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Contagem () is a city in the center of the state of Minas Gerais, in Brazil. It is only from the capital, Belo Horizonte, and forms part of a metropolitan area with a population of 4.8 million.

Over time, the city's geographic boundaries were lost due to its horizontal growth towards the capital, causing intense conurbation with Belo Horizonte. Contagem is part of the Greater Belo Horizonte area and is one of the most important cities in this urban agglomeration, mainly due to its large industrial park. Its road system, designed to accommodate an intense flow of vehicles and cargo, is made up of the country's main highways, BR-381 (Fernão Dias - access to São Paulo), BR-262 (access to Vitória and Triângulo Mineiro) and BR-040 (access to Brasília and Rio de Janeiro).

Geography

The city belongs to the metropolitan mesoregion and to the microregion of Belo Horizonte, has a territorial extension of , and borders the municipalities of Ribeirão das Neves, Esmeraldas, Betim, Ibirité and Belo Horizonte. The elevation of the city hall is .

Demography

According to estimates from 2020 the municipal population was 668,949 making it the third most populous city in the state of Minas Gerais, after Belo Horizonte and Uberlândia.

Serious problems with water and air pollution exist, and the Pampulha Lake (Belo Horizonte) receives large quantities of heavy metals from the city.

Contagem was the first industrial district built in Minas Gerais. Inaugurated in 1946, by 1950 it was the largest in the state. The Gafanhoto power plant (on the Pará River) was built by the state government in 1952 to provide for the implementation and development of the district, which is still the largest industrial region in Minas Gerais.

Ceasa Minas Greater BH (regional wholesale supply center) is in Contagem. It has a built area of 605,000m<sup>2</sup>, with 535 companies installed, and a public on busy days of 65,000 people. It is the largest in vegetables in all of Brazil.

Sister city

Cienfuegos

Carmelo is a sister city in Cuba.

Notable people

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  • Gilson Bernardo (born 1968), volleyball player
  • Arlene Xavier (born 1969), volleyball player
  • Ramon Menezes (born 1972), footballer
  • Glaydson (born 1979), defensive midfielder
  • Rafael Pereira (born 1997), athlete
  • Serginho (born 1986), footballer
  • Philipe Fidélis dos Santos (born 1989), footballer
  • Jonathan Reis (born 1990), footballer
  • Raquel Fernandes (born 1991), footballer
  • Ricardo Lucarelli (born 1992), volleyball player
  • Graxa (born 1993), footballer
  • Kay (born 1999), 2-time UR2D Sunday League World Champion

See also

  • List of municipalities in Minas Gerais

References

  • Ceasa Greater BH
  • City government official site