Contagem () is a city in the center of the state of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literall ...

, in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. It is only from the capital,

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

, and forms part of a metropolitan area with a population of 4.8 million.

Geography

The city belongs to the metropolitan mesoregion and to the microregion of Belo Horizonte, has a territorial extension of , and borders the municipalities of

Ribeirão das Neves Ribeirão das Neves ('' en, Snow's Creek'') is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), ...

, Esmeraldas, Betim,

Ibirité Ibirité is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais. The city belongs to the mesoregion Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte and to the microregion of Belo Horizonte. Its population in 2020 was 182,153. History Ibirité was bor ...

and Belo Horizonte. The elevation of the city hall is .

Population

According to estimates from 2020 the municipal population was 668,949 making it the third most populous city in the state of Minas Gerais, after Belo Horizonte and Uberlândia. The population is very young with 86% of the population being less than 50 years old. Education indicators: *adults with up to 10 years of education: 23.67% *young people between 10 and 14 years old attending school: 96.8% *adults with no formal schooling: 5.21% *young people ages between 15 and 17 enrolled in secondary education: 83.7% *adults who have studied some university: 23% *illiteracy rate for adults over 25: 7% ''Source: Census 2010''

Economy

Contagem is primarily a city of

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

with a diversified industrial complex; even though minerals processing and chemicals still have a large importance. The municipality is responsible for 5.28% of the state GDP, occupying third place after Belo Horizonte and Betim.ftp://ftp.ibge.gov.br/Pib_Municipios/2010/xls/Pib_Municipal_2006_2010_xls.zip Serious problems with water and air pollution exist, and the Pampulha Lake (

) receives large quantities of heavy metals from the city. Contagem was the first industrial district built in Minas Gerais. Inaugurated in 1946, by 1950 it was the largest in the state. The Gafanhoto power plant (on the

Pará River The Pará River (), also called Parauaú River, Jacaré Grande River, Marajó River Channel, Macacos River Channel, Santa Maria River Channel and Bocas Bay, is a watercourse and immense estuarine complex that functions as a canal between the ...

) was built by the state government in 1952 to provide for the implementation and development of the district, which is still the largest industrial region in Minas Gerais. Ceasa Minas Greater BH (regional wholesale supply center) is in Contagem. It has a built area of 605,000m², with 535 companies installed, and a public on busy days of 65,000 people. It is the largest in vegetables in all of Brazil.

Sister city

Cienfuegos Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of Cuba. It is located about from Havana and has a population of 150,000. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, especia ...

Carmelo is a sister city in Cuba.

Notable people

Gilson Bernardo Gilson Alves Bernardo (born ) is a former Brazilian male volleyball player. He was part of the Brazil men's national volleyball team at the 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also kno ...

(born 1968), volleyball player * Arlene Xavier (born 1969), volleyball player *

Ramon Menezes Ramon Menezes Hubner (born 30 June 1972), simply known as Ramon, is a Brazilian professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He is the current manager of the Brazil under-20 national team. An attackin ...

(born 1972), footballer *

Glaydson Glaydson Marcelino Freire or simply Glaydson (born June 20, 1979 in Contagem), is a Brazilian defensive midfielder who currently plays for Náutico in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A. He also plays as a right back. Honours ;Internacional ...

(born 1979), defensive midfielder * Guilherme Mendes Barbosa (born 1981), football player *

Erika Januza Érika Januza da Trindade Gomes (born 7 May 1985) is a Brazilian actress and model. Early life Érika Januza was born to the only child of a single mother. During her youth she took part in many beauty contests and acting auditions. Although sh ...

(born 1985), actress and model * Serginho (born 1986), footballer * Philipe Fidélis dos Santos (born 1989), footballer * Jonathan Reis (born 1990), footballer * Raquel Fernandes (born 1991), footballer *

Ricardo Lucarelli Ricardo Samuel Lucarelli Santos de Souza (born 14 February 1992) is a Brazilian professional volleyball player. He is a member of the Brazil men's national volleyball team, Brazil national team. The Volleyball at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men ...

(born 1992), volleyball player *

Graxa Graciano Junior Gonçalves (born 8 October 1993), commonly known as Graxa, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder. Club career Graxa was born in Contagem, Minas Gerais, and represented Atlético Mineiro, São José-SP an ...

(born 1993), footballer *

Kay The name Kay is found both as a surname (see Kay (surname)) and as a given name. In English-speaking countries, it is usually a feminine name, often a short form of Katherine or one of its variants; but it is also used as a first name in its own ...

(born 1999), 2-time UR2D Sunday League World Champion

References

External links

Ceasa Greater BHCity government official site
{{Authority control Municipalities in Minas Gerais