Padre Paraíso is a Brazilian

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

located in the northeast of the state of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

. Its population as of 2020 was estimated to be 20,252 people living in a total area of 543 km². The city belongs to the mesoregion of Jequitinhonha and to the microregion of

Araçuaí Araçuaí () is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality located in the northeast of the state of Minas Gerais in the Jequitinhonha River valley. The Araçuaí River, a tributary of the Jequitinhonha, flows through it. Its population wa ...

. It became a municipality in 1962.

Geography

Padre Paraíso is located on the Rio-Bahia highway (BR-116) at an elevation of 664 meters (center of the town). The climate is semi-arid and the region is mountainous. Neighboring municipalities are: Ponto dos Volantes -

Caraí Caraí is a Brazilian municipality located in the northeast of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population was estimated to be 23,780 people living in a total area of 1,240 km2. The city is part of the Immediate Geographic Region of Teófilo ...

. The distance to

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

is 542 km. The distance to the nearest major population center,

Teófilo Otoni Teófilo Otoni is a municipality in northeast Minas Gerais, Brazil. 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 d ...

is 94 km.

Economy

The economy is based on cattle raising, services, and

subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements. Planting decisions occu ...

, with the main crops being coffee, beans, manioc, sugarcane, and corn. The cattle herd had 8,000 head in 2006. In 2005 there were 639 rural producers but only 7 tractors. 2,100 persons were dependent on agriculture. As of 2005 there were 17 health clinics and 1 private hospital with 42 beds. Educational needs were met by 23 primary schools, 3 middle schools and 4 nursery schools. There were 959 automobiles in 2006, giving a ratio of 17 inhabitants per automobile (there were 790 motorcycles). There was 1 bank in 2007.IBGE
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Social indicators

Padre Paraíso is ranked low on the MHDI and was one of the poorest municipalities in the state and in the country in 2000. *MHDI: .656 (2000) *State ranking: 726 out of 853 municipalities *National ranking: 3,673 out of 5,138 municipalities in 2000 *Life expectancy: 67 *Literacy rate: 70 *Combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio: .774 *Per capita income (monthly): R$94.00 The above figures can be compared with those of

Poços de Caldas Poços de Caldas is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the south of Minas Gerais state, Brazil, in the microregion of the same name. Its estimated population in 2020 was 168,641 inhabitants. The city is known for its hot springs. Histor ...

, which had an MHDI of .841, the highest in the state of

. The highest in the country was

São Caetano do Sul São Caetano do Sul (; " Saint Cajetan of the South"), or simply São Caetano, is a city in São Paulo state in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 161,957 (2020 est.) in an area of 15.33 km2. It is ...

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 ...

with an MHDI of .919. The lowest was Manari in the state of

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

with an MHDI of .467 out of a total of 5504 municipalities in the country as of 2004.

References

1962 establishments in Minas Gerais Municipalities in Minas Gerais {{MinasGerais-geo-stub

Geography

Economy

Social indicators

See also

References