Planaltina de Goiás

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For the city in the Federal District of Brasília see Planaltina.

Planaltina de Goiás
State	Goiás
Area:	2,539.1 km²
Population:	94,717 (IBGE 2005)
Elevation:	944 m above sea level
Postcode (CEP):	73750-000
Became a city:	1891
Distance to Goiânia:	273 km.
IBGE statistical microregion:	012 Entorno de Brasília
Website:	none

Planaltina de Goiás is a city located in the center of the state of Goiás, Brazil. The estimated population in 2005 was 94,717, making it the tenth largest city in the state. Planaltina de Goiás is often referred to as Planaltina.

1 Location and profile
2 Political Information
3 Demographic Information
4 Economic Information
5 Education (2005)
6 Health (2003)
7 History
8 Municipal Human Development Index
9 See also
10 Sources of data

[edit] Location and profile

Planaltina is part of micro-region 12 of the state, the so-called Região do Entorno de Brasília. It borders Água Fria de Goiás, Formosa, Mimoso de Goiás, Padre Bernardo and, of course, the Distrito Federal.

It is located on the northeastern boundary of the Federal District north of the satellite city of Planaltina. It is 273 kilometers from the state capital Goiânia and 55 km. from Brasília.

Planaltina de Goiás is the gateway to an enormous area of ecological preservation, in which can be found the important Chapada dos Veadeiros national park. Nearby is Lagoa Formosa, which, with its 17 square kilometers of surface area, is the largest natural lake in the state of Goiás.

Nearby is the source of the Maranhão River, which flows north into the Tocantins

The population is very poor and there is a serious deficit in infrastructure with no hospitals and poor commercial facilities. Most of the inhabitants work in Brasilia and spend hours on buses to get to their work. According to studies, at least one member of each family works in Brasília. The per capita income is from one to two minimum salaries.

[edit] Political Information

Mayor: Alexon Luiz Felix Santos (January 2005)
City council: 10
Eligible voters: 41,889 (April/2006)

[edit] Demographic Information

Population density: 37.3 inhab/km² (2005)
Urban population: 70,127 (2000)
Rural population: 3,591 (2000)
Population change: a gain of about 78,000 people since 1980

[edit] Economic Information

The economy is based on subsistence agriculture, cattle raising, services, public administration (1,328 workers in 2003), and small transformation industries.

Industrial units: 40 (2005), employing 131 workers in 2003
Commercial units: 328 (2005), employing 1,312 workers in 2003
Dairy: none (22/05/2006)
Meat-packing plant: none (22/05/2006)
Financial institutions: - Banco do Brasil S.A.

- Banco Itaú S.A.(01/06/2005)

Automobiles: 2,263 (2004)
Cattle herd: 53,100 head (6,200 milk cows) (2004)
Poultry: 46,400 head (2004)
Swine: 3,980 head (2004)
Main crops: pineapple, rice (400 hectares), bananas, beans (1,100 hectares), sugarcane, manioc, oranges, tangerines, corn (3,200 hectares), tomatoes, sorghum, wheat, and soybeans (9,500 hectares).

[edit] Education (2005)

Schools: 51
Classrooms: 417
Teachers: 991
Students: 26,488
Higher education: Pólo Universitário da UEG
Adult literacy rate: 85.6% (2000) (national average was 86.4%)

[edit] Health (2003)

Hospitals: 3
Hospital beds: 237
Ambulatory clinics: 24
Doctors, nurses, dentists: 74, 22, 21 (2002)
Infant mortality rate: 24.5 (2000) (national average was 33.0.

[edit] History

Planaltina had already become a municipality in 1981, but with the installation of the Federal District in 1960 it lost part of its territory,including the municipal seat. See Planaltina. As a consequence a new city had to be built, which for some time was called Brasilinha. The traditional Planaltina became a satellite city of Brasília.

The site chosen for the new Planaltina was the Brasília ranch belonging to Joaquim Gonçalves, known as Joaquim Mineiro. In 1967 the city hall was built and it was given the name Planaltina de Goiás after a plebescite carried out in the same year.

The early years were similar to those of the development of Brasília, with the cerrado being cleaned and wooden shacks being put up. The similarity with Brasília was such that people would say "they are building a little Brasília, a Brasilinha, thus baptizing the new city.

The first plan envisioned 22 thousand lots that would each house 5 persons. In fewer than 30 years the population had reached 80 thousand inhabitants. Much of the population explosion came about because of the construction of Brasília. A massive migratory wave came to the federal capital and there was no space in the original plan. The militar government at the time would not allow these families to squat on federal lands and sent the excess population to Planaltina de Goiás.