Contagem (Portuguese pronunciation: [kõˈtaʒẽj]) is a city in the center of the state of Minas Gerais, in Brazil. It is only 21 kilometres (13 miles) from the capital, Belo Horizonte, and forms part of a metropolitan area with a population of 4.8 million.
Over time, the city's geographic boundaries were lost due to its horizontal growth towards the capital, causing intense conurbation with Belo Horizonte. Contagem is part of the Greater Belo Horizonte area and is one of the most important cities in this urban agglomeration, mainly due to its large industrial park. Its road system, designed to accommodate an intense flow of vehicles and cargo, is made up of the country's main highways, BR-381 (Fernão Dias - access to São Paulo), BR-262 (access to Vitória and Triângulo Mineiro) and BR-040 (access to Brasília and Rio de Janeiro).[3]
The city belongs to the metropolitan mesoregion and to the microregion of Belo Horizonte, has a territorial extension of 195.2 square kilometres (75.4 square miles), and borders the municipalities of Ribeirão das Neves, Esmeraldas, Betim, Ibirité and Belo Horizonte. The elevation of the city hall is 939 metres (3,081 feet).
According to estimates from 2020 the municipal population was 668,949 making it the third most populous city in the state of Minas Gerais, after Belo Horizonte and Uberlândia.[1]
The population is very young with 86% of the population being less than 50 years old.
Education indicators:
| Color/Race | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Mixed | 48.6% |
| White | 38.9% |
| Black | 10.1% |
| Asian | 1.3% |
| Amerindian | 0.1% |
Source: Census 2010
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.[4]
Serious problems with 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 in Contagem. It has a built area of 605,000m2, with 535 companies installed, and a public on busy days of 65,000 people. It is the largest in vegetables in all of Brazil.
Carmelo is a sister city in Cuba.
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