Araguari

Araguari
Municipality
Municipality of Araguari
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname:  Cidade Sorriso
Location in Minas Gerais
Araguari Location in Brazil
Coordinates: 18°38′56″S 48°11′13″W / 18.64889°S 48.18694°W / -18.64889; -48.18694
Country	Brazil
Region	Southeast
State	Minas Gerais
Founded	1888
Government
• Mayor	Renato Carvalho Fernandes
Area
• Total	2,730.632 km2 (1,054.303 sq mi)
Elevation	1,013 m (3,323 ft)
Population  (2025)
• Total	123,432
• Density	45.2027/km2 (117.075/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−3 (BRT)
HDI (2010)	0.773 – high
Website	www.araguari.mg.gov.br

Araguari is a municipality in western Minas Gerais state, Brazil. It is in the northern Triângulo Mineiro region, on the Jordão River, a tributary of the Paranaíba River, at an elevation between 940 and 1,087 metres (3,084 and 3,566 ft). The municipality of Araguari has an area of 2,774 km² (1,071 sq mi), with 54 km² (21 sq mi) in the urban zone and 2,675 km² (1,033 sq mi) in the rural zone. The population in 2020 was 117,825, making it the third-most important city in the Triângulo Mineiro, after Uberlândia and Uberaba. Araguari has also been one of the fastest-growing cities in Brazil, growing more than the rest of the country in proportion.

Geography

Demographics

• Total population in 2013: 114,525
• Urban population: 103,001
• Population in 1960: 52,191
• Population in 1970: 63,368
• Population in 1980: 83,523
• Population in 1991: 91,428
• Population in 2000: 101,974

Economy

Araguari's main source of income is from the large herds of cattle raised in the hinterlands, where rice, soybeans, corn (maize), citrus fruits, tomatoes, beans, and manioc are also cultivated. In recent years the region has become one of the most important coffee-growing areas in the country and there is an annual coffee fair. Araguari has 9 financial institutions. There is an industrial park with several industries specializing in metallurgy, agro-industrial products (cold meats and juices) and storage facilities for grains. In the last few years Araguari has been changing rapidly and receiving many important investments as Selecta which produces soy bean oils and accounts more than 500 new jobs. The city also received the biggest rail trainshipment in Latin America. Now Araguari is lacking of workers to work in the many new jobs offers.

Health and education

• Infant mortality rate: 22.55 (1998)
• Literacy rate in 2000: 95.6%
• Hospitals: 4 private and 1 philanthropic with 360 beds
• Public Health centers 15 with 54 doctors 34 dentists, and 9 psychologists (2002)
• Private clinics: 22 with 112 doctors and 115 dentists
• Primary schools: 46 with 16,000 students
• Middle and secondary schools: 16 with 5,397 students
• Higher education: 2 schools with 2,560 students in 2005 offering 6
• Municipal Human Development Index: 815

Culture

There is a theater with capacity to seat 120 persons. The sports center seats 5,000 spectators. In the urban area there is a tropical forest, the Bosque John Kennedy, with an area of 112,000 square meters. There is a movie theater "Cinema Odete" and also a public theater located in the city center "Cine Teatro".^{[citation needed]}

Tourism

On the northern boundary of the municipality is a complex of hydroelectric power stations (Emborcação and Miranda), which form several lakes. In addition to the energy supplied, they are also tourist attractions, providing spaces for fishing and the practice of water sports.

History

Settlement began in the first decades of the nineteenth century. Brejo Alegre was the name of the small village (arraial) composed of some buildings, among them a small chapel, simple houses, a few stores, and a lot of cattle ranches. In 1843 the village was raised to the status of district with the name of Sant’Ana do Rio das Velhas.

In 1882 the district was declared a "vila" (town) and in 1888 it was raised to the category of "cidade" or city, with the new name of Araguari. At this time the town consisted of the Igreja Matriz (Main church) of Senhor Bom Jesus da Cana Verde with its colonial style; the cemetery located behind the church; the houses with tiles but no ceilings, called casas de “telhas ao vento”; and in the center flowed a stream dividing the settlement, one part called Goiás, and the other, Minas. The small commerce consisted of a bakery, a shoe store, two pharmacies and some general stores, called “vendas”.

The great change in the town's situation occurred with the arrival of the railroad, the Cia. Mogiana de Estrada de Ferro, in 1896. In 1906 this railroad, called Estrada de Ferro Goiás, was extended to Goiás, further increasing the growth of the city.

See also

• List of municipalities in Minas Gerais

References

External links (in Portuguese)

• lista telefonica de Araguari^{[permanent dead link]}
• Site with useful information