Rio Grande do Norte (English: Great River of the North) [1] is a state located in the Northeast Region of Brazil. According to the 2010 Census conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), Rio Grande do Norte has a population of 3,168,133 inhabitants over 52,797 square kilometres (20,385 sq mi), which makes it the 16th largest state by population and the 22nd largest by area, out of 26 states. [2] [3] [4] [5] It is home to cities such as Natal, Mossoró, and São Gonçalo do Amarante.
The land that became Rio Grande do Norte was a donatário to João de Barros, the factor of the House of India and Mina, from John III of Portugal in 1535; [6] prior to that, the Portuguese Crown owned the land. [7] The French, who trafficked Brazil wood in the area, had a foothold on the land until the Portuguese expelled them in 1598. [6] The Dutch took the land in 1634 as a part of Dutch Brazil and reigned until 1654, when they were defeated by the Portuguese. [8] In 1701, Rio Grande do Norte joined the Captaincy of Pernambuco, and became a province in 1822 and a state of Brazil in 1889. [6]
Rio Grande do Norte is divided into 167 municipalities, which are grouped into four mesoregions and 23 microregions. Of the 167 municipalities, Natal has the highest population, with 803,811 inhabitants, while Viçosa, with 1,618 inhabitants, has the lowest. The largest municipality by area is Mossoró, with an area of 2,110 square kilometres (815 sq mi); the smallest is Senador Georgino Avelino, named after the former Senator and Rio Grande do Norte Governor José Georgino Avelino, [9] which covers an area of 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi).
Rio Grande do Norte is one of the states of Brazil. It is located in the northeastern region of the country, forming the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. The name literally translates as "Great Northern River", referring to the mouth of the Potengi River.
Natal is the capital and largest city of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, located in northeastern Brazil. According to IBGE's 2021 estimate, the city had a total population of 896,708, making it the 19th largest city in the country. Natal is a major tourist destination and an exporting hub of crustaceans, carnauba wax and fruits, mostly melon, sugar apple, cashew and papaya. It is the country's closest city to Africa and Europe, with its Greater Natal International Airport connecting Natal with many Brazilian cities and also operating some international flights. The city was one of the host cities of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
The South Region of Brazil is one of the five regions of Brazil. It includes the states of Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, and Santa Catarina, and covers 576,409.6 square kilometres (222,553.0 sq mi), being the smallest region of the country, occupying only about 6.76% of the territory of Brazil. Its whole area is smaller than that of the state of Minas Gerais, in Southeast Brazil, for example.
ABC Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as ABC, is a Brazilian professional club based in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte founded on 29 June 1915. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B, the second tier of Brazilian football, as well as in the Campeonato Potiguar, the top flight of the Rio Grande do Norte state football league.
Mossoró is the second most populous city in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, and also the largest municipality of that state. It is equidistant from Natal, the state capital of Rio Grande do Norte, and from Fortaleza, the capital of the state of Ceará. It is also in the heart of Brazil's salt production area. Situated in the Oeste Potiguar mesoregion, Mossoró is the country's largest land-based petroleum producer.
Caicó, also known as the City of Prince, is a municipality in the Seridó Ocidental microrregion and Central Potiguar mesorregion, in Rio Grande do Norte state, Northeast Brazil. With a population of 80,726 inhabitants (2021), it is the seventh most populous city of Rio Grande do Norte and the second in the countryside of the state, after Mossoró.
Tourism in Brazil is a growing sector and key to the economy of several regions of Brazil. The country had 6.589 million visitors in 2018, ranking in terms of the international tourist arrivals as the second main destination in South America after Argentina and third in Latin America after Mexico and Argentina. Revenues from international tourists reached US$5.8 billion in 2015, continuing a recovery trend from the 2008–2009 economic crisis.
Touros is a municipality in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. It is known as "Brazil's Corner" because it is located at the northeast corner of the country, being the closest South American city to Africa. Touros has many fish, and there is a nearby seawater basin in the ocean formed by banks of coral.
Recife Metropolitan Area, officially the Metropolitan Region of Recife is a major metropolitan area in Northeast Brazil with a population of 4.02 million as of 2020, centered on the state capital of Recife, Pernambuco. In 2017, it was ranked as the 8th largest Metropolitan Region nationally.
Associação Cultural e Desportiva Potiguar, commonly known as Potiguar or as Potiguar de Mossoró, are a Brazilian football team from Mossoró. They won the Campeonato Potiguar once and competed in the Série A twice.
Ipueira is a municipality in the interior of the state of Rio Grande do Norte in the Northeast region of Brazil, in the region of Seridó. It is located 318 kilometers to the southwest of Natal, the state capital, and has an area of 127 km2 and is located at the midway point between Caicó and Patos. It has a population of 2,253 people, making it the third least populous municipal in the state.
São Miguel do Gostoso is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Norte in the Northeast region of Brazil.
Senador Georgino Avelino is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Norte in the Northeast region of Brazil.
São Gonçalo do Amarante is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Norte in the Northeast region of Brazil.
Pau dos Ferros is a municipality in the homonymous microregion, in Rio Grande do Norte state, Northeast Brazil.
The urban hierarchy of Brazil places Brazil's cities into categories: global cities, national metropolises, regional metropolises, regional capitols, sub-regional centers and zone centers.
Avelino may refer to:
BR-304 is a Brazilian federal highway that begins in Beberibe, Ceará and ends in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte. The highway also serves the municipalities of Aracati in Ceará and Mossoró, Lajes and Parnamirim in Rio Grande do Norte.
Celina Guimarães Viana was a Brazilian professor and suffragist. She was the first women to vote in Brazil. She did so on 5 April 1928 in the city of Mossoró.
Fest Bossa & Jazz is a cultural and tourism project held annually in the cities of Natal, Pipa Beach, São Miguel do Gostoso and Mossoró in Rio Grande do Norte. The festival takes place in multiple venues including performances, pocket shows, lectures, workshops and social gatherings for musicians and students.