Iturama
Iturama is a municipality in the west of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. As of 2007 the population was 31,495 in a total area of 1,401 km². It became a municipality in 1948.
Location
Iturama belongs to the statistical micro-region of Frutal. It is located in the rich region of western Minas Gerais known as the Triângulo Mineiro at an elevation of 453 meters. Its southern municipal boundary is formed by the huge artificial lake of Represa de Água Vermelha, which dams up the Rio Grande River. Neighboring municipalities are:
- West: Carneirinho
- Northwest: Limeira do Oeste
- North: União de Minas
- Northeast: Campina Verde
- East: São Francisco de Sales
- South: Arabá and Mira Estrela[1]
Important distances are:
- Belo Horizonte: 764 km
- Uberaba: 286 km
- São Francisco de Sales: 49 km
- Frutal: 145 km [2]
Economic activities
The most important economic activities are cattle raising, commerce, and agriculture. The GDP in 2005 was R$ R$796 million. Iturama is in the top tier of municipalities in the state with regard to economic and social development. As of 2007 there were 05 banking agencies in the town. There was a well-developed retail infrastructure serving the surrounding area of cattle and agricultural lands. There were 5,803 automobiles in all of the municipality, about one for every 5 inhabitants—a high ratio for Brazil.[3]
Iturama is an important agricultural producer. In the rural area there were 528 establishments occupying 77,000 hectares. About 1,300 persons were employed in agriculture. 176 of the farms had tractors, a ratio of one in three. There were 87,000 head of cattle in 2006, of which 30,000 head were dairy cows. In permanent crops there were 4,000 ha. planted, while in perennial crops 3,500 ha. were planted (2006). The crops with a planted area of more than 100 hectares were peanuts, rice, sugarcane, corn, and soybeans.[3]
Health and education
In the health sector there were 7 public health clinics and 12 private health clinics. There was one private hospital with 70 beds. In the educational sector there were 14 primary schools and 05 middle school.[3]
- Municipal Human Development Index: 0.803 (2000)
- State ranking: 34 out of 853 municipalities as of 2000
- National ranking: 512 out of 5,138 municipalities as of 2000
- Literacy rate: 88%
- Life expectancy: 73 (average of males and females)
The highest ranking municipality in Minas Gerais in 2000 was Poços de Caldas with 0.841, while the lowest was Setubinha with 0.568. Nationally the highest was São Caetano do Sul in São Paulo with 0.919, while the lowest was Setubinha. In more recent statistics (considering 5,507 municipalities) Manari in the state of Pernambuco has the lowest rating in the country—0,467—putting it in last place.[4]