Teófilo Otoni

Teófilo Otoni is a municipality in northeast Minas Gerais, Brazil. The population of the municipality was 140,937 in 2020 and the area is 3,242.818 km2.

Origin of the name

The city is named after (Vila do Príncipe, 27 January 1807 - Rio de Janeiro, 17 October 1869), who was a provincial deputy representing Minas Gerais; a national deputy and a senator in the Empire of Brazil from 1864 to 1869; and founder of the city of the same name.

Geography

It lies at an elevation of 319 meters on the Todos os Santos River, a tributary of the Mucuri. It is part of the Valley of the Mucuri, a region which includes 27 municipalities. Situated on the Rio-Bahia Interstate Highway BR 116, it is 130 km. north of the regional center, Governador Valadares, on the Doce River, and 478 km north of the state capital, Belo Horizonte. It was founded in 1853 by German colonists and given city status in 1878.

Municipal boundaries are with:

North: Novo Oriente de Minas and Itaipé
South: Ouro Verde de Minas, Ataléia, Frei Gaspar and Itambacuri
East: Pavão and Carlos Chagas
West: Poté and Ladainha

Distances to important cities:

Belo Horizonte: 450 km
Brasília: 1,162 km
Rio de Janeiro: 730 km
Salvador: 900 km
São Paulo: 1,050 km
Vitória: 550 km

Statistical region

According to the modern (2017) geographic classification by Brazil's National Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE1), the city is the main municipality in the Intermediate Geographic Region of Teófilo Otoni.

Until 2017, Teófilo Otoni used to be a statistical microregion including the following municipalities: Ataléia, Catuji, Franciscópolis, Frei Gaspar, Itaipé, Ladainha, Malacacheta, Novo Oriente de Minas, Ouro Verde de Minas, Pavão, Poté, Setubinha, and Teófilo Otoni. The population of this region was 253,679 in 2000 and the area was 11,296.80 km2 (roughly the size of The Gambia and a little larger than Jamaica. The population density was 22.46 inhabitants/km2.

Téofilo Otoni's strongest economic sector is a diverse and bustling service industry. The city has several commercial areas and a shopping mall, City Mall. Prominent businesses in Teófilo Otoni include Pharmacy Indiana, Stationery Graffite, the store Magda Magazin, and Ramos Transport. The trade in precious stones is also quite important as the city is considered an International Capital of Precious Stones, which comprises a good portion of its economy.

In October 1994, government of Brazil created an Export Processing Zone of 14.31 hectares in Teófilo Otoni, attracting several industries since then.

The city was granted the FIPP (International Fair of Precious Stones) recognized worldwide.

The city is served by Kemil Kumaira Airport.

Agricultural Data

Cattle herd: 177,000 (2006)
Rural producers: 2,422
Agricultural area: 337,062 hectares
Planted area: 13,200 ha.
Natural pasture land: 125,506 ha.
Persons working in agriculture: 7,000
Tractors: 149
Main crops: bananas, coffee, oranges, tangerines, and sugarcane

Health and education

The population was served by 61 health clinics and 4 hospitals (417 beds in 2005). There were several institutes of higher education: Faculdade de Tecnologia Egídio José da Silva (private), Instituto de Ensino Superior Integrado (private), Instituto de Educação Superior São Francisco de Assis de Teófilo Otoni (private philanthropic), Faculdades Unificadas Doctum de Teófilo Ottoni (private), a campus of the Federal University of Vales do Jequitinhonha and Mucuri - UFVJM (public) and a campus of the Federal Institute of Northern Minas Gerais - IFNMG (public).

Municipal Human Development Index

MHDI: .742 (2000)
State ranking: 343 out of 853 municipalities
National ranking: 2,097 out of 5,138 municipalities
Life expectancy: 69
Literacy rate: 81

Notable people

Fred, footballer
Félix Guisard, businessman
Laso Schaller, extreme athlete in high diving
Bruno Barros di Pietro, footballer
Fahel, footballer
Lobão, footballer
Tristão Ferreira da Cunha, politician