Lontra is a municipality in the north of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais

Minas Gerais

Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...

. As of 2007 the population was 7,979 in a total area of 257 km². It became a municipality in 1993.

Location

Lontra is located at an elevation of 781 meters, 35 km. south of the São Francisco River

São Francisco River

The São Francisco is a river in Brazil. With a length of , it is the longest river that runs entirely in Brazilian territory, and the fourth longest in South America and overall in Brazil...

. It is on highway BR-135, which connects Montes Claros

Montes Claros

Montes Claros is a city located in northern Minas Gerais state, in Brazil. The estimated population in 2010 was 412,284 inhabitants and the total area of the municipality was 3,470 km²...

 to Januária

Januária

Januária, known as "The Queen of the Beautiful Waters" is a city and municipality in northern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. It is located on the left bank of the São Francisco River...

. It belongs to the statistical microregion of Montes Claros. Neighboring municipalities are Japonvar

Japonvar

Japonvar is a Brazilian municipality located in the north of the state of Minas Gerais. In 2007 the population was 8,232 in a total area of 376 km². It became a municipality in 1997.-Location and distances:...

, São João da Ponte

São João da Ponte

São João da Ponte is a municipality in the north of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. As of 2007, the population numbered 26,091 within the total area of 1,849 km². The elevation is 561 meters. It became a municipality in 1943....

, Ibiracatu

Ibiracatu

Ibiracatu is a Brazilian municipality located in the north of the state of Minas Gerais. In 2007 the population was 5,898 in a total area of 359 km². It became a municipality in 1995.-Location and distances:...

, and Januária

Januária

Januária, known as "The Queen of the Beautiful Waters" is a city and municipality in northern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. It is located on the left bank of the São Francisco River...

.

Economic activities

The most important economic activities are cattle raising, commerce, and subsistence agriculture. The GDP in 2005 was R$ 18,047,000. Lontra is in the bottom tier of municipalities in the state with regard to economic and social development. It suffers from isolation, poor soils, and periodic drought. As of 2007 there were no banking agencies in the town. There was a small retail commerce serving the surrounding area of cattle and agricultural lands. In the rural area there were 304 establishments employing about 1,300 workers. Only 05 of the farms had tractors. There were 115 automobiles in all of the municipality. There were 8,500 head of cattle in 2006. The crops with a planted area of more than 50 hectares were beans, sugarcane and corn.

Health and education

In the health sector there were 04 clinics and no hospitals. In the educational sector there were 08 primary schools and 01 middle school.

• Municipal Human Development Index
  Human Development Index
  The Human Development Index is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development" and separate "very high human development", "high human development", "medium human development", and "low human development" countries...
  
  : 0.643 (2000)
• State ranking: 764 out of 853 municipalities as of 2000
• National ranking: 3,871 out of 5,138 municipalities as of 2000
• Literacy rate: 67%
• Life expectancy: 67 (average of males and females)
• Urbanization rate: 64.841 (2000)
• Percentage of urban houses served by sewage system: 0.50
• Infant mortality rate: 26.55

The highest ranking municipality in Minas Gerais in 2000 was Poços de Caldas

Poços de Caldas

Poços de Caldas is a city and municipality in south-western Minas Gerais state, Brazil, in the microregion of the same name. Its estimated population in 2009 was 151,449 inhabitants...

 with 0.841, while the lowest was Setubinha

Setubinha

Setubinha is a municipality in the northeast of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. As of 2007 the population was 10,834 in a total area of 536 km². The elevation is 729 metres. It is part of the IBGE statistical microregion of Teófilo Otoni...

 with 0.568. Nationally the highest was São Caetano do Sul

São Caetano do Sul

São Caetano do Sul is a city in São Paulo state in Brazil, located in the Greater São Paulo Metropolitan Area. It is the city with the highest per capita income in Brazil and it also has the highest Human Development Index .-Geography:São Caetano do Sul is located on a plateau that is part of the...

 in São Paulo with 0.919, while the lowest was Setubinha.

See also

• List of municipalities in Minas Gerais