Northeast Region, Brazil

region of Brazil, composed of nine states

The Northeast Region of Brazil (Portuguese: Região Nordeste do Brasil) is one of the five geographical regions of Brazil defined by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics in 1969. It is the third largest region, corresponding to 18% of the national territory, and the second in population.

Northeast Region
Região Nordeste
Coordinates: 12°58′S 38°31′W / 12.967°S 38.517°W / -12.967; -38.517
CountryBrazil
Largest cities
Salvador (by city proper) Recife (by metro pop.)
Fortaleza (by pop. density)
States
Area
 • Region1,558,196 km2 (601,623 sq mi)
 • Rank3rd
Population
 • Region57,374,243
 • Rank2nd
 • Density37/km2 (95/sq mi)
  • Rank3rd
 • Urban
71%
GDP
 • Year2014 estimate
 • TotalR$805,099,000,000
(3rd)
 • Per capitaR$14,329.13
(5th)
HDI
 • Year2014
 • Category0.710 – high (5th)
 • Life expectancy69 years (5th)
 • Infant mortality33.2 per 1,000 (1st)
 • Literacy85,2% (5th)
Time zonesUTC−02:00 (FNT)
UTC−03:00 (BRT)

Geography

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The Northeast Region has an area of 1,554,291.31 km2 (600,115.23 sq mi). It is the region of the country with the longest coastline.

The climate in the region is very hot all the year long; tropical near the coast and semi-arid in the interior; semi-equatorial in the far west of the region. The vegetation mainly desert-like, with tropical forests along the coast and in the west and savanna-like vegetation, known as the Cerrado. in the southwest.

The Northeast Region is between 01° 02' 30" of latitude north and 18° 20' 07" of latitude south and between 34° 47' 30" and 48° 45' 24" of longitude west. It borders to the north and east with the Atlantic Ocean; to the south with the Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo states; and to west with the Pará, Tocantins and Goiás states.

The main rivers in the region are the São Francisco and the Parnaíba rivers; they have many tributaries.

Mountains

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The highest point in the Northeast Region is Pico do Barbado (13°17′47″S 41°54′28″W / 13.29639°S 41.90778°W / -13.29639; -41.90778 (Pico do Barbado, Brazil)) at 2,033 m (6,670 ft). Pico do Barbado is the highest summit of the larger Serra do Barbado, in the Chapada Diamantina, in Bahia.[1]

The highest point of the different states of the North Region are:[2]

Department Mountain Elevation
Alagoas Pico 844 (Serra Santa Cruz) 844 m (2,769 ft)
Bahia Pico do Barbado (Serra do Barbado) 2,033 m (6,670 ft)
Ceará Pico Serra Branca 1,154 m (3,786 ft)
Maranhão Pico 804 (Chapada das Mangabeiras) 804 m (2,638 ft)
Paraíba Pico do Jabre 1,197 m (3,927 ft)
Pernambuco Pico 1195 (Serra da Boa Vista) 1,195 m (3,921 ft)
Piauí Pico 865 (Serra Grande) 865 m (2,838 ft)
Rio Grande do Norte Pico 868 (Serra do Coqueiro) 868 m (2,848 ft)
Sergipe Pico 742 (Serra Negra) 742 m (2,434 ft)

States

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This region is formed of nine states: Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Maranhão, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe.

States in the Northeast Region of Brazil
Code State Capital Municipalities Population[3]
(2016)
Area[4]
(km2)
Density
(inh./km2)
BR-AL   Alagoas Maceió 102 3,358,963 27,848.16 120.6
BR-BA   Bahia Salvador 63 15,276,566 564,732.64 27.1
BR-CE   Ceará Fortaleza 184 8,963,663 148,887.63 60.2
BR-MA   Maranhão São Luís 217 6,954,036 331,936.96 20.9
BR-PB   Paraíba João Pessoa 223 3,999,415 56,468.43 70.8
BR-PE   Pernambuco Recife 185 9,410,336 98,076.00 95.9
BR-PI   Piauí Teresina 224 3,212,180 251,611.93 12.8
BR-RN   Rio Grande do Norte Natal 167 3,474,998 52,811.11 65.8
BR-SE   Sergipe Aracaju 75 2,265,779 21,918.45 103.4
Total 1,440 56,915,936 1,554,291.31 36.6

Population

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As of 1 July 2016, the Northeast region had a population of 56,915,936,[3] for a population density of 36.6 inhabitants/km2.

The most important municipalities of the North Region are:

Main municipalities in the North Region of Brazil[3]
Rank Municipality State Population Rank City State Population
Salvador Bahia 2,938,092 11  Feira de Santana Bahia 622,639
Fortaleza Ceará 2,609,716 12  Campina Grande Paraíba 407,754
Recife Pernambuco 1,625,583 13  Olinda Pernambuco 390,144
São Luís Maranhão 1,082,935 14  Caucaia Ceará 358,164
Maceió Alagoas 1,021,709 15  Caruaru Pernambuco 351,686
Natal Rio Grande do Norte 877,662 16  Vitória da Conquista Bahia 346,069
Teresina Piauí 847,430 17  Petrolina Pernambuco 337,683
João Pessoa Paraíba 801,718 18  Paulista Pernambuco 325,590
Jaboatão dos Guararapes Pernambuco 691,125 19  Camaçari Bahia 292,074
10  Aracaju Sergipe 641,523 20  Mossoró Rio Grande do Norte 291,937

References

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  1. "Serra do Barbado, Brazil". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  2. "Brazil State High Points". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Estimativas da População Residente no Brasil e Unidades da Federaçã com Data de Referencia en 1o de julho de 2016" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  4. "Área Territorial Brasileira" (in Portuguese). Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). Retrieved 20 January 2017.