Alvorada do Norte

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Alvorada do Norte is a small town and municipality in northeastern Goiás state, Brazil. It is an important commercial center on the Brasília-Salvador highway.

Population: 7,666 (2005 estimate)
Total area: 1,296.6 km²
Elevation of the city: 490 meters above sea level
Became a city: 1963
Postal code: 73950-000

Alvorada do Norte is part of the Vão do Paranã Microregion. Neighboring municipalities are:

north: Iaciara, Posse, Simolândia, and Buritinópolis
south: Sítio d'Abadia
east: Damianópolis
west: Flores de Goiás

The distance to Goiânia is 457 km. and highway connections are made by BR-153 / Anápolis / BR-060 / Alexânia / Planaltina / Formosa / BR-020. [1]

History

The town of Alvorada do Norte appeared in 1958, created by the authorities of the town of Sítio d'Abadia. They knew that the valley of the Paranã would be the future route of the new federal highway BR-020 and that it would link the Brazilian Northeast to the new capital of Brasília, they founded a new town on the edge of the future highway. Brasília is 250 km. away.

A curious fact is that Hermeliano Alves de Brito, who had been mayor of Sítio D’Abadia, was behind the move since his candidate had lost the election in Sítio. He had the complete support of Mauro Borges, state governmor at the time.

As late as 1976, Alvorada was quite isolated from the rest of the country. The small town lived off of the hardwoods extracted from the abundant forests nearby. From Alvorada to Formosa there was not even any asphalt and there was neither television nor telephone.[2]

Located on the banks of the Rio Corrente, it is an obligatory stop for all those travelling between the states of the north and the south. People came from all around to start shops or to look for work. Soon other economic activities began such as rice, bean, corn, and manioc cultivation, taking advantage of the fertile soils. Cattle raising did not take long to become an important part of the economy.

Demographic and political data

Population density: 6.04 inhab/km² (2003)
Population growth rate 1991/2000: 0,25.%
Population in 1980: 6,056
Population in 1991: 7,391
Urban population: 7,067 (2003)
Rural population: 545 (2003)
Number of households: 1,913 (2000)
Eligible voters in 2004: 6,167 (09/2004)
City government in 2005: mayor (Alessandro Moreira dos Santos) , vice-mayor (Alcione Araújo), and 09 councilpersons

Economy

The economy is mainly dependent on agriculture and services. Main agricultural activities (2003):

cattle: 40,800
corn: 10 km²
soybeans: 7 km²

The Gross Domestic Product was 28.8 million Reais in 2003, which was 13,84 million dollars at the May 1, 2006 exchange rate. The GDP of the state was 36.835 billion in 2003 (17.687 billion dollars on 05/01/06)

GDP per capita: 3,781 Reais in 2002, which was 1,717 dollars at the May 1, 2006 exchange rate.

For economic data on all the municipalities in Goiás see Portal Sepin

There were 463 automobiles, 75 trucks, and 39 pickups registered in 2004. There were three financial institutions.

Enterprise structure

agriculture, cattle raising: 05 units employing 17 workers
transformation industries: 18 units employing 48 workers
commerce: 167 units employing 324 workers
hotels and restaurants: 16 units employing 23 workers
transport and storage: 12 units employing 33 workers

(IBGE 2003)

Health (2002)

Infant mortality rate in 2000: 36.25
Infant mortality rate in 1990: 50.80
Health establishments: 02
Hospitals: 01 with 32 beds
Doctors / Dentists in public service: 07 / 01

Education (2004)

Literacy rate in 2000: 80.5
Literacy rate in 1991: 66.5
Primary schools / enrollment / teachers: 14 / 2,170 / 22
Middle and Secondary schools / enrollment / teachers: 01 / 478 / 26

All the data above are from IBGE

Households and income

Total number of households in 2000: 1,913
No income: 304
Less than one minimum salary: 744
One to two: 369
Two to three: 136
Three to five: 158
Five to ten: 134
More than ten: 68

The minimum salary in April 2000 was R$151.00. The minimum salary of April 2006 was R$350.00, which was $167.40 US dollars on April 30, 2006

Nearby is Itiquira waterfall, with a height of 70 meters. Curiously the name Itiquira is the same as the much higher waterfall in the municipality of Formosa.

Alvorada do Norte is ranked 218 out of 242 municipalities in the state of Goiás on the United Nations Human Development Index with a score of 0.688. Nationally it is ranked 3,179 out of 5,507 municipalities (2000). All data are from 2000