Santa Catarina (state)

Santa Catarina
Flag of Santa Catarina
Coat of arms of Santa Catarina
Anthem: Hino do Estado de Santa Catarina
Location map of Santa Catarina within Brazil
Location map of Santa Catarina within Brazil
Coordinates: 27°15′S 50°20′W / 27.250°S 50.333°W / -27.250; -50.333
Country Brazil
CapitalFlorianópolis
Largest cityJoinville
Government
 • GovernorJorginho Mello (PL)
 • Vice governorMarilisa Boehm (PL)
 • SenatorsEsperidião Amin (PP)
Ivete da Silveira (MDB)
Jorge Seif (PL)
Area
 • Total95,730.684 km2 (36,961.824 sq mi)
 • Rank20th
Population
 (2022)[2]
 • Total7,610,361
 • Rank10th
 • Density79/km2 (210/sq mi)
  • Rank9th
Demonym(s)Catarinense
Barriga-Verde (Green-Belly)
GDP (nominal)
 • Year2021
 • TotalR$ 428.571 billion
(US$ 79.5 billion)[3] (6th)
 • Per capitaR$ 56,314
US$ 10,446[3] (3rd)
HDI
 • Year2021
 • Category0.792 – high (3rd)
Time zoneUTC-3 (BRT)
Postal Codes
87000-000 to 89990-000
ISO 3166 codeBR-SC
License Plate Letter SequenceLWR to MMM, OKD to OKH, QHA to QJZ, QTK to QTM, RAA to RAJ, RDS to REB, RKW to RLP, RXK to RYZ, SXA to SXZ
Websitesc.gov.br

Santa Catarina (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈsɐ̃tɐ kataˈɾinɐ] ) is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil. It is located in the centre of the country's Southern region. It is bordered to the north by the state of Paraná, to the south by the state of Rio Grande do Sul, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the west by the Argentine province of Misiones.[4]

The state covers an area of approximately 95,730.69 square kilometres (37,000 sq mi), comparable to Hungary, and ranking as the seventh smallest Brazilian state by area.[1][5][4] With a population of 7.6 million inhabitants in 2022, it is the tenth most populous state in Brazil.[1] Its capital is Florianópolis, the second most populous city in the state after Joinville. Alongside Espírito Santo, Santa Catarina is one of the two states whose capital is not the largest city.[6] Jorginho Mello, a member of the conservative Liberal Party, has been the governor of the state since 2023.[7]

It is one of the Brazilian states with the most mountainous terrain, where 52% of the territory is located above 600 metres.[8] According to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system, Santa Catarina predominantly features a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) in the coastal lowlands and the lower altitude areas of the plateau, whilst the remainder of the plateau is characterised by an oceanic climate (Cfb).[9]

The state of Santa Catarina is one of the oldest states in Brazil. It separated from São Paulo in 1738, with José da Silva Pais serving as its first governor. The state was established to extend Portuguese dominions to southern Brazil, reaching as far as the Rio de la Plata region.[10] It is also the oldest state in the South Region of Brazil, predating Rio Grande do Sul (1807) and Paraná (1853). The state was populated by various peoples throughout its history, such as the indigenous Carijós people of the Tupi-Guarani group, and later became an important destination for Azorean Portuguese, Italian, German, and other European immigrants.[10] African slaves and their descendants also contributed to the formation of the state's population.[11]

The socioeconomic indicators of Santa Catarina rank among the best in Brazil. The state leads in life expectancy and public safety, and boasts the lowest rates of homicide, illiteracy, poverty and extreme poverty in the country.[12][13][14][15] It holds also the third-highest Human Development Index (HDI), the third-highest GDP per capita, and the third-lowest rates of infant mortality. Additionally, it is the federative unit with the least economic inequality in Brazil.[1][16]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Santa Catarina | Cidades e Estados | IBGE". www.ibge.gov.br. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  2. ^ "2022 Census Overview" (in Portuguese).
  3. ^ a b "PIB por Unidade da Federação, 2021". ibge.gov.br.
  4. ^ a b "Geography of Santa Catarina". Government of Santa Catarina (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Áreas Territoriais | IBGE". www.ibge.gov.br. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  6. ^ Frias Filho 1996, pp. 865–866
  7. ^ "Jorginho Mello é o governador eleito com a maior porcentagem do Brasil nas Eleições 2022". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 31 October 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  8. ^ Garschagen 2000, p. 82.
  9. ^ Garschagen 2000, p. 83.
  10. ^ a b "History of Santa Catarina". Government of Santa Catarina (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Da escravidão à liberdade na Ilha de Santa Catarina" (PDF). Moodle UFSC. 31 January 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Estados mais seguros do Brasil: confira o ranking completo". MySide. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  13. ^ Redação 5 (14 August 2023). "Estados mais seguros do Brasil 2023; veja lista". Correio da Amazônia (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 15 February 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ IBGE, Síntese de Indicadores Sociais 2007 : Publicação completa Archived 2015-03-19 at the Wayback Machine. Tabela 1.4 - Taxa de fecundidade total, taxa bruta de natalidade, taxa bruta de mortalidade, taxa de mortalidade infantil e esperança de vida ao nascer, por sexo, segundo as Grandes Regiões e Unidades da Federação - 2022.
  15. ^ "Síntese de Indicadores Sociais | IBGE". www.ibge.gov.br. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  16. ^ "Rendimentos de todas as fontes / Índice de Gini / Rendimento domiciliar per capita / A preços médios do ano". cidades.ibge.gov.br. Retrieved 13 February 2024.