Editing Pará

{{Short description|State in Brazil}}
{{other uses|Pará River|Para (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Pará
| official_name      =
| native_name        = 
| settlement_type    = [[States of Brazil|State]]
| image_skyline      =
| image_alt          = 
| image_caption      =
| image_flag         = Bandeira do Pará.svg
| flag_alt           = 
| image_shield       = Brasão do Pará.svg
| shield_alt         = 
| nickname           = 
| motto              = {{native name|la|Sub lege progrediamur}}<br /> "Let us progress under the law"
| anthem             = {{ill|Hino do Pará|pt|vertical-align=sup}}
| image_map          = Para in Brazil.svg
| map_alt            = 
| map_caption        = Location in Brazil
| coordinates        = {{coord|5|40|S|52|44|W|type:adm1st_region:BR-PA|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint      = 
| coordinates_footnotes = 
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = [[Brazil]]
| established_title  =
| established_date   =
| founder            = 
| seat_type          = [[Capital (political)|Capital]] and largest city
| seat               = [[Belém]]
| government_footnotes = 
| leader_title       = [[Governor (Brazil)|Governor]]
| leader_name        = [[Helder Barbalho]] ([[Brazilian Democratic Movement|MDB]])
| leader_title1      = Vice Governor
| leader_name1       = Hana Ghassan ([[Brazilian Democratic Movement|MDB]])
| leader_title2      = [[Federal Senate (Brazil)|Senators]]
| leader_name2       = [[Beto Faro]] ([[Workers' Party (Brazil)|PT]])<br />[[Jader Barbalho]] ([[Brazilian Democratic Movement|MDB]])<br />[[Zequinha Marinho]] ([[Podemos (Brazil)|PODE]])
| area_footnotes     = <!-- 
| area_magnitude          = 1 E12 -->
| area_total_km2     = 1247689.5
| area_rank          = [[List of Brazilian states by area|2nd]]
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_max_m    = 748
| elevation_max_point =
| population_total   = 8120131
| population_as_of   = 2022
| population_rank    = [[List of Brazilian states by population|9th]]
| population_footnotes = <ref name="census2022">{{Cite web|url=https://censo2022.ibge.gov.br/panorama/|title=2022 Census Overview|language=pt}}</ref>
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_density_rank = [[List of Brazilian states by population density|21st]]
| population_demonym = Paraense
| population_note    = 
| demographics_type1 = GDP
| demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="bge">{{Cite web |title=PIB por Unidade da Federação, 2021|url=https://www.ibge.gov.br/en/statistics/economic/national-accounts/19567-gross-domestic-product-of-municipalities.html|website=ibge.gov.br}}</ref>
| demographics1_title1 = Total
| demographics1_info1 = [[Brazilian real|R$]] 262.905 billion<br />([[US$]] 48.8 billion)
| demographics_type2 = [[Human Development Index|HDI]]
| demographics2_title1 = Year
| demographics2_info1 = 2021
| demographics2_title2 = Category
| demographics2_info2 = 0.690<ref>{{Cite web |title=Atlas do Desenvolvimento Humano no Brasil. Pnud Brasil, Ipea e FJP, 2022. |url=http://www.atlasbrasil.org.br/ranking |access-date=2023-06-11 |website=www.atlasbrasil.org.br}}</ref> – <span style="color:orange">medium</span> ([[List of Brazilian states by Human Development Index|23rd]])
| timezone1          = [[Time in Brazil|BRT]]
| utc_offset1        = &minus;3
| iso_code           = [[ISO 3166-2:BR|BR-PA]]
| postal_code_type   = [[Código de Endereçamento Postal|Postal Code]]
| postal_code        = 66000-000 to 68890-000
| website            = {{URL|https://www.pa.gov.br/}}
| registration_plate_type =
| registration_plate =
}}
'''Pará''' ({{IPA|pt-BR|paˈɾa}}) is a [[Federative units of Brazil|state]] of [[Brazil]], located in [[northern Brazil]] and traversed by the lower [[Amazon River]]. It borders the Brazilian states of [[Amapá]], [[Maranhão]], [[Tocantins (state)|Tocantins]], [[Mato Grosso]], [[Amazonas (Brazilian state)|Amazonas]] and [[Roraima]]. To the northwest are the borders of [[Guyana]] and [[Suriname]], to the northeast of Pará is the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. The capital and largest city is [[Belém]], which is located at the [[Marajó]] bay, near the estuary of the Amazon river. The state, which is home to 4.1% of the Brazilian population, is responsible for just 2.2% of the Brazilian [[GDP]].

Pará is the most populous state of the [[North Region, Brazil|North Region]], with a population of over 8.6 million, being the ninth-most populous state in Brazil. It is the second-largest state of Brazil in area, at {{convert|1.2|e6km2|sqmi}}, second only to [[Amazonas (Brazilian state)|Amazonas]] upriver. Its most famous icons are the [[Amazon River]] and the [[Amazon rainforest]]. Pará produces [[Natural rubber|rubber]] (extracted from [[rubber tree]] groves), [[cassava]], [[açaí]], [[pineapple]], [[Cocoa bean|cocoa]], [[black pepper]], [[coconut]], [[banana]], tropical [[hardwood]]s such as [[mahogany]], and minerals such as [[iron ore]] and [[bauxite]]. A new commodity crop is [[soy]], cultivated in the region of Santarém.

Every October, Belém receives tens of thousands of [[tourist]]s for the year's most important religious celebration: the procession of the [[Círio de Nazaré]]. Another important attraction of the capital is the Marajó-style ceramics, based on the vanished [[Marajoara culture]], which developed on that very large island in the Amazon River.

==Etymology==
The state's name is a [[toponym]] of the [[Tupi language|Tupi]] word ''pará'' – literally "[[sea]]", but sometimes used to refer to large rivers.<ref>{{cite journal | first=Maria Vicentina P. A. | last=Dick | date=1990-12-31 | title=Os Vocábulos Toponímicos Básicos no "Vocabulário na Língua Brasílica" e Sua Relação Geográfica | language=pt-br | url=http://www.revistas.usp.br/rieb/article/view/70051 | journal=Revista do Instituto de Estudos Brasileiros | issue=31 | page=103 | doi=10.11606/issn.2316-901X | publisher=[[Universidade de São Paulo]] | access-date=2020-02-21 | doi-access=free }}</ref> The state was named after the river of the same name, the [[Pará River]], one of the tributaries of the [[Amazon River]].

== History ==
In 1500, the Spanish navigator [[Vicente Yáñez Pinzón]] was the first European to navigate the mouth of the Amazon River.<ref name="Bueno1">BUENO, E. ''A viagem do descobrimento: a verdadeira história da expedição de Cabral''. Rio de Janeiro. Objetiva. 1998. p. 132 (in Portuguese)</ref> On 26 August 1542, the Spaniard [[Francisco de Orellana]] reached the mouth of the Amazon River waterway, by river from Quito, Ecuador.<ref name="Bueno">{{cite book | title=Brasil: uma história 2ª edição | publisher=Ática | author=BUENO, E. | year=2003| language=pt}}</ref> On 28 October 1637, the Portuguese [[Pedro Teixeira]] left Belém and went to Quito: during the expedition, he placed a landmark in the confluence of the Napo and Aguarico, in the current border between Ecuador and Peru, to Portugal, and later to Brazil, getting the possession of most of the Amazon, including all of the current territory of Pará.<ref name="Bueno" />

===Prior to European Arrival===
{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | total_width = 320

| image1 = FortePresepio2-CCBY.jpg
 | width1 = 750 | height1 = 536
 | alt1 = Fort of the Nativity (Forte do Presépio), in Belém city, Brazil.
 | caption1 = Fort of the Nativity (Forte do Presépio), in Belém city, Brazil.

| image2 = Burian urn, AD 1000-1250, Marajoara culture - AMNH - DSC06177.JPG
 | width2 = 300 | height2 = 300
 | alt2 = Funerary urn marajoara (1000-1250)
 | caption2 = Marajoara funerary urn (1000-1250)

| footer = 
}}
Archaeologists divide the ancient inhabitants of prehistory Brazil into groups according to their way of life and tools: hunter-gatherers of the coast and farmers. These groups were subsequently named by European settlers as "Indians". There are archaeological records proving the human presence in Brazil and the region of [[Santarém, Pará|Santarém]] since 3000 BC.

[[Marajó]] people lived in farmers' huts or houses 3,500 years ago. These people knew ceramics, dyes, natural medicinal compounds; practiced [[slash-and-burn]] (to clear the land); and planted cassava. A reminder of their culture remains in Marajoara pottery, which has peculiar size and decoration. The period from 500 to 1300 was the height of the Marajoara culture.

===Formation of Grão-Pará and Maranhão===
{{see also|State of Grão-Pará and Maranhão}}
The region of the Amazon valley, by the [[Treaty of Tordesillas]] (1494), was in possession of the Spanish Crown, the Portuguese expeditionaries, with the purpose of consolidating the region as Portuguese territory, founded the Fort of the Nativity ([[Forte do Presépio]]) in 1616, in [[Belém|Santa Maria de Belém do Grão-Pará]] (Saint Mary of Bethlehem of the Great Pará). The building was the first of the model on [[Amazon region|Amazon]] and the most significant in the Amazon territory until 1660. Despite the construction of fort, the occupation of territory was marked by early Dutch and English incursions in search of spices, hence the need of the Portuguese to fortify the area.<ref name="Bueno1" />

In the 17th century, the region, integrated into the [[State of Maranhão (colonial)|captaincy of Maranhão]], was prosperous with crops and livestock. In 1616 the captaincy of Grão-Pará was created, belonging to the Portuguese colonial state of Maranhão. In the same year the state of Grão-Pará and Maranhão transferred capital to [[Belém, Brazil|Belém]], forming and attaching the captaincy of Rio Negro in 1755 by creating the [[State of Grão-Pará and Rio Negro]].

In 1751, with the expansion to the west, the colonial state of Grão-Pará, which besides the captaincy of Grão Pará would host the captaincy of São José do Rio Negro (today the [[Amazonas (Brazilian state)|State of Amazonas]]).

In 1823, the Pará decided to join the independent Brazil, which had been separated during the colonial period, reporting directly to Lisbon. However, political infighting continued. The most important of them, the [[Cabanagem]] (1835), decreed the independence of the province of Pará. This was, along with the [[Ragamuffin War]], the only to lift the [[Regency period (Empire of Brazil)|regency period]] when the power was taken. Cabanagem was the only revolt led by the popular strata.

===Cabanagem===
{{see also|Cabanagem}}
[[File:Cabanagem Belém 1835.jpg|250px|thumb|right|19th century engraving about the Cabanagem]]
Cabanagem, a popular and social revolt during the [[Empire of Brazil]], in the [[Amazon region]], was influenced by the French Revolution. It was mainly due to extreme poverty, hunger and disease that devastated the Amazon at the beginning of the period, in the former province of Grão-Pará, which included the current [[Amazônia Legal|Amazonian states]] of Pará, [[Amazonas (Brazilian state)|Amazonas]], [[Amapá]], [[Roraima]] and [[Rondônia]]. The revolt spread from 1835 until January 1840, due to the process of independence of Brazil (1822), which did not occur immediately in the province due to political irrelevance to which the region was relegated by Prince Regent [[Pedro I of Brazil|Pedro I]]. After independence, the strong Portuguese influence remained stable, giving political irrelevance in this province to the Brazilian central government.

Indians, blacks, and mestizos (mostly poor class members), all named cabanos (cabins), teamed against the Regent Government and rebelled, to increase the importance of the region in Brazil's central government addressing the issue of poverty as one of the reasons. All lived in mud huts (hence the name of the revolt).<ref name="NYT4">{{cite web | url=https://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch/?action=click&contentCollection=Americas&region=TopBar&WT.nav=searchWidget&module=SearchSubmit&pgtype=article#/Bel%C3%A9m%2C+Brazil/since1851/allresults/1/allauthors/oldest/ | title=THE BRAZILS.; The Don Pedro II. Railway Portion Built by American Contractors An Imperial Visit Miscellaneous News. | work=New York Times | date=July 16, 1860 | access-date=March 9, 2017 | author=From Our Own Correspondent - Print Headline}}</ref> At the bottom of the rebellion, there was a mobilization of the Brazilian Empire against the reactionary forces of the province of Grão-Pará in expelling the insurgents who wanted to keep the region as a Portuguese colony or territory independent. Many of the local leaders, who resented the lack of political participation in decisions of the centralizer of the Brazil government, contributed to the climate of dissatisfaction against the provincial government.

===Rubber cycle and mineral extraction===
After the revolt, the local economy grew rapidly during the 19th century and early 20th century by exploitation of rubber, the latex, by extracting it. At this period the Amazon experienced two distinct economic cycles with the exploitation of the same raw material.

The intendant Antônio Lemos was the main character of the urban transformation that Belém experienced, which came to be known as Paris n’America (Paris in the America), as a reference to the influence of the urbanization that Paris had experienced at the time, which served as the inspiration for Antônio Lemos.

During this period, for example, the city center was heavily lined with mango trees transported from India and development inspired by the model of Paris. With the decline of the two cycles of rubber (1870–1920 and 1940–1945),<ref name="NYT3">{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/20/world/americas/deep-in-brazils-amazon-exploring-the-ruins-of-fords-fantasyland.html | title=Deep in Brazil's Amazon, Exploring the Ruins of Ford's Fantasyland | work=The New York Times | date=February 20, 2017 | access-date=March 9, 2017 | author=By SIMON ROMERO}}</ref> came a distressing economic stagnation, which stopped in the 1960s and 1970s,<ref name="NYT">{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/07/magazine/an-epic-struggle-for-gold.html | title=An Epic Struggle for Gold | work=New York Times | date=June 7, 1987 | access-date=March 9, 2017 | author=By SIMONS, Marlise}}</ref> with the development of agricultural activities in the south of the state. From the decade of 1960s, but mainly in the 1970s, growth was accelerating with the exploitation of minerals mainly in the southeastern region of the state, as with iron extraction in the [[Serra dos Carajás]] and the [[Serra Pelada]] gold.<ref name="NYT2">{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/23/world/serra-pelada-journal-brazilian-miners-wait-for-payday-after-diet-of-bitterness.html?_r=0 | title=Serra Pelada Journal; Brazilian Miners Wait for Payday After Diet of Bitterness | work=The New York Times | date=August 23, 2004 | access-date=March 9, 2017 | author=By ROHTER, Larry}}</ref>

== Geography ==

=== Climate ===
[[File:Pará Köppen.svg|left|thumb|297x297px|Köppen climate types of Pará.]]
A [[tropical rainforest climate]] is a type of [[tropical climate]] in which there is no [[dry season]] — all months have mean [[precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]] values of at least {{convert|60|mm}}. It is usually found at [[latitude]]s within five degrees of the [[equator]] — which are dominated by the [[Intertropical Convergence Zone]]. The [[equatorial climate]] is denoted ''Af'' in the [[Köppen climate classification]].

=== Vegetation ===
The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining [[rainforest]]s and comprises the largest and most species-rich tracts of [[tropical rainforest]] in the world. Wet tropical forests are the most species-rich [[biome]], and tropical forests in the [[Americas]] are consistently more species rich than the wet forests in Africa and Asia.<ref name ="Turner 2001">Turner, I.M. 2001. ''The ecology of trees in the tropical rain forest''. [[Cambridge University Press]], Cambridge. {{ISBN|0-521-80183-4}}</ref> As the largest tract of tropical rainforest in the Americas, the Amazonian rainforests have unparalleled [[biodiversity]]. More than one-third of all species in the world live in the Amazon rainforest<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/biomes|title=Biomes &#124; Conserving Biomes &#124; WWF|website=World Wildlife Fund}}</ref> The largest [[biodiversity]] of the [[planet]] is present across the state of Pará.{{multiple image
| align = right
| total_width = 320
| image1 = Amazon River.jpg
| width1 = 736
| height1 = 536
| alt1 = [[Amazon River]] in [[Amazon Rainforest]].
| caption1 = [[Amazon River]] in the [[Amazon Rainforest]]
| image2 = Vitregias02.jpg
| width2 = 736
| height2 = 536
| alt2 = Vitória Régia, in Paraense Emílio Goeldi [[Museum]] in [[Belém]].
| caption2 = Vitória Régia, in the Paraense Emílio Goeldi [[Museum]] in [[Belém]]
| footer = 
}}

== Political subdivisions ==
The state is divided into 144 municipalities.
{{Main|List of municipalities in Pará}}

The largest cities by population (2016) are:
*[[Belém]] 1,446,042
*[[Ananindeua, Pará|Ananindeua]] 510,834
*[[Santarém, Pará|Santarém]] 294,447
*[[Marabá, Pará|Marabá]] 272,172
*[[Parauapebas]] 196,259
*[[Castanhal]] 192,571
*[[Abaetetuba]] 151,934
*[[Cametá]] 132,515
*[[Marituba]] 125,435
*[[Bragança, Pará|Bragança]] 122,881
*[[Tucuruí]] 122,580
*[[Barcarena, Pará|Barcarena]] 121,074
*[[Altamira, Pará|Altamira]] 111,938
*[[Paragominas]] 108,547
*[[Itaituba]] 98,485

== Demographics ==
{{historical populations|11=1872|12=275237|13=1890|14=328455|15=1900|16=445356|17=1920|18=983507|19=1940|20=944644|21=1950|22=1123273|23=1960|24=1550935|25=1970|26=2197072|27=1980|28=3507312|29=1991|30=5181570|31=2000|32=6195965|33=2010|34=7581051|35=2022|36=8120131|footnote=Source:<ref name="census2022"/>}}According to the [[Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics|IBGE]] of 2022, there were 8,120,131 people residing in the state. The population density was {{convert|6.52|PD/km2|PD/sqmi}}. [[Urbanization]]: 75.2% (2006); [[Population growth]]: 2.5% (1991–2000); [[House]]s: 1,754,000 (2006).<ref>Source: PNAD.</ref>

The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 5,673,446 [[Brown people#Pardos in Brazil|Brown]] ([[Multiracial#Brazil|Multiracial]]) people (69.9%), 1,570,281 [[White Brazilian|White]] people (19.3%), 793,621 [[Afro-Brazilian|Black]] people (9.8%), 69,180 [[Indigenous peoples in Brazil|Amerindian]] people (0.9%), 12,432 [[Asian Brazilian|Asian]] people (0.2%).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://censo2022.ibge.gov.br/panorama/|title=Panorama do Censo 2022|website=Panorama do Censo 2022}}</ref>

=== Ethnic groups ===
[[File:Assurini 1634a.JPG|thumb|160px|[[Indigenous peoples in Brazil|Assurini Indians]] lived in isolation until 1971.]]

The majority of the population is mixed, due to the large indigenous population and, to a lesser amount, those with African ancestry. In the last IBGE census (2010), 817,000 Brazilians classified themselves as indigenous, about 0.26% percent of the country's population.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.funai.gov.br/index.php/indios-no-brasil/quem-sao|title = Redirecionamento}}</ref><!--Breakdown by state? -->

Pará has attracted numerous Portuguese, Spanish, and Japanese immigrants. They have told their stories in a permanent space, the "Room Vicente Salles" of the "Memorial of the People", in [[Belém]]. The Portuguese colonists were followed by Spaniards fleeing wars and social unrest due to political disputes in the Iberian Peninsula. The Japanese have become established in agrarian communities, settling in towns such as [[Tomé-Açu]].

[[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] explorers and missionaries settled in the state in the 17th century. In January 1616, the Portuguese captain, [[Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco]] began the occupation of the land, founding the Fort of the Nativity, nucleus of the future state capital. Portuguese religious missions were used to establish settlements between here and the Fort St. Louis of Maranhão. Most settlers sailed up the Amazon River as travel overland was extremely arduous. The Portuguese were the first to arrive in Pará, leaving contributions ranging from cuisine to architecture.

The first [[Japanese people|Japanese]] immigrants who settled in the Amazon left the [[Port of Kobe]] in Japan, on July 24, 1926, and reached the city of [[Tomé-Açu]], on 22 September of that year, with stops in [[Rio de Janeiro]] and [[Belém]].

The Japanese introduced crops such as jute and black pepper in the 1930s; jute was so successful that it drove a boom in the regional economy. In the 1970s, Japanese farmers introduced cultivation of Hawaiian papaya and melon, for which there is international demand. The third largest ethnic Japanese community in Brazil is in Pará, with about 13,000 inhabitants (surpassed only by settlements in the states of São Paulo and Paraná). They live mainly in the cities of Tomé-Açu, Santa Izabel do Pará, and [[Castanhal]].

Italian immigrants in Pará came predominantly from the south of Italy, originating in [[Calabria]], Campania and Basilicata. It was a time of a wave of emigration. They were all settlers and devoted to trade. The first Italian trade was recorded in 1888 in Santarém. The immigrants planted family roots in Belém, [[Breves, Pará|Breves]], [[Abaetetuba]], [[Óbidos, Brazil|Óbidos]], [[Oriximiná]], Santarém and Alenquer. The presence in western Pará was so pronounced that the Consulate of Italy established an office in Óbidos, which is the largest city populated by Italians in the state. The consulate was in Recife, Pernambuco.

In Belém, the Italians worked in commercial and retail services. They were important during the beginning of the industrialization of the state capital (1895). According to the 1920 census, about 1,000 Italians lived in Pará. At the end of [[World War II]], another wave of Italian immigrants arrived after the persecution of Japanese, Italians, and Germans. Similar to French immigrants, this wave of Italians did not remain in Pará.

[[Lebanese people|Lebanese]] immigrants arrived in Pará in the mid-19th century, at the time of the rubber boom, and through 1914. There were between 15,000 and 25,000 Syrian-Lebanese immigrants, of whom one-third went to Acre. In Pará, the Lebanese settled in Belém, and in the cities of Cametá, [[Marabá]], Altamira, Breves, Monte Alegre, Alenquer, Santarém, Óbidos, Soure, Maracanã, Abaetetuba, among others.

The first French immigrants arrived in Brazil in the second half of the 19th century, settling in the colony of Benevides, the metropolitan region of [[Belém do Pará]]. The French were attracted to the region because of the rubber boom, eventually settling in Belém, which became known as ''Paris N'América''.

=== Largest cities ===
{{Largest cities
| country     = Pará
| stat_ref    = (2011 census by the [[Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics]])<ref name="IBGE_Pop_2011">{{cite web|url=http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/populacao/estimativa2011/POP2011_DOU.pdf|title=Estimativas da população residente nos municípios brasileiros com data de referência em 1º de julho de 2011|trans-title=Estimates of the Resident Population of Brazilian Municipalities as of July 1, 2011|date=30 August 2011|publisher=[[Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics]]|access-date=31 August 2011|language=pt}}</ref>
| list_by_pop = 
| div_name    = Mesoregion
| div_link    =

| city_1 = Belém
| div_1  = Mesorregião Metropolitana de Belém{{!}}Metropolitana
| pop_1  = 1,437,600
| img_1  = Belèm.jpg

| city_2 = Ananindeua
| div_2  = Mesorregião Metropolitana de Belém{{!}}Metropolitana
| pop_2  = 505,512
| img_2  = IEC Campus Ananindeua.jpg

| city_3 = Santarém, Pará{{!}}Santarém
| div_3  = Mesorregião do Baixo Amazonas{{!}}Baixo Amazonas
| pop_3  = 276,665
| img_3  = Santarem-Highway.jpg

| city_4 = Marabá
| div_4  = Mesorregião do Sudeste Paraense{{!}}Sudeste
| pop_4  = 203,049
| img_4  = Maraba_Prefeitura.jpg

| city_5 = Castanhal
| div_5  = Mesorregião Metropolitana de Belém{{!}}Metropolitana
| pop_5  = 161,497
| img_5  =

| city_6 = Parauapebas
| div_6  = Mesorregião do Sudeste Paraense{{!}}Sudeste
| pop_6  = 152,777
| img_6  =

| city_7 = Abaetetuba
| div_7  = Mesorregião do Nordeste Paraense{{!}}Nordeste
| pop_7  = 139,819
| img_7  =

| city_8 = Itaituba
| div_8  = Mesorregião do Sudoeste Paraense{{!}}Sudoeste
| pop_8  = 127,848
| img_8  =

| city_9 = Cametá
| div_9  = Mesorregião do Nordeste Paraense{{!}}Nordeste
| pop_9  = 117,099
| img_9  =

| city_10 = Bragança, Pará{{!}}Bragança
| div_10  = Mesorregião do Nordeste Paraense{{!}}Nordeste
| pop_10  = 107,060
| img_10  =

| city_11 = Marituba
| div_11  = Mesorregião Metropolitana de Belém{{!}}Metropolitana
| pop_11  = 101,158
| img_11  =

| city_12 = Breves, Brazil{{!}}Breves
| div_12  = Mesorregião do Marajó{{!}}Marajó
| pop_12  = 101,094
| img_12  =

| city_13 = Altamira, Brazil{{!}}Altamira
| div_13  = Mesorregião do Sudoeste Paraense{{!}}Sudoeste
| pop_13  = 98,750
| img_13  =

| city_14 = Paragominas
| div_14  = Mesorregião do Sudeste Paraense{{!}}Sudeste
| pop_14  = 97,350
| img_14  =

| city_15 = Tucuruí
| div_15  = Mesorregião do Sudeste Paraense{{!}}Sudeste
| pop_15  = 96,010
| img_15  =

| city_16 = Barcarena, Brazil{{!}}Barcarena
| div_16  = Mesorregião Metropolitana de Belém{{!}}Metropolitana
| pop_16  = 92,567
| img_16  =

| city_17 = Redenção, Pará{{!}}Redenção
| div_17  = Mesorregião do Sudeste Paraense{{!}}Sudeste
| pop_17  = 75,583
| img_17  =

| city_18 = Tailândia, Pará{{!}}Tailândia
| div_18  = Mesorregião do Nordeste Paraense{{!}}Nordeste
| pop_18  = 72,720
| img_18  =

| city_19 = Moju
| div_19  = Mesorregião do Nordeste Paraense{{!}}Nordeste
| pop_19  = 68,600
| img_19  =

| city_20 = São Félix do Xingu
| div_20  = Mesorregião do Nordeste Paraense{{!}}Nordeste
| pop_20  = 67,208
| img_20  =

}}

=== Education ===
[[File:Mangal das Garcas.jpg|thumb|right|Belém is the most important education centre of the state.]]
[[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. English and Spanish are part of the official [[high school]] curriculum.

==== Educational institutions ====
* [[Universidade Federal do Pará]] (UFPA) (Federal University of Pará);
* [[Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará]] (UFOPA) (Federal University of Western Pará);
* [[Universidade Federal do Sul e Sudeste do Pará]] (UNIFESSPA) (Federal University of Southern and Southeastern Pará)
* [[Federal Rural University of Amazonia|Universidade Federal Rural da Amazonia]] (UFRA) (Federal Rural University of Amazonia);
* [[Universidade do Estado do Pará]] (UEPA) (Pará State University);
* [[Universidade da Amazônia]] (UNAMA) (University of Amazon);
* [[Federal Institute of Pará|Instituto Federal do Pará]] (IFPA) (Federal Institute of Pará);
* [[Centro Universitário do Pará]] (CESUPA) (University Center of Pará);

== Economy ==
[[File:Castanheira 1.jpg|thumb|Chestnut tree in Pará.]]
[[File:Acapalms.jpg|thumb|Acai trees in Pará.]]
[[File:Mineração Rio do Norte (MRN), inside Brazilian Saracá-Taquera National Forest, Pará.jpg|thumb|Extraction of bauxite in Pará]]
The [[service sector]] is the largest component of [[GDP]] at 40.9%, followed by the [[industrial sector]] at 36.3%. [[Agriculture]] represents 22.8% of [[GDP]] (2004). Pará exports [[iron ore]] 31.1%, [[aluminium]] 22.2%, [[wood]] 13.5%, [[ore]]s of [[aluminium]] 8.3%, others [[ore]]s 7.9% (2002), representing 1.8% of the Brazilian economy (2005).

The mining sector represents 14% of the [[gross domestic product]] ([[GDP]]) of the state, originated mainly from the extraction of [[iron]], [[bauxite]], [[manganese]], [[limestone]] and [[tin]], as well as gold, until recently extracted from one of the largest [[Mining|mines]] of recent history: [[Serra Pelada]]. The economy of Pará is based also on the extraction of vegetation, on [[agriculture]] and cattle raising. Thanks to the rich [[soil]] and the important hydrographic basin – boats are the main means of [[transport]] in the region. [[Guaraná]], a tree from which a powder is produced and used as a stimulant, and annatto seeds, a [[fruit]] used for cooking, as a sunscreen and for dye extraction. [[Marajó]] – the biggest fluvial-maritime island in the world, with an area of {{convert|50000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}. Its territory has one of the largest mining areas in the country, in the [[Carajás Mountains]], a mining province where the [[Ferro Carajás Project]] is based, from Companhia [[Vale do Rio Doce]]. The complex produced 296 million metric tons of iron ore in 2007,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/39581/carajas-mine-brazil|title=Carajás Mine, Brazil|date=July 29, 2009|website=earthobservatory.nasa.gov}}</ref> exporting the product to many countries, among them [[Japan]], Germany, [[Italy]], France and Spain.

Pará is the largest producer of [[cassava]],<ref name="cnpmf.embrapa.br">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnpmf.embrapa.br/Base_de_Dados/index_pdf/dados/brasil/mandioca/b1_mandioca.pdf|title=Produção brasileira de mandioca em 2018}}</ref> [[açaí]],<ref name="g1.globo.com">{{Cite web|url=https://g1.globo.com/pa/para/noticia/2019/03/15/caminhos-do-acai-para-produz-95-da-producao-do-brasil-fruto-movimenta-us-15-bi-e-sao-paulo-e-o-principal-destino-no-pais.ghtml|title=Caminhos do açaí: Pará produz 95% da produção do Brasil, fruto movimenta US$ 1,5 bi e São Paulo é o principal destino no país|date=March 15, 2019|website=G1}}</ref> [[pineapple]]<ref name="ReferenceH"/> and [[Cocoa bean|cocoa]]<ref name="ReferenceE"/> of [[Brazil]] and is among the largest in Brazil in the production of [[black pepper]] (2nd place),<ref name="embrapa.br">{{Cite web|url=https://www.embrapa.br/busca-de-noticias/-/noticia/51451550/para-exporta-pimenta-com-seguranca-e-qualidade|title=Pará exporta pimenta com segurança e qualidade|website=www.embrapa.br}}</ref> [[coconut]] (3rd place)<ref name="correio24horas.com.br">{{Cite web|url=https://www.correio24horas.com.br/minha-bahia/producao-de-coco-despenca-no-brasil-e-na-bahia--0220|title=Produção de coco despenca no Brasil e na Bahia|website=www.correio24horas.com.br}}</ref> and [[banana]] (6th place).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnpmf.embrapa.br/Base_de_Dados/index_pdf/dados/brasil/banana/b1_banana.pdf|title=Produção brasileira de banana em 2018}}</ref>

In [[cassava]] production, Brazil produced a total of 17.6 million tons in 2018. Pará was the largest producer in the country, with 3.8 million tons.<ref name="cnpmf.embrapa.br"/>

In 2019, Pará produced 95% of [[açaí]] in Brazil. The state traded more than 1.2 million tons of the fruit, worth more than US$1.5 billion, about 3% of the state's GDP.<ref name="g1.globo.com"/>

In 2018, Pará was the largest Brazilian producer of [[pineapple]], with 426 million fruits harvested on almost 19 thousand hectares. In 2017, Brazil was the 3rd largest producer in the world (close to 1.5 billion fruits harvested on approximately 60 thousand hectares). It is the fifth most cultivated fruit in the country. The southeast of Pará has 85% of the state production: the cities of Floresta do Araguaia (76.45%), Conceição do Araguaia (8.42%) and Salvaterra (3.12%) led the ranking this year. Floresta do Araguaia also has the largest concentrated fruit juice industry in Brazil, exporting to European Union, United States and Mercosur.<ref name="ReferenceH">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnpmf.embrapa.br/Base_de_Dados/index_pdf/dados/brasil/abacaxi/b1_abacaxi.pdf|title=Produção brasileira de abacaxi em 2018, Embrapa}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.adepara.pa.gov.br/artigos/abacaxi-faz-o-par%C3%A1-despontar-como-o-maior-produtor-nacional-do-fruto |title=Abacaxi faz o Pará despontar como o maior produtor nacional do fruto |access-date=2020-07-21 |archive-date=2020-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715144845/http://www.adepara.pa.gov.br/artigos/abacaxi-faz-o-par%C3%A1-despontar-como-o-maior-produtor-nacional-do-fruto |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Pará is also one of the largest Brazilian producers of [[coconut]]. In 2019, it was the 3rd largest producer in the country, with 191.8 million fruits harvested, second only to Bahia and Ceará.<ref name="correio24horas.com.br"/>

Pará is the 2nd largest Brazilian producer of [[black pepper]], with 34 thousand tons harvested in 2018.<ref name="embrapa.br"/>

The [[Brazil nut]] has always been one of the main products of extraction in Northern Brazil, with collection on the forest floor. However, in recent decades, the commercial cultivation of Brazil nut was created. There are already properties with more than 1 million chestnut trees for large-scale production. The annual production averages in Brazil varied between 20 thousand and 40 thousand tons per year in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://g1.globo.com/economia/agronegocios/globo-rural/noticia/2020/04/19/producao-comercial-de-castanhas-na-amazonia-ajuda-na-recuperacao-de-florestas-e-movimenta-economia-local.ghtml|title=Produção comercial de castanhas na Amazônia ajuda na recuperação de florestas e movimenta economia local|date=April 19, 2020|website=G1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.embrapa.br/busca-de-noticias/-/noticia/26131296/pesquisa-aponta-queda-de-70-na-producao-de-castanha-da-amazonia|title=Pesquisa aponta queda de 70% na produção de castanha-da-amazônia|website=www.embrapa.br}}</ref>

In the production of [[Cocoa bean|cocoa]], Pará has been competing with [[Bahia]] for the leadership of Brazilian production. In 2017 Pará obtained the leadership for the first time. In 2019, people from Pará harvested 135 thousand tons of cocoa, and Bahians harvested 130 thousand tons. Bahia's cocoa area is practically three times larger than that of Pará, but Pará's productivity is practically three times greater. Some factors that explain this are: the crops in Bahia are more extractivist, and those in Pará have a more modern and commercial style, in addition to paraenses using more productive and resistant seeds, and their region providing resistance to [[Witch's broom]].<ref name="ReferenceE">{{Cite web|url=https://g1.globo.com/economia/agronegocios/globo-rural/noticia/2019/11/03/lideranca-na-producao-brasileira-de-cacau-volta-para-casa-no-para-com-a-uniao-de-agricultores.ghtml|title=Pará retoma liderança na produção brasileira de cacau, com a união de agricultores &#124; Globo Rural|date=November 3, 2019|website=G1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rondoniagora.com/agronegocio/rondonia-e-o-terceiro-maior-produtor-de-cacau-do-brasil|title=Rondônia é o terceiro maior produtor de cacau do Brasil|date=March 26, 2019|website=rondoniagora.com}}</ref>

In 2018, Pará occupied the 6th national position in the [[banana]] production.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnpmf.embrapa.br/Base_de_Dados/index_pdf/dados/brasil/banana/b1_banana.pdf|title=Produção de banana no Brasil em 2018}}</ref>

In 2018, Pará had the 5th largest [[cattle]] herd in Brazil, with 20.6 million head of cattle. The city of [[São Félix do Xingu]] is the largest in the country, with 2.2 million animals. Marabá is the 6th largest city in the country in numbers, with 1 million animals. In the ranking of the 20 main herds, Pará has seven names. Part of this is due to the fact that the municipalities of Pará have gigantic territory.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.zedudu.com.br/rebanho-bovino-do-para-aumenta-mais-de-40-mil-e-alcanca-206-milhoes-de-cabecas/ |title=Rebanho bovino do Pará aumenta mais de 40 mil e alcança 20,6 milhões de cabeças |access-date=2020-07-27 |archive-date=2020-07-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727190809/https://www.zedudu.com.br/rebanho-bovino-do-para-aumenta-mais-de-40-mil-e-alcanca-206-milhoes-de-cabecas/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2017, in the [[iron ore]] sector, Pará was the 2nd largest national producer, with 169 million tons (of the 450 million produced by the country), at a value of R$25.5 billion. In [[copper]], Pará produced almost 980 thousand tons (of the 1.28 million tons in Brazil), at a value of R$6.5 billion. In [[aluminum]] ([[bauxite]]), Pará carried out almost all Brazilian production (34.5 of 36.7 million tons) at a value of R$3 billion. In [[manganese]], Pará produced a large part of Brazilian production (2.3 of 3.4 million tons) at a value of R$1 billion. In [[gold]], Pará was the 3rd largest Brazilian producer, with 20 tons at a value of R$940 million. In [[nickel]], Goiás and Pará are the only two producers in the country, with Pará being the 2nd in production, having obtained 90 thousand tons at a value of R$750 million. In [[tin]], Pará the 3rd largest producer (4.4 thousand tons, at a value of R$114 million). Pará had 42.93% of the value of commercialized mineral production in Brazil, with almost R$38 billion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.anm.gov.br/dnpm/publicacoes/serie-estatisticas-e-economia-mineral/anuario-mineral/anuario-mineral-brasileiro/amb_2018_ano_base_2017|title=Wayback Machine|website=www.anm.gov.br}}</ref>

Due to the proximity of the iron ore mines, [[Siderúrgica Norte Brasil]] (Sinobras) was created in [[Marabá]]. In 2018, the company produced 345 thousand tons of crude steel, of the 35.4 million produced in the country.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://institutoacobrasil.net.br/site/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/AcoBrasil_Mini_anuario_2019.pdf |title=A Siderurgia em Números 2019, página 11 |access-date=2020-07-21 |archive-date=2020-07-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712004909/https://institutoacobrasil.net.br/site/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/AcoBrasil_Mini_anuario_2019.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Pará had in 2017 an industrial GDP of R$43,8 billion, equivalent to 3.7% of the national industry. It employs 164,989 workers in the industry. The main industrial sectors are: Extraction of metallic minerals (46,9%), Industrial Public Utility Services, such as Electricity and Water (23.4%), Construction (14.8%), Metallurgy (4.3%) and Food (4.3%). These 5 sectors concentrate 93.7% of the state's industry.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://perfildaindustria.portaldaindustria.com.br/estado/pa|title=CNI - Perfil da Indústria nos Estados|website=perfil.portaldaindustria.com.br}}</ref>

== Infrastructure ==
===  Airports ===
[[File:Valdecaes.JPG|thumb|right|[[Belém International Airport]]]]
[[Belém International Airport]] (BEL) is 10&nbsp;km from the center of Belém. Currently it serves demand of 2.7 million [[passenger]]s a year, in a constructed area of {{convert|33255.17|m2|sqft|sp=us}}. Traditionally called Val-de-Cães Airport, the airport was considered one of the 10 best in the world according to a survey carried out in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dol.com.br/noticias/para/838887/aeroporto-de-belem-esta-no-top-10-dos-melhores-do-mundo?d=1|title=Aeroporto de Belém está no top 10 dos melhores do mundo|first=DOL-Diário|last=Online|date=December 3, 2023|website=DOL - Diário Online}}</ref>

=== Port ===
The [[Port]] of [[Belém]] has restaurants, art galleries, a small [[brewery]], [[ice-cream]] shops, artisan stands, regional food kiosks, [[coffee]] houses, a space for fairs and events, a theatre for 400 spectators, and a touristic harbour.<ref>[https://www.cdp.com.br/porto-de-belem/ Porto de Belém]</ref>

== Sports ==
[[File:Mangueirão cheio.jpg|thumb|[[Estádio Olímpico do Pará]] in [[Belém]].]]
[[Belém]] provides visitors and residents with sport activities.

The [[Mangueirão]] [[stadium]] architectural project is from August 1969. In 2002, 24 years after its inauguration, [[Mangueirão]] was reinaugurated as an Olympic stadium of Pará. The visiting capacity of the stadium is at around 50,000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://agenciapara.com.br/|title=Agência Pará de Notícias|website=agenciapara.com.br}}</ref>

===Stadiums===
* Olympic stadium of Pará
* Evandro Almeida [[stadium]]
* Jader Barbalho [[stadium]]
* Leônidas Castro [[stadium]]
* and many others.

== Flag ==
{{Main article|Flag of Pará}}
The white stripe in the [[Flag of Pará]] represents the [[zodiac]], the [[Equator]] and the [[Amazon River]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sua Pesquisa |first=Autor de |date=30 June 2023 |title=Bandeira do Pará |url=https://www.suapesquisa.com/estadosbrasileiros/bandeira_para.htm |website=Sua Pesquisa}}</ref> The blue star is [[Spica]] in the constellation [[Virgo (constellation)|Virgo]], which is also depicted on the [[Flag of Brazil]] representing the state. The two red areas symbolize the blood shed by the Cabanos in the [[Cabanagem]] revolt.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Senado |first=T. V. |date=2022-12-16 |title=Bandeira do Pará simboliza o espírito de luta de um povo |url=https://www12.senado.leg.br/tv/programas/essa-bandeira-tem-historia/2022/12/bandeira-do-para-simboliza-o-espirito-de-luta-de-um-povo |access-date=2024-05-05 |website=TV Senado |language=pt}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
Pará is mentioned in season 4, episode 6 of [[United States|American]] television show [[House (TV series)|House]]. [[Gregory House|House]] is brought in to consult with the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] about a patient. His final diagnosis is [[selenium]] poisoning from eating "castanhas-do-Pará," literally "chestnuts of Pará" in [[Brazilian Portuguese]], aka [[Brazil nut]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=House – Season 4, Episode 6 Whatever It Takes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/house/s04/e06 |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=29 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=House S 4 E 06 Whatever It Takes » Recap |url=https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/HouseS4E06WhateverItTakes |website=TV Tropes |access-date=29 November 2024}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[History of Belém]]
*[[Hélio Gracie]] – martial artist.
*[[Guilherme Paraense]] — Olympic medalist.
*[[Rogério Ferreira]] – beach volleyball player, World Champion.

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{sister project links|Pará|voy=Pará (Brazil)}}
*{{in lang|pt}} [http://www.pa.gov.br/ Official website]
*{{in lang|en}} {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071212141431/http://www.braziltour.com/site/gb/home/index.php Brazilian Tourism Portal]}}
*{{in lang|pt}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20190709230307/http://paraense.com/ Portal Paraense]

{{Municipalities of Pará}}
{{States of Brazil}}
{{Brazil topics}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Para}}
[[Category:Pará| ]]
[[Category:Federative units of Brazil]]
[[Category:North Region, Brazil|*]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1772]]
[[Category:1772 establishments in Brazil]]