Pará de Minas

Machine translation of the Portuguese Wikipedia article (November 2026 version).

Pará de Minas is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, in the Southeast Region of the country. It belongs to the Belo Horizonte metropolitan belt, located about 80 km west of the state capital. The city is located in the Central region of the state and covers an area of approximately 550 km², of which 26 km² are urban area, and its population was estimated at 102,844 inhabitants in 2025.

The municipal seat has an average annual temperature of 21.8 °C, and the original vegetation of the municipality is dominated by the Atlantic Forest. With 95% of the population living in the urban zone, the city had 50 health facilities in 2009. Its Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.725, classified as high in relation to the national average.

The exploration of the area of the present municipality began in the second half of the 17th century, after the opening of a stopping point for bandeirantes traveling to and from the mines of Pitangui, with some of them settling on the site. The construction of the Nossa Senhora da Piedade Chapel in the 18th century marks the establishment of the arraial, which for decades developed around subsistence farming and livestock, and was elevated to the status of district in 1846, becoming emancipated in 1859. During the 20th century, the textile industry, the steel sector and agro-industries gained momentum, making Pará de Minas one of the main state hubs for pig and poultry farming.

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