Sister cities of Contagem

Contagem (Portuguese pronunciation: [kõˈtaʒẽj]) is a city in the center of the state of Minas Gerais, in Brazil. It is located only 21 kilometers from the capital, Belo Horizonte and forms part of a metropolitan area with a population of 4.8 million.

The city belongs to the mesoregion Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte and to the microregion of Belo Horizonte and has a territorial extension of 195.2 km² and borders the municipalities of Ribeirão das Neves, Esmeraldas, Betim, Ibirité and Belo Horizonte. The elevation of the city hall is 939 meters.

According to estimates from 2010 the municipal population was 603,442 making it the third most populous city in the state of Minas Gerais, after Belo Horizonte and Uberlândia.

The population is very young with 86% of the population being less than 50 years old.

Educational indicators:

• adults with up to 10 years of education: 23.67%
• young people between 10 and 14 years old attending school: 96.8%
• adults with no formal schooling: 5.21%
• young people aged between 15 and 17 enrolled in secondary education: 83,7%.
• adults who have studied some university: 23%
• illiteracy rate for adults over 25: 7%

Contagem is primarily a city of heavy industry with a diversified industrial complex; even though minerals processing and chemicals still have a large importance. The municipality is responsible for 5.28% of the state GDP, occupying third place after Belo Horizonte and Betim. Serious problems with both 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 located in Contagem. It has a built area of 605,000 sq. mts., with 535 companies installed, and a public on busy days of 65,000 people. It is the largest in vegetables in all of Brazil.