Regions of Brazil - North Region

North Region

• Area: 3,869,637.,9 km² (45.27%)
• Population: 15,801,472 (3.31 people/km²; 6.2%; 2009)
• GDP: R$ 154 billion / US$96,2 billion (2008; 4.7%)
• HDI: 0.855
• Climate: Equatorial
• States: Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, Tocantins
• Largest Cities: Manaus (1,403,796); Belém (1,279,861); Ananindeua (392,947); Porto Velho (314,525); Macapá (282,745); Santarém (262,721); Rio Branco (252,885); Boa Vista (220,383); Palmas (208,000).
• Economy: Iron, Energy production, electronic manufacturing, tourism.
• Transport: Mainly rivers (which are abundant in the region). Highways are scarce and present mainly in the east. Airplanes are commonly used in small remote communities and sometimes in the larger cities.
• Vegetation: Almost the entire region is covered by Amazon Rainforest, except the state of Tocantins, which has savanna-like vegetation (cerrado). Although most of the native vegetation still remains, the region suffers from critical problems due to the growing deforestation of the area.
• Notable characteristics: Presence of the Amazon Rainforest, which is the vegetation dominant in every state but Tocantins. Cities are spread far apart in the region, and it has the lowest population density of the country. There are very few paved highways in the region, as it is almost isolated from the rest of the country. It is also the biggest region of Brazil, being responsible for almost half of the Brazilian territorial extension. Economic growth above national average(especially in Amazonas and in Tocantins).