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Gouveia is a Brazilian municipality located in the center of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2007 was 11,569 living in a total area of 874 km². The city belongs to the statistical mesoregion of Jequitinhonha and to the statistical microregion of Diamantina. It became a municipality in 1953.
Map of Gouveia - State of Minas Gerais, Brazil
Gouveia is located at an elevation of 1113 meters in the upper Jequitinhonha River valley. It is southwest of Diamantina to which it is connected by federal highway BR-367. The nearest major population center is Diamantina.
The distance to Diamantina is 34 km; and the distance to Belo Horizonte is 252 km. Neighboring municipalities are: Diamantina (N); Datas (E); Conceição do Mato Dentro and Santana de Pirapama (S); Presidente Juscelino and Monjolos (W).
The main economic activities are services, small industry, and agriculture. The GDP in 2005 was R$51 million, with 29 million from services, 13 million from industry, and 3 million from agriculture. There were 323 rural producers on 18,000 hectares of land. Only 16 farms had tractors (2006). The main crops cultivated were coffee, sugarcane, beans, and corn. There were 9,400 head of cattle (2006). In 2007 there was 1 bank in the town.
The social indicators rank Gouveia in the middle tier of municipalities in the state in human development.
The highest ranking municipality in Minas Gerais in 2000 was Poços de Caldas with 0.841, while the lowest was Setubinha with 0.568. Nationally the highest was São Caetano do Sul in São Paulo with 0.919, while the lowest was Setubinha. In more recent statistics (considering 5,507 municipalities) Manari in the state of Pernambuco has the lowest rating in the country--0,467--putting it in last place.
There were 10 health clinics and 1 small hospital with 41 beds in 2005. Patients with more serious health conditions are transported to Diamantina. Educational needs were met by 11 primary schools and 1 middle school (2007).