São Paulo

Full Country Name: São Paulo State
Area: 248.808,8 square kilometers

Population (2006 est.): 39,210,662 inhabitants
Capital City: São Paulo
Official Language(s): Portuguese
Currency: Real

Regional Leader: Governor Geraldo Alckmin

Geography

Geographical features: narrow coastal plain bound by Serra do Mar, with rivers and mangroves, plateaus and depressions on the remaining part of the state. Vegetation: mangroves on the coast, Atlantic and tropical forest on the remaining parts of the state. Climate: Atlantic tropical on the coast and tropical in the countryside. Number of cities: 645. 

Economy

São Paulo is the country's most industrialized state and, at the same time, boasts a productive and diverse agriculture that takes advantage of the state's climate and high quality soil. The state's most important industries are technology-based ones and those with a high value-added production. The trade and services sectors are also developed, and the capital city is Latin America's major financial center.

São Paulo's biggest cities boast airport and port infrastructure, among which the country's major airports (Congonhas, Cumbica, and Viracopos).

GDP: 430 billion Euro (2009)
GDP per head (PPP): 10.119 Euro (2009)
Economic growth: -0,2 percent (2009)
Unemployment rate: 13,8 percent (2009)