São Mateus

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

São Mateus is a Brazilian municipality on the northern coast of the state of Espírito Santo, in the Southeast Region of the country. It is located northeast of the state capital, about 220 km away. It covers an area of approximately 2,350 km², of which 32 km² are urban, and its population was estimated at 134,423 inhabitants in 2025, making it the eighth most populous municipality in the state.

It was founded on 21 September 1544, receiving municipal autonomy only in 1764. Originally called the Povoado do Cricaré, it was renamed in 1566 by Father José de Anchieta as São Mateus. It is considered a landmark in the colonisation of the soil of Espírito Santo, and it is the municipality with the largest Afro-descendant population in the state. This is because, until the second half of the 19th century, the Port of São Mateus was one of the main entry points for enslaved Africans brought to Brazil. There is also a presence of descendants of Italian immigrants, who were responsible for the colonisation of part of the mateense backlands.

Its economy is based on the provision of services and on the exploitation and production of oil. In the 1970s, several oil fields were discovered, and in the 1980s these discoveries were expanded. In the 2000s, the Terminal Norte Capixaba was built in the Campo Grande region, responsible for the outflow of all the region's production.

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