Niterói
Niterói | |
|---|---|
| Municipality of Niterói | |
Icaraí Beach Caminho Niemeyer Mocanguê Island and Rio–Niterói Bridge Guanabara Bay as seen from Niterói | |
Location in Rio de Janeiro | |
| Coordinates: 22°52′58″S 43°06′14″W / 22.88278°S 43.10389°W | |
| Country | Brazil |
| Region | Southeast |
| State | Rio de Janeiro |
| Founded | 22 November 1573 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Rodrigo Neves (PDT) |
| Area | |
• Total | 129.38 km2 (49.95 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 515,317 |
| • Density | 4,000/km2 (10,000/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC−3 (BRT) |
| Postal Code | 24000-000 |
| Area code | 21 |
| HDI (2010) | 0.837 – very high |
| Website | niteroi |
Niterói (Portuguese pronunciation: [niteˈɾɔj]) is a municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro, in the southeast region of Brazil. It lies across Guanabara Bay, facing the city of Rio de Janeiro and forming part of the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area. It was the capital of Rio de Janeiro, as marked by its golden mural crown, from 1834 to 1894 and again from 1903 to 1975. It has an estimated population of 515,317 inhabitants (2020) and an area of 129.375 km2 (49.952 sq mi), making it the fifth most populous city in the state. It has the highest Human Development Index in the state and the seventh highest among Brazil's municipalities in 2010. Individually, it is the municipality with the second highest average monthly household income per capita in Brazil and appears in 13th place among the municipalities of the country according to social indicators related to education. The city has the nicknames of Cidade Sorriso (Smile City).
Studies by the Getulio Vargas Foundation in June 2011 classified Niterói as the richest city of Brazil, with 55.7% of the population included in class A. Considering the classes A and B, Niterói also appears in the first place, with 85.9% of the population in these classes. According to 2010 data from IBGE, Niterói's nominal gross domestic product was 11.2 billion reais, being the fifth municipality with the highest gross domestic product of the state. The city is the second largest formal employer in the state of Rio de Janeiro, although it occupies the 5th place in terms of the number of inhabitants. The city is one of the main financial, commercial and industrial centers in the state of Rio de Janeiro, being the 12th among the 100 best Brazilian cities to do business.
Niterói was founded on 22 November 1573 by the Tupi chief Arariboia, who later was forcibly converted to Roman Catholicism and was given the Christian name of Martim Afonso, after the Portuguese explorer Martim Afonso de Sousa, making it the only Brazilian city to have been founded by a non-Christian, non-assimilated indigenous person.
The municipality contains part of the 2,400 hectares (5,900 acres) Serra da Tiririca State Park, created in 1991.