in
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 ...
. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of and it is divided into 217 municipalities. Clockwise from north, it borders on the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins and
Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...
. The people of Maranhão have a distinctive accent within the common Northeastern Brazilian dialect. Maranhão is described in literary works such as '' Exile Song'' by Gonçalves Dias and ''Casa de Pensão'' by Aluísio Azevedo. The
dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...
s of Lençóis are an important area of environmental preservation. Also of interest is the state capital of São Luís, which is a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
. Another important conservation area is the Parnaíba River delta, between the states of Maranhão and Piauí, with its
lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...
s, desert dunes and deserted beaches or islands, such as Caju island, which shelters rare birds.


Geography

The northern portion of the state is a heavily forested plain traversed by numerous rivers, occupied by the eastern extension of the tropical moist forests of Amazonia. The Tocantins–Araguaia–Maranhão moist forests occupy the northwestern portion of the state, extending from the Pindaré River west into neighboring Pará state. The north-central and northeastern portion of the state, extending eastward into northern Piauí, is home to the Maranhão Babaçu forests, a tropical moist forest ecoregion dominated by the Babaçu palm. The Babaçu palm produces oil which is extracted commercially and used for a variety of purposes including food and beauty products. The southern portion of the state belong to the lower terraces of the great Brazilian Highlands, occupied by the
Cerrado The Cerrado () is a vast ecoregion of Tropics, tropical savanna in central Brazil, being present in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí, Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Paraná ...
savannas. Several plateau escarpments, including the Chapada das Mangabeiras, Serra do Tiracambu, and Serra das Alpercatas, mark the state's northern margin and the outlines of river valleys. The climate is hot, and the year is divided into a wet and dry season. Extreme humidity characterizes the wet season. The heat, however, is greatly modified on the coast by the south-east trade winds. The rivers of the state all flow northward to the Atlantic and a majority have navigable channels. The Gurupí River forms the northwestern boundary of the state, separating Maranhão from neighboring Pará. The
Tocantins River The Tocantins River ( , Parkatêjê dialect, Parkatêjê: ''Pyti'' ɨˈti is a river in Brazil, the central fluvial artery of the country. In the Tupi language, its name means "toucan's beak" (''Tukã'' for "toucan" and ''Ti'' for "beak"). It ...
forms part the state's southwestern boundary with Tocantins state. The Parnaíba River forms the eastern boundary of Maranhão, but it has one large tributary, the Balsas, entirely within the state. Other rivers in the state include the Turiassu (or Turiaçu) which runs just east of the Gurupi, emptying into the Baía de Turiassu; the Mearim, Pindaré, and Grajaú, which empty into the Baía de São Marcos; and the Itapecuru and Munim which discharge into the Baía de São José. Like the Amazon, the Mearim has a ''
pororoca The Pororoca (, ) is a tidal bore, with waves up to high that travel as much as inland upstream on the Amazon River and adjacent rivers. Its name might come from the indigenous Tupi language, where it could translate into "great roar". It could ...
'' or tidal bore in its lower channel, which greatly interferes with navigation. The western coastline has many small indentations, which are usually masked by islands or shoals. The largest of these are the Baía de Turiassu, facing which is São João Island, and the contiguous bays of São Marcos and São José, between which is the large island of São Luís. This indented shoreline is home to the Maranhão mangroves, the tallest mangrove forests in the world. The coastline east of Baía de São José is less indented and characterized by sand dunes, including the stark dune fields of the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, as well as restinga forests that form on stabilized dunes.


Highest point

Chapada das Mangabeiras 804 m, at 10º 15' 45" S, 46º 00' 15" W.


History

The etymology of Maranhão is uncertain; the name probably originates from Portuguese settlers from Maranhão in Avis in the province of Alentejo. The word was first used to refer to the Amazon River, which is today used to refer to the Peruvian part of the river ( Marañón). The first known European to explore Maranhão was the Spanish explorer Vicente Yáñez Pinzón in 1500, but it was granted to João de Barros in 1534 as a Portuguese hereditary captaincy. The first European settlement, however, was made by a French trading expedition under Jacques Riffault, of
Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...
, in 1594, who lost two of his three vessels in the vicinity of São Luís Island, and left a part of his men on that island when he returned home. Subsequently, Daniel de La Touche, Seigneur de La Rividière was sent to report on the place, and was then commissioned by the French crown to found a colony on the island ( Equinoctial France); this was done in 1612. The French were expelled by the Portuguese in 1615, and the Dutch held the island from 1641 to 1644. In 1621 Ceará, Maranhão and Pará were united and called the "Estado do Maranhao", which was separated from the southern captaincies. Very successful Indian missions were soon begun by the
Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
, who were temporarily expelled as a result of a civil war in 1684 for their opposition to the enslavement of the Indians. Ceará was subsequently detached, but the State of Maranhão remained separate until 1774, when it again became subject to the colonial administration of Brazil. In the late 18th century, there was a great influx of enslaved peoples into the region, which corresponded to the increased cultivation of
cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
. According to the historian Sven Beckert, the region's cotton exports "doubled between 1770 and 1780, nearly doubled again by 1790, and nearly tripled once more by 1800." Maranhão did not join in the Brazilian declaration of independence of 1822, but in the following year the Portuguese were driven out by British sailor and liberator Admiral Lord Cochrane and it became part of the
Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and Uruguay until the latter achieved independence in 1828. The empire's government was a Representative democracy, representative Par ...
. For this achievement Lord Cochrane became 1st Marques of Maranhão and
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
of Maranhão Province. São Luís is the Brazilian state capital which most closely resembles a Portuguese city. By the early 20th century São Luís had about 30,000 inhabitants, and contained several convents, charitable institutes, the episcopal palace, a fine Carmelite church, and an ecclesiastical seminary. The historic city center was declared a
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
in 1997.


Demographics

According to the IBGE, there were 6,776,699 people residing in the state in 2022. The population density was 20.6 inhabitants/km2.
Urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from Rural area, rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. ...
: 68.1% (2004);
Population growth Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. The World population, global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 8.2 billion in 2025. Actual global human population growth amounts to aroun ...
: 1.5% (1991–2000);
House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
s: 1,442,500 (2005). The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 4,499,018 Brown (
Multiracial The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races (human categorization), races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicity, ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used ...
) people (66.4%), 1,361,865
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
people (20.1%), 854,424
Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
people (12.6%), 54,682 Amerindian people (0.8%), 6,541 Asian people (0.1%). According to a DNA study from 2005, the average ancestral composition of São Luís, the biggest city in Maranhão, is 42% European, 39% native American and 19% African.


Largest cities


Religion

According to the 2010 Brazilian Census, most of the population (74.5%) is
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, other religious groups include Protestants or evangelicals (17.2%), Spiritists (0.2%), Nones 6.3%, and people with other religions (1.8).


Education

Portuguese is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. English and Spanish are part of the official
high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
curriculum.


Educational institutions

Educational institutions in Maranhão include: * Universidade Federal do Maranhão (UFMA) (Federal University of Maranhão) * Universidade Estadual do Maranhão (UEMA) (State University of Maranhão) * Universidade Estadual da Região Tocantina do Maranhão (UEMASUL) (State University of the Tocantina Region of Maranhão) * Centro Universitário do Maranhão (UNICEUMA) (University Center of Maranhão) * Unidade de Ensino Superior do Sul do Maranhão (UNISULMA) * Unidade de Ensino Superior Dom Bosco (UNDB) * Instituto Federal do Maranhão (IFMA) *Instituto Estadual do Maranhão (IEMA) * Instituto de Teologia Logos (ITL) (Logos Institute of Theology) * Colégio Militar Tiradentes (CMT)


Economy

Maranhão is one of the poorest states of Brazil. The state has 3.4% of the Brazilian population and produces only 1.3% of the Brazilian GDP. The
service sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...
is the largest component of GDP at 70%, followed by 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 ...
at 19.6%.
Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
represents 10.4% of GDP (2015). Maranhão is the fourth-largest economy in the Northeast region and the 17th-largest in Brazil. Maranhão exports:
aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
50%,
iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
23.7%,
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 ...
13.1% (2002). Share of the Brazilian economy: 0.9% (2004). Maranhão is also known as the land of the palm trees, as the various species of this tree provide its major source of income. The most important of them, from an economic point of view, is the babassu.
Agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...
, the
aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
and alumina transformation industries, the pulp industry, natural gas production, and the food and timber industries complement the state economy. The Maranhão agricultural sector stands out in the production of
rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...
(fifth-largest rice production in the country, and highest in the Northeast),
cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...
(second-largest planted area in the Northeast),
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 ...
,
cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
(in both cases second-largest producer in the Northeast),
sugarcane 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 ...
, corn and
eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...
. Agriculture benefits from the infrastructure of railroads ( Ferrovia Carajás and Ferrovia Norte-Sul) and ports (Itaqui and Ponta da Madeira) and the proximity to the European and American markets. Maranhão has the second largest cattle herd in the Northeast and the 12th largest in the country, with 7.6 million animals. The state also produces
natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
in the Parnaíba basin, with a production of 8.4 million m3 per day, used in thermal power stations. Maranhão is the 6th largest producer in the country. Maranhão also has a hydroelectric plant (Estreito Hydroelectric Plant), a wind farm (in Lençóis Maranhenses), and a thermoelectric plant ( Suzano Maranhão Thermal Power Plant). Itaqui Port annually moves millions of tons of cargo, being an important logistics corridor for the Center-West of the country. It is the second deepest port in the world. Among the main products handled in 2017 are soybeans (6,152,909 tons), corn (1,642,944 tons), fertilizers (1,536,697 tons), copper (836,062 tons), coal (636,254 tons), pig iron (505,733 t) clinker + slag (225,796 t), manganese (147,063 t), rice (89,833 t), imported liquid bulk (3,881,635 t), caustic soda (86,542 t),
ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...
and LPG (150,753 t), totaling an annual turnover of 17,140,470 tons. The port of Ponta da Madeira, belonging to the Vale do Rio Doce is mainly destined for the export of iron ore brought from the Serra dos Carajás, in Pará. Between January and November 2017, 153.466 million tons were transported, and it is the national champion in moving loads. The Alumar Consortium Port transported 13.720 million tons between January and November 2017, mainly alumina.


Infrastructure


Airports

Marechal Cunha Machado International Airport is located from the center of São Luís. It began handling international flights in October 2004. It has a covered area of and a capacity of one million passengers per year. Renato Moreira Airport is a national airport located in Imperatriz.
Infraero Empresa Brasileira de Infraestrutura Aeroportuária (abr. Infraero) is a Brazilian government corporation founded in 1973, authorized by Law 5,862, that is responsible for operating the main List of the busiest airports in Brazil, Brazilian com ...
has administered the airport since November 3, 1980, one year before it was officially opened. The passenger terminal was modified and expanded in 1998, giving it new arrival and departure areas, an expanded main concourse, and air conditioning of the entire terminal.


Highways

The main highways in Maranhão are BR-010, BR-135, BR-316, BR-222 and BR-226. The state has a weak road infrastructure in the southern part of the state, and was identified, in 2022, as one of the worst road networks in the country.


Railroads

Ferrovia Carajás Ferrovia Norte-Sul Ferrovia São Luís-Teresina


Telecommunications

The telephone area codes (named DDD in Brazil) for Maranhão are 98 and 99.


Flag

The flag of Maranhão was designed by the poet Joaquim de Souza Andrade, and was adopted by decree nr. 6, of December 21, 1889. The colored strips (red, white and black) symbolize the different ethnic groups which make up the population, and their mixing and living together. The white star in the upper left corner symbolizes Maranhão itself, and is supposed to be
Beta Scorpii Beta Scorpii is a Star system, multiple star system in the southern zodiac constellation of Scorpius. It bore the traditional proper name of Acrab , though the International Astronomical Union now regards that name as applying only to t ...
, as the constellation Scorpius is also depicted on the national flag of Brazil. The flag has a ratio of 2:3.


Portrayals in film

* Andrucha Waddington's '' The House of Sand'' (Casa de Areia, 2005) prominently features the sand dunes of Maranhão. * Carla Camurati's '' Carlota Joaquina, Princess of Brazil'' (1995) was filmed in the historical center of São Luís, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. * The song " Kadhal Anukkal" from the film '' Endhiran'' (Tamil, 2010) featuring Aishwarya Rai and Rajnikanth was filmed at the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park sand dunes.


See also

* List of municipalities in Maranhão *
Federative units of Brazil The federative units of Brazil () are subnational entities with a certain degree of autonomy (self-government, self-regulation, and self-collection) and endowed with their own government and constitution, which together form the Brazil, Federat ...


References


Sources

* *This article incorporates text from the ''
Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...
'', a publication now in the public domain.


External links

* Freguesia de Maranhão em Portugal - https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maranh%C3%A3o_(Avis)
Official website

Relação Sumária das Cousas do Maranhão, by Simão Estácio da Silveira
, a contemporary account of the early Portuguese colonization of Maranhão, published in Lisbon in 1624 by a leading coloniser
History of the Commerce of Maranhão (1612 - 1895), by Jerônimo de Viveiros
(PDF)
Revista do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro, 1909, Tomo LXXII - Parte I, Chronicle of the Jesuits in Maranhão, by João Felipe Bettendorf
(PDF)
Historical geographical dictionary of Maranhão, by César Marques
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maranhao Federative units of Brazil * Former Portuguese colonies