São Paulo (state)

This article is about the Brazilian state; for other meanings, see São Paulo (disambiguation).

**São Paulo**

Flag of São Paulo See other Brazilian States Capital São Paulo Largest City São Paulo Area 248,176.7 km² Population
- Total
- Density
40,404,010 (est. May 2006)
149.2 inh./km² Governor Cláudio Lembo(PFL) Demonym Paulista HDI (2000) 0.820 – high Timezone GMT-3 ISO 3166-2 BR

São Paulo (pron. IPA: //) is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. It is named after Saint Paul.

Geography

The São Paulo State has an area of approximately 248,800 sq. km, and a population of 40 million inhabitants (21.5% of the population of Brazil), which makes it the most populous subnational unit in the Western Hemisphere. The climate in São Paulo is subtropical in the south part of the state (where the capital is placed), with hot summers (27°C in average, with highest temperatures around 33°C) and relatively cold winters (14°C in average, with lowest temperatures around 5°C), and tropical of altitude in the central area and in the north, with hot summers and mild winters.

São Paulo is the richest state in Brazil. It has the second highest "per-capita" income (only lower than the Federal District) and, with the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, the best standard of life in Brazil, despite the poverty in some peripherical areas of the largest cities.

Economy

São Paulo state is responsible for approximately one-third of Brazilian GDP. Its economy is based on machinery, the automobile and aviation industries, services, financial companies, commerce, textiles, orange growing, sugar cane and coffee production.

Wealth is unequally distributed in the state, however. The richest municipalities are centered around Greater São Paulo (such as Campinas, Jundiai, Paulínia, Americana, Indaiatuba, São José dos Campos, Santos, etc.), as well as a few other more distant nucle, such as around Ribeirão Preto. Some regions, such as Registro and the Bananal region, in the border with Rio de Janeiro, are very poor, some of them as poor as municipalities in the Northeast of Brazil.

Transportation

São Paulo is the state with the largest system of transportation in Latin America, comprised by roads, railways, fluvial lanes, airports, river and sea ports. The city of São Paulo also boasts of a metro and a suburban railway system.

See: Highway system of São Paulo

Demographics

São Paulo has the most diverse population of Brazil. Strong immigration in the late 19th century and early 20th century brought people from all over the world to the state.

The main ethnic group in São Paulo are the Italians. There are about 15 million people of Italian descent living in the state, and it is one of the largests concentration of Italians outside Italy.

São Paulo always had a large Portuguese population, since the 16th century, though most Portuguese arrived in the state in the early 20th century.

The Spanish population is also large, with some 7 million people of Spanish descent in the state.

The Arab population, mainly Christians of Lebanese or Syrian descent are 5 million, and people of German descent are about 2 million.

The population of Afro-Brazilian descent in São Paulo grew in the last decades, due to strong migration of poor people from northeastern Brazil.

The people of Asian descent make up 10% of the population, most of them of Japanese descent (see Japanese-Brazilian). São Paulo has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan. Other Asian groups include Chinese and Koreans.

Government and politics

The governor is Cláudio Lembo (PFL), who took over from Geraldo Alckmin on March 31, 2006, after the latter was chosen to run for president. Lembo's term ends on December 31, 2006.

Like other parts of Brazil, São Paulo politics is controlled by the Workers' Party (PT) and the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB). Both parties have their origins in this state.

Local politicians of note (with party affiliations) include: José Serra (PSDB), Geraldo Alckmin (PSDB), José Genoino (PT), José Anibal (PSDB), Antonio Palocci (PT), Eduardo Suplicy (PT), Aloísio Mercadante (PT), Marta Suplicy (PT), Romeu Tuma (Party of the Liberal Front), and Paulo Maluf (Progressive Party). Maluf is a controversial figure in São Paulo city politics, and is frequently accused of corruption. However, many voters still support him because of his several accomplishments during his governments, which the most notorious was the Sao Paulo City Subway System(the first in Brazil) and the Costa e Silva expressway, also know as Minhocão.

The two last Brazilian presidents, Fernando Henrique Cardoso (PSDB) and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), come from the São Paulo state. Cardoso lives in São Paulo city. Lula, the current president, has a residence in the nearby city of São Bernardo do Campo.