Juiz de Fora

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Juiz de Fora is a Brazilian city located in Minas Gerais state, southeast of Belo Horizonte (capital of the state). The Juiz de Fora's population in 2010, according to official census, was about 516,247 inhabitants (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics - IBGE).

The city had its origin with the opening of the “Caminho Novo” road, built to transport gold in the eighteenth century from the mining area in central of Minas Gerais to Rio de Janeiro. In the nineteenth century, Juiz de Fora has become a dynamic economic, political, social and cultural center. The city also became the most important in the state at that time, due to the strong development of its industrial sector, been called “Manchester Mineira”.

Currently, it is one of the main industrial and cultural centers in Brazil. The city offers a thriving cultural and artistic circuit, which includes, among others, the Central Cine Theater (Cine Teatro Central), the Culture Forum, Mariano Procopio Museum, Republic Memorial and the UFJF's Museum of Modern Art.

Juiz de Fora is also one of the Brazilian cities with better life quality’s indexes. The city has a GDP per capita of R$ 24,323.55 and one of the highest life expectancies in Brazil. The city is situated between the three most important financial and economic metropolises of southeast Brazil (see the figure below). Furthermore, the city has an average cost of housing, transport, and food relatively low compared to the main centers in Brazil.

Juiz de Fora location