Iraí de Minas 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 northwest 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 was 7,027 people living in a total area of 357 km². The city belongs to the mesoregion of Triângulo Mineiro e Alto Paranaiba and to the

microregion Microregion is a designation for territorial entities. Austria Brazil Klaus Roth and Ulf Brunnbauer A microregion is a geographic region of a size between that of a community and that of a district.p. 18, "What's in a Region? Southeast Europ ...

Patrocínio Patrocínio is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the States of Brazil, state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The population is 91,449 (2020 est.) in an area of 2874 km2. The elevation is 965 m. Geography It is located in the north-cente ...

. It became a municipality in 1962.

Geography

The municipality is located in the region of the Alto Paranaíba, just north of the Nova Ponte Reservoir, which is fed by the Rio Anzol and the Ribeirão Santa Juliana. The elevation of the town center is 951 meters. Highway connections are made by local road to BR-365, which connects to

Uberlândia Uberlândia () is a city and municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. It is the second largest city in the state of Minas Gerais after the state capital Belo Horizonte. Its population in 2020 was 699,097, making it the si ...

. Neighboring municipalities are: Monte Carmelo (N);

(E); Pedrinópolis and Perdizes(S); Nova Ponte and

Romaria Romaria is a Brazilian municipality located in the northwest of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2020 was 3,520 people living in a total area of 402 km2. The city belongs to the mesoregion of Triângulo Mineiro e Alto Para ...

(W).

Distances

* Monte Carmelo: 30 km *

: 62 km *

: 76 km *

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 ...

: 495 km

History

The first settlers were bandeirantes looking for precious stones. The discovery of the diamond Estrela o sul in 1852 caused the arrival of great numbers of prospectors to the region. A settlement was formed with the name Espírito Santo do Cemitério, later changed in 1909 to Iraí, a Tupi word meaning "river of honey". In 1943 the name was changed again to Bagagem, after the nearby river. In 1962 Iraí became a municipality with the present name.Prefeitura Municipal de Iraí
/ref>

Economic activities

The most important economic activities are cattle raising for meat and dairy, commerce, and agriculture, with the main crops being coffee, corn, rice, and citrus fruits. The GDP in 2005 was R$65 million, with 346 million generated by services, 06 million generated by industry, and 19 million generated by agriculture. Iraí de Minas is in the middle tier of municipalities in the state with regard to economic and social development. there was one banking agency in the town. There was a modest retail infrastructure serving the surrounding area of cattle and agricultural lands. There were 895 automobiles in all of the municipality (2007), about one for every 07 inhabitants.IBGE
Iraí de Minas has a small municipal area and therefore little available land for agriculture. In the rural area there were 474 establishments (2006) occupying 39,000 hectares (planted area: 5,800 ha,; natural pasture: 29,000 ha.; and woodland: 3,800 ha.). About 1,500 persons were dependent on agriculture. 60 of the farms had tractors, a ratio of one in 08 farms. There were 19,500 head of cattle in 2006. The main crops were coffee, corn, rice, and soybeans .

Health and education

In the health sector there were 03 health clinics and 01 hospital with 19 beds. In the educational sector there was 04 pre-primary schools, 04 primary school, and 01 middle school. *Municipal

Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...

: 0.757 (2000) *State ranking: 236 out of 853 municipalities *National ranking: 1,672 out of 5,138 municipalities *Literacy rate: 87% *Life expectancy: 71 (average of males and females)Frigoletto
The highest ranking municipality in Minas Gerais in 2000 was

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 ...

with 0.841, while the lowest was

Setubinha Setubinha is a municipality in the northeast of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. As of 2020 the population was 12,378 in a total area of 536 km². The elevation is 729 metres. It is part of the Immediate Geographic Region of Teófilo O ...

with 0.568. Nationally the highest 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 São Paulo with 0.919, while the lowest was Setubinha. In more recent statistics (considering 5,507 municipalities) 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, ...

has the lowest rating in the country—0,467—putting it in last place.

References