Pirapetinga is a town and municipality in the 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...

 in the Southeast region

Southeast Region, Brazil

The Southeast Region of Brazil is composed by the states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. It is the richest region of the country, responsible for approximately 60% of the Brazilian GDP. São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais are three richest states of Brazil,...

 of Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

.
Its estimated population in 2007 was 10,687 inhabitants (IBGE).

Geography

The municipality is located in the Meso-region of Zona da Mata

Zona da Mata (Minas Gerais)

Zona da Mata is a mesoregion of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, situated in the southeastern part of the state, along the border of the states of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo...

 near the border with the State of Rio de Janeiro. It is 379 kilometres (235.5 mi) by road from the capital of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte

Belo Horizonte

Belo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country...

. It has an area of 192 square kilometre including the city itself and two districts: Valão Quente and Caiapó.

Topography, climate, hydrology

The city is at an altitude of 160 metres (524.9 ft), with the highest point being Pedra Bonita at 797 metres (2,614.8 ft). The climate is tropical with wet summers and an average annual temperature around 23.5 °C (74.3 °F), with variations between 18 °C (64.4 °F) (mean minimum) and 31 °C (87.8 °F) (mean maximum).

The district is watered by the River Pirapetinga

Pirapetinga River

The Pirapetinga River is a river of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais states in southeastern Brazil.-See also:* ] map]* Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993....

 a tributary of the Paraíba do Sul

Paraíba do Sul

thumbThe Paraíba do Sul , or simply termed Paraíba, is a river in the south-east of Brazil. It flows 1,137 kilometres west to northeast from its farthest source at the source of the river Paraitinga to the sea near Campos...

.

Census Data - 2000

Total Population : 10,034

Urban: 8413
Rural: 1621
Men: 5034
Women: 5000

(Source: AMM )

Population density (inhabitants / km²): 51.8

Infant mortality

Infant mortality

Infant mortality is defined as the number of infant deaths per 1000 live births. Traditionally, the most common cause worldwide was dehydration from diarrhea. However, the spreading information about Oral Re-hydration Solution to mothers around the world has decreased the rate of children dying...

 (per thousand): 25.4

Life expectancy (years): 71.1

Fertility rate (children per woman): 2.2

Literacy Rate: 83.8%

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...

 (HDI): 0.759

HDI-M Income: 0.681
HDI-M Longevity: 0.768
HDI-M Education: 0.827

(Source: UNDP / 2000)

History

The city began as a village that grew up around the chapel erected in honour of Saint Anne

Saint Anne

Saint Hanna of David's house and line, was the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ according to Christian and Islamic tradition. English Anne is derived from Greek rendering of her Hebrew name Hannah...

 in 1850. In 1864 the village became a district of Leopoldina

Leopoldina

Leopoldina is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. , it has a population of 51,136.It is situated in the southeastern Zona da Mata mesoregion of the state....

 with the name of Santana Pirapetinga.

It became independent of the municipality of Além Paraíba

Além Paraíba

Além Paraíba is a city in the southeastern Zona da Mata region of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The name indicates its position on the far bank of the Rio Paraíba do Sul. It was known as São José d'Além Parahyba until 1923.- Railways :...

in 1938.