State Guides - Mato Grosso do Sul
| Capital | Campo Grande |
|---|---|
| Population (as at 2010) | 2,449,024 |
| Urban Population (found under Synopsis of the 2010 Population Census) (as at 2010) | 2,097,238 |
| Area (km²) | 357,146 |
| Population Density (inhab / km²) (as at 2010) | 7 |
| Number of Municipalities | 78 |
| Occupied Private Housing Units (as at 2010) | 763,696 |
| Average of Residents in Occupied Private Housing Units (as at 2010) | 3 |
| Housing Deficit (as at 2008) | 77,206 |
| Number of Active Construction Companies (as at 2009) | |
| Employed Personnel in Construction Companies (as at 2009) | |
| Total Salaries and Other Compensation (as at 2008) | |
| Credit Operations Total (as at 2009) | R$ 10,504,195,984 |
| Savings Total (as at 2009) | R$ 2,632,524,677 |
| Average Monthly Household Income from Work (as at 2009) | R$ 1,780 |
| Average Monthly Household Expenditure on Housing (as at 2009) | R$ 704 |
| Average Multiple of Minimum Wage (as at 2009) | |
| Population Earning No Income | 8.9 % |
| Population Earning up to 3 Times the Minimum Salary (as at 2008) | 84.0 % |
| Population Earning Between 3 and 5 Times the Minimum Salary (as at 2008) | 6.1 % |
| Population Earning Between 5 and 10 Times the Minimum Salary (as at 2008) | 0.9 % |
| Population Earning 10 Times and Over the Minimum Salary (as at 2008) | |
| Gini Coefficient (as at 2009) | 0.46 |
| UN Human Development Index Rating (as at 2009) | |
| Permanent Private Households with a Septic Tank (as at 2009) | |
| Number of Municipalities with Solid Waste Management (as at 2009) | 78 |
| Poverty Incidence (as at 2009) | 34 % |
| GDP at Current Prices (as at 2008) | |
| GDP per Capita (as at 2008) |
Officially established as its own state on January 1st 1979 (separated from its neighbour Mato Grosso), Mato Grosso do Sul is located in the south west of the country and borders both Paraguay and Bolivia to the west and the following Brazilian state in the other directions: Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná.
In English, the name is translated to mean the ‘Thick Forest of the South’ and, as well as the being home of the largest wetland in the world – the Pantanal – the landscape has a wide variety of other vegetation ranging from large areas of thick bark trees to plains where the water table is close to the surface spawning distinctive herbaceous plants. The climate is largely sub-tropical with January being its warmest month and July being its coldest (annual rainfall falls at just below 1,500 mm). The state is drained to the east by the Paraná river tributaries: the Sucuriú, Verde, Pardo and Ivinheima; to the west by the Miranda and the Paraguai drains the majority of the water that reaches the Pantanal region.
The area was first explored by the Portuguese in 1524 and the population grew as more immigrants were attracted to a gold rush period at the start of the 18th century followed by the emergence of a number of villages throughout the state. In 1862, Paraguay invaded the region in an eventual failed attempt to take control of large territories of Brazil and Argentina. What followed was three years of bloody war which resulted in most of the infrastructure of the region being entirely destroyed. From 1870 onwards, rebuilding began again (an example of which was the railroad completed in 1914) and Mato Grosso was officially inaugurated in 1932 (migration was largely fuelled from the Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná and São Paulo). The break up of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul in the late 1970s was created to justify the ecological distinctions and to ease administrative issues between the two states.
Due to its lush and fertile soils, and being served by the main tributaries of the Paraná river, agriculture and livestock production form prominent places in economy of the state (Mato Grosso do Sul is one of the main exporters of soybeans, beef, chicken and pork in the whole of Brazil). Other industries of notable importance include non-metallic mineral mining, rice, soybeans, coffee, peanuts, sugarcane, wheat, beans, cassava, timber production, the tertiary services sector (particularly in the state capital, Campo Grande) to name a few. Vast deposits of iron, manganese, limestone, marble and tin are also found throughout the state. Tourism is an increasingly important constituent of the state’s economy with the main destination being the Pantanal: a vast region that is often referred to by Brazilians as the most beautiful part of the country – consisting of what is debatably the richest ecosystem in the world with a spectacular range of fauna and flora. Conservative estimations state that there over 1, 000 bird species; 300 different mammal types (including jaguars, eagles, giant otters, anteaters); 480 reptiles (including anacondas, crocodiles, red-footed turtles and iguanas) and 9,000 various species of invertebrates. However, much concern has been raised as to the environmental preservation of the area – particularly in the light of global warming (triggered by deforestation), hunting, exotic animal smuggling, and waste pollution that has been known to occur. For these reasons, the development of the region is being carefully observed by the state government and private landowners so as not to ruin what is often referred to as an unspoken rare wonder of the world.
There are three main airports that serve the state (in order of importance): the Campo Grande International Airport (in operation since 1953 with regular national and international flights); the Corumbá International Airport (spread over a land space of 290 hectares also serves several parts of Brazil with a handful of South American country destinations) and the Ponta Porã (a smaller airport largely used for cargo and some national flights). The majority of the states energy supply is sourced via the Jupiá hydroelectric plant on the Paraná river.
The three principal higher educational establishments are the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, UFMS) and the State University of Mato Grosso do Sul (Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul, UEMS) – both located in Campo Grande – as well as the Federal University of Dourados Region (Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados, UFGD).