Everything about Rio De Janeiro State totally explained
» This article is about the Brazilian state, Rio de Janeiro. For the city with the same name, see Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro (
pron. ) is one of the
26 states of
Brazil.
It is located in the Brazilian geopolitical region of the
Southeast (assigned by
IBGE) and its boundaries, all of them with other Brazilian states in the Southeast region (Rio de Janeiro is the only state in the Southeast to share borders exclusively with other states in the same macroregion), are with
Minas Gerais (
N and
NW),
Espírito Santo (
NE) and
São Paulo (
SW), and plus its shore line, in the
Atlantic Ocean, to its
East and
South.
Rio de Janeiro has an area of 43,653km² and its capital is the city of
Rio de Janeiro, which was the capital of the Portuguese colony as of
1763 (the first capital being
Salvador da Bahia), capital of the United Kingdom of Brazil, Portugal and Algarves as of 1806 and the capital of independent Brazil from
1822 to
1960.
The state's most populous cities are
Rio de Janeiro,
Nova Iguaçu,
Niterói,
Duque de Caxias,
São Gonçalo,
São João de Meriti,
Campos dos Goytacazes,
Petrópolis and
Volta Redonda.
Its principal
rivers are the
Guandu River, the
Piraí, the
Paraíba do Sul, the
Macaé and the
Muriaé. Its climate is considered to be
tropical.
Rio de Janeiro is made up of two distinct
morphological areas: a
Plain, known as
baixada, and a
Plateau, which are disposed parallelly from the shoreline to the country side (towards Minas Gerais).
In the
Brazilian flag, the state is represented by the
Beta star in the Southern Cross (β =
Mimosa).
Geography
The state is part of the
Mata Atlântica biome, and its topography comprises both
mountains and plains, located between the
Mantiqueira Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. Its coast is carved by the bays of
Guanabara,
Sepetiba, and
Ilha Grande.
There are prominent
slopes near the ocean, featuring also diverse environments, such as
restinga vegetation,
bays,
lagoons and
tropical forests.
Rio de Janeiro is the smallest state in the Southeast macroregion and one of the smallest in Brazil. It has, however, the third longest coastline in the country (second only to
Bahia's and
Maranhão's), extending 635
kilometers.
History
Hereditary captainships
Rio de Janeiro was originated from parts of the captainships of de Tomé and São Vicente. Between
1555 and
1567, the territory was busy with the Frenchmen, who intended to install a colony,
France Antarctique. Aiming at to prevent the occupation of the Frenchmen, in March
1565, the city of
Rio de Janeiro was established by
Estácio de Sá.
In the 17th century, cattle and sugar cane stimulated the city's progress which was definitively assured when the port started to export the extracted gold of
Minas Gerais in 18 century. In
1763, Rio de Janeiro became the headquarters of the Colonial Brazil and the capital of the colony. With the change of the royal family for Brazil, in
1808, the region very was benefited with urban reforms to shelter the Portuguese. Inside of the promoted changes they're distinguished: the transference of agencies of public administration and justice, the creation of new churches, hospitals, foundation of the first bank of the country - the
Banco do Brasil - and the Imprensa Régia, with the Gazette do Rio of Janeiro. In following years had also appeared the Jardim Botânico, Academia Real Militar.
Thus, a process of cultural introduction, influenced not only by the arrival of the Royal Family, but also by the presence of European artists who had been hired to register the society and Brazilian nature. In this same time, was born the Escola Real de Ciências, Artes e Ofícios (The Royal School of Sciences, Arts, and Works).
The Neutral City
In
1834, the city of Rio de Janeiro was transformed into neutral city, remaining as capital of the country, while the captainships passed to being provinces, with its headquarters in Niterói, a neighbor city. In
1889, the city was changed into capital of the Republic, the neutral city in federal district and the province in State. With the change of the capital for Brasilia, in
1960, the city of Rio de Janeiro became the State of
Guanabara.
The new State of Rio de Janeiro
In
1975, the states of Guanabara and Rio de Janeiro were merged under the name of Rio de Janeiro, with the city of Rio de Janeiro as state capital. The symbols of the former State of Rio de Janeiro were preserved, while the symbols of Guanabara were kept by the city of Rio de Janeiro. It should be noted that European presence in Rio de Janeiro is as old as Brazil itself, dating back to 1502 under this name.
Demographics
According to the
IBGE of
2007, there were 15,593,000 people residing in the state. The population density was 356,1 inh./km².
Urbanization: 96.9% (
2004);
Population growth: 1.3% (
1991-
2000);
Houses: 4.944.333 (
2005).
Source: PNAD.
The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census resulted in the following numbers: 8,513,778
White people (54.6%), 5,145,690
Brown people (33.0%), 1,871,160
Black people (12.0%), 62,000
Asian or
Amerindian people (0.4%).
People of
Portuguese ancestry predominate in most of the state. Other
European ethnic groups, such as
Swiss and
Germans settled mostly in the mountainous areas (
Nova Friburgo,
Petrópolis, etc) and in the capital.
Italians and
Spaniards are also present in the capital as well as in the surrounding cities.
People of
African descent are numerous mostly in the capital city. Those of
mixed-race ancestry (
mulattoes) are the majority of the population in some towns.
Economy
The
industrial sector is the largest component of
GDP at 51.6%, followed by the
service sector at 47.8%.
Agriculture represents 0.6% of
GDP (
2004). Rio de Janeiro (state) exports:
petroleum 44.8%,
fuel 17.5%,
siderurgy 13%,
chemicals 3.6%, not ferrous metals 2.8%,
vehicles 2.1% (
2002).
Participation in the Brazilian economy: 12.6% (
2004).
Curiosity
Vehicles: 3.915.724 (
jan./
2006);
Mobile phones: 10 million (
2006);
Telephones: 5.3 million (
2006).
Cities: 92 (
2006).
Education
Portuguese is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. But
English and
Spanish are part of the official
high school curriculum.
Colleges and Universities
Culture
Carnival
It is the great explosion of joy in Rio. A party uniting emotions, creativity, plasticity, colours, sounds and much
fantasy. It is the greatest popular party in the world. A unique record of the rich cultural melting pot typical of
Brazil.
New Year’s Eve
In
Rio de Janeiro, New Year’s Eve celebration involves the whole city population. Local inhabitants and visitors join to celebrate taken by the same euphoria: to be in Rio. The party, one of the most famous in the
world, is held on the famous beach of
Copacabana, gathering thousands of people to enjoy musical performances and fireworks – increasingly exuberant year after
year.
Infrastructure
International Airport
Since August
2004, with the transfer of many flights from Santos-Dumont Airport, Rio de Janeiro International Airport has returned to being the main doorway to
Brazil. According to data from the official Brazilian travel bureau, Embratur, nearly 40% of foreign tourists who visit Brazil choose Rio as their gateway, meaning Galeão Airport. Besides linking Rio to the rest of Brazil with domestic flights, Galeão has connections to more than 18 countries. It can handle up to 15 million users a year in two passenger terminals. Located only 20 kilometers from downtown Rio, the international airport is served by several quick access routes, such as the Linha Vermelha and Linha Amarela freeways and Avenida Brasil, thus conveniently serving residents of the city’s southern, northern and western zones. There are special shuttle buses linking Galeão to Santos-Dumont, and bus and taxi service to the rest of the city. The airport complex also has Brazil’s longest runway at 4.240 meters, and one of
South America’s largest and best equipped cargo logistics terminals.
Highways
BR-101,
BR-116,
BR-040,
BR-354,
BR-356,
BR-393,
BR-465,
BR-493,
BR-495.
Sports
More notable sports events in Rio include the
MotoGP Brazilian Grand Prix and the World
Beach volleyball finals.
Jacarepaguá was the place of
Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix into 1978-1990 and the
Champ Car event into 1996-1999.
WCT/WQS Surf championships were contested on the beaches from 1985-2001. The city has built a new
stadium near the
Maracanã, to hold 45,000 people. It was named after Brazilian ex-
FIFA president
João Havelange. Sports are a very popular pastime in Rio de Janeiro. The most popular is
futebol (
soccer). Rio de Janeiro is home to four traditional Brazilian football clubs:
Botafogo,
Flamengo,
Fluminense and
Vasco.
Rio de Janeiro is one of the 18 remaining candidates to host games of the
2014 FIFA World Cup, for which
Brazil is the only
South American bidder.
State flag
In the foreground of the state flag, an
eagle, symbol of Brazil's royal family, appears. In the background, the rock formation
Dedo de Deus ("
The Finger of God"), which is visible from the city of Rio de Janeiro in a clear day.
The outer part of the coat of arms represents the state's agricultural richness,
sugarcane (left) and
coffee (right).
Cities
List of municipalities in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), BrazilFurther Information
Get more info on 'Rio De Janeiro State'.
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