Regions of Brazil - Southeast Region

Southeast Region

• Area: 927,286 km² (10.85%)
• Population: 80,303,750 (77.96 people/km², 38%)
• GDP: R$1,629 billion / US$803 billion (2008; ~49%)
• HDI: 0.907
• Climate: Tropical in the northwest (warm, relatively dry in the winter and wet in the summer); Semi-arid in the north; Temperate in the south
• States: Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo
• Largest Cities: São Paulo (11.037.593); Rio de Janeiro (6.186.710); Belo Horizonte (2.452.617); Guarulhos (1.299.283); Campinas (1.064.669); São Gonçalo (991.382); Duque de Caxias (872.762); Nova Iguaçu (865.089); São Bernardo do Campo (810.979); Osasco (718.646); Santo André (673.396); Uberlândia (634.345); Contagem (625.393); São José dos Campos (615.871); Sorocaba (584.313); Ribeirão Preto (563.107); Juiz de Fora (526.706); Belford Roxo (501.544); Niterói (479.384); São João de Meriti (469.827); Betim (441.748); Campos dos Goytacazes (434.008);
• Economy: Manufacturing (machinery, electronics, automobile and aviation), coffee, sugar cane, tourism, petroleum, textiles, energy production (not sufficient, however, to fulfill its demand). It is the business-economic center of Brazil, and most large companies present in Brazil have constructed their headquarters in this region
• Transport: The region is heavily covered by highways, and, to some extent, railways. Railways and rivers are used mainly for freight, and used where they are present. The region also contains several airport hubs which provide many domestic and international air routes.
• Vegetation: Mainly tropical-like semideciduous forests (Mata Atlântica); semi-arid in the north, with almost no vegetation; savannah-like vegetation in the west and in the northwest (Cerrado). Very little of the native vegetation still remains (~2%, mostly in parks)
• Notable characteristics: The southeast region is the major powerhouse of the Brazilian economy, being responsible for 49% of the Brazilian GDP (approximately US$1024 billion in 2010). It is also the most populous region in the country, with more of 80 million of people, and has the three most important national metropolitan regions (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte) as well as many other large cities (Vitória, Campinas, Duque de Caxias, Juiz de Fora, Uberlândia, Osasco and Niterói).