With its name taken from St. Paul, São Paulo is a Brazilian state considered to be among the country’s economic and industrial powerhouse. The richest state in Brazil, its capital is the city of São Paulo which is South America’s largest city. Along with Rio de Janeiro, it is the only state in the country whose capital city is the same name as the state.
The state has approximately 248,800 km² area, with a population of 40 million inhabitants (composing roughly about 21.5% of the country’s population. Next to the Federal District with the highest per-capital income, the state has the highest standard of living in country (together with the states of Santa Catarina and Rio de Janeiro).
Key Cities
São Paulo is made up of a lot of cities, however, 16 of which are considered to be the key cities because of its population. These are São Paulo, Guarulhos, Campinas, São Bernardo do Campo, Osasco, Santo André, São José dos Campos, Sorocaba, Ribeirão Preto,Santos, Mogi das Cruzes, São José do Rio Preto, Diadema, Carapicuíba, Mauá, and Piracicaba.
Below are details of some of these important cities:
São Paulo
The state’s capital, São Paulo, also known as Sampa is also regarded to be Brazil’s cultural center. With a population of over 10 million people, it is 7th of the world’s largest metropolitan areas and the Western World’s most populous city proper. Strongly influencing the region’s economic, entertainment, and arts industries, the city of São Paulo is also considered to be a Global City or an Alpha World City.
Guarulhus
Next to the city of São Paulo, Guarulhus is second to the state’s largest cities. Having over 1 million population, the city is 10th among the world’s largest suburbs. The city’s name came from a Tupi language referring to big bellied people, which are indigenous in the area.
Campinas
Both a city and a county, Campinas has more than 1 million inhabitants; 98% of which are living in the city’s urban region. The third largest city of São Paulo, Campinas is where the State University of Campinas is located.
São José dos Campos
A municipality and a city, São José dos Campos is considered to be one of Latin America’s most important research and industrial centers. Located 80 kilometers away from the city of São Paulo and 320 kilometers from Rio de Janeiro, this is where Brazil’s center of aerospace industry is located.
With highly-urbanized cities and strong economy, the state of São Paulo will have a lot to offer to its tourists.