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Campinas, SP, Brazil
(2000)
|
| Area |
797.6 km² |
| Altitude |
854 m |
| Distance to capital |
83,5 km |
| Demographic density |
1213,5 inhab/km² |
| Population (total) |
969,396 |
| Population (urban) |
953,218 |
| % urban population |
98,33% |
| Average growth rate |
1.57 % |
| % country population |
0,57% |
| Longevity (years) |
69,7 m 72,2 f |
| Infant mortality |
1,41 % |
| Illiteracy rate |
5,3 % |
| Schooling rate (7-14) |
96,4 % |
| Average nnual income |
US$ 2.712 |
| Poverty |
10,2 % |
| Human Development Index |
0,852 (high)
24th national ranking |
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The city was founded on July 14, 1774, by Barreto Leme. It was initially a simple outpost in the way to Minas Gerais and Goiás serving the "Bandeirantes" who were in search of precious minerals and Indian slaves. In the first half of the 19th century, Campinas became a growing populational center, with many coffee and sugarcane farms. The construction of a railway linking it to the city of São Paulo and Santos' seaport, in 1817, was very important for its growth. In the second half of the 19th century, with the abolition of slavery, farming and industrialization attracted many foreign immigrants to substitute the lost manpower, mainly from Italy. Coffee became a large export item and the city got increasingly richer. In consequence, a large service sector was established to serve the growing population, and at the first decades of the 20th century, Campinas could already boast as having an opera house, theaters, banks, movie theaters, radio stations, a philarmonic band, a newspaper (Correio Popular), a good public education system (with tne Escola Normal de Campinas and the Colégio Culto à Ciência), and hospitals, such as the Santa Casa de Misericórdia (a charity for poor people) and the Casa de Saúde de Campinas (for the Italian community), and the most important research center in agricultural sciences, the Instituto Agronômico de Campinas, which was founded by Emperor Pedro II. Finally, the construction of the first Brazilian highway in 1938, between Campinas and São Paulo, the Anhanguera Highway, was a turning point in the integration of Campinas to the rest of the state.
Campinas was the birthplace of opera composer Carlos Gomes (1836--1896)and of the President of the Republic Campos Salles (1841--1913). It was home for 49 years for Hércules Florence, reputed as one of the early inventors of photography, photocopying and the mimeograph.
Title and symbols
Campinas is also known as "Cidade das Andorinhas" (City of Swallows), because it was a preferencial spot for these migratory birds, which flocked annually in enormous numbers to downtown. However, they almost disappeared around the 1950s, probably because the church and plaza whey they used to rooster were torn down. The name remains, however.
Missing imageCampinas-flag.gif Campinas city flag.
Campinas' official crest and flag has a picture of the mythical bird, the phoenix, because it was practically reborn after a devastating epidemy of yellow fever in the 1800s, which killed more than 25% of Campinas inhabitants.
Campinas is officially twinned with 11 cities:
Metropolitan Region of Campinas
Campinas is the center of the administrative meso-region and micro-region of the same name, with 19 counties, with a total of 2.5 million inhabitants:
Economy
Campinas' main economic activities are agriculture (mainly coffee, sugarcane, and cotton), industry (textiles, machinery, agricultural equipment, chemical and petrochemical, pharmaceutics, paper and cellulose, telecommunications, computers and electronics, etc.), commerce and services.
The region is responsible for 9% of Brazil's Gross Internal Product, with just over 3% of the country's population. Per capita income is one of the highest in Latin America (over US$ 2,700/year).
Campinas has been dubbed the Brazilian Silicon Valley, since it is home to many national and multinational high-tech industries (IBM, Motorola, Lucent, Nortel, Compaq, Celestica, Samsung, Alcatel, Bosch, 3M, Texas Instruments, General Motors, Honda, and many others), as well as to several research centers and universities (such as CPqD, EMBRAPA, UNICAMP, and PUCCAMP). It also has a sizable pharmaceutical industry sector, with companies like Medley Farma, Sigma Pharma, Merck, etc.
The largest oil refinery of Latin America, operated by Petrobras in the neighboring county of Paulínia, has attracted many petrochemical industries to the Campinas area, including DuPont, Rhone-Poulenc, and Royal Dutch/Shell.
Campinas is a major transportation and telecommunications hub for the State of São Paulo, as it is located on the major highways that connect the capital to the Northwest and Northern parts of the State. Its international airport, Viracopos Airport, has long been the State's main air cargo terminal, and its passenger traffic is rapidly expanding.
According to Wired Magazine, Campinas is one of the highest-growth high-tech areas in Latin America, second only to the city of São Paulo itself. Since 1995, the city received over US$ 7 billion in investments in telecommunications, information technology and electronics. Of the 500 largest companies listed by Fortune magazine, 50 are already established in the Campinas region.
Education and health
Campinas has also two strong services sectors: education and health care, therefore being an attraction hub for students and patients from all over Latin America. Besides one state university, UNICAMP, Campinas boasts of a student population of over 60,000, with many private universities building campuses in the city, such as Universidade Mackenzie, Universidade São Francisco, METROCAMP, FACAMP, ESAMC, and many other smaller isolated schools. Several of its hospitals and specialized clinics are among the best in Brazil, such as the huge State University of Campinas Clinics Hospital, Instituto Penido Burnier, Centro Infantil Domingos Boldrini and many others.
Resources for foreigners
Due to the high concentration of multinational and foreign-controlled companies, Campinas has developed a unique and resourceful structure to welcome and to serve executives and workers from other countries who reside in the city. There are two primary/secondary schools that teach in English or German and follow the Northern hemisphere school calendar, the American School of Campinas and the Colégio Visconde do Rio Branco (German). Campinas is also the seat of a branch of the American Chamber of Commerce. A number of high-level walled housing condominiums such as Gramado, Alphaville, and others, provide world-class comfort and security at reasonable prices. Hotel and restaurant infrastructure is excellent and plentiful, with many international chains operating in the city, such as Accor and Meliá. A Convention & Visitors Bureau exists in the city and is very helpful. A big convention center of international class is available at the Royal Palm Hotel, and videoconferencing facilities for rental are available at the Campinas Videoconference Center (at Edumed Institute).
Administration
Campinas has an annual municipal budget of over US$ 300 million dollars, one of the highest in Brazil. The current Mayor is Dr. Hélio de Oliveira Santos, a physician and federal congressman, representing a coalition of several political parties, led by the Partido Democrático Trabalhista. His term started on Jan. 1, 2005 to Dec. 31, 2008.
External links
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