Sao Paulo

During the 19th century, the economy of São Paulo was based mostly on agriculture, particularly the plantations of coffee (see History of São Paulo). In the 20th century, the Economy shifted to industrialization and modern agriculture, which caused the decline of most farms, which in turn led to the aging and destruction of the instalations of most of those once glorious farms.

However, a few of those Historic farms were preserved. The owners of thirteen farms gathered together to form an association called Fazendas Paulistas - Farms of São Paulo (click to visit website).

By visiting these farms, tourists can see what life was like back in the 19th century (the oldest farm dates back to the 18th century). The main houses and their architectures were preserved, as well as the buildings were coffee was processed and stored.

Visitors can check in to some of the hotels (some hotels are for daily tours only) and enjoy other services such as horse riding, trekking, fauna and flora observation, enjoying regional food.

To commemorate the aniversary of the city, the Federation of Commerce compiled a report about the Economy of the city of São Paulo; to show the grandness and importance of the city, the report published also data about transportation in São Paulo and some pieces of information about the cultural life in São Paulo.

There are 38,000 restaurants in São Paulo; in London, there are 11,000. There are 5,000 pizzerias.

São Paulo is the third biggest Italian city in the world, the biggest Japanese city outside Japan, the biggest Spanish city outside Spain, the biggest Portuguese city outside Portugal, the third biggest Lebanese city outside Lebanon.

São Paulo is the biggest event center in Latin America, hosting about 70,000 events per year. Out of the 160 biggest Fairs conducted in Brazil, 120 take place in São Paulo. São Paulo has 120 theaters and show houses, 71 museums and 11 cultural centers; 100 plays are performed in theaters every week.

The largest University of Brazil, USP, is in São Paulo; the first School of Law in Brazil was founded in 1827 in São Paulo.

São Paulo is seat of 3 out of the 5 largest Brazilian newspapers; 7 out of the 10 largest book publishers, and 9 out of the 10 magazine publishers. There are more than 205 hospitals in the city.

To commemorate the anniversary of the city of São Paulo, the Federation of Commerce of São Paulo prepared a report about the Economy of São Paulo; the report contains some information about the infrastructure of means of transportation in São Paulo.

There are more than 5,500 million vehicles in the city of São Paulo.

The São Paulo Metro (underground) transports more than 2.5 million people per day; the network has four lines, totalling 57.6 km (35.8 mi).

The city is served by 15,000 buses and 30,000 taxis (London has 20,000 taxis); the fleet of helicopters is the second biggest in the world (New York has the biggest one).

There are more than 5,500 street crossings with traffic lights.

The three airports in the city (Congonhas, Guarulhos and Campo de Marte) see 380,000 landings and take-offs per year. Congonhas is the busiest airport in Brazil. Guarulhos is the biggest airport in Latin America.

To celebrate the anniversary of the city of São Paulo, on January 25th, the Federation of Commerce of the State prepared a report with interesting data about the importance of the city in Brazil’s economy, which showed that, measured by the size of the Economy, São Paulo is bigger than 22 American States.

The Gross Product of the city of São Paulo reached R$ 263.2 bn in 2005, or US$ 102.4 bn; for conversion, the study used the average rate of 2005, US$ 1 = R$ 2.57. If the current rate, of about US$ 1 = R$ 1.80 were used, then the Product would be even bigger, about US$ 146 bn.

If the city of São Paulo were a country, its economy would be the 47th in the world, bigger than Egypt and Kuwait, about the same size as Hungary or New Zealand, about 85% of Israel. The economy of São Paulo would also be bigger than 22 of the American States, including Hawaii, Georgia and New Hampshire.

In 2005, the economy of São Paulo was 12.3% of Brazil. It is the second biggest in Brazil, 7% bigger than the State of Rio de Janeiro and 37% than the State of Minas Gerais. It is comparable to the size of Chile, and five times as bigger than Uruguay.

In 2005, the city of São Paulo collected R$ 90 billion in taxes, and the budget of the city spent R$ 15 billion; these figures show that São Paulo contributes to wealthiness distribution.

Other economic and financial information about the city of São Paulo

São Paulo is the biggest city in Americas and the third biggest city in the world, with 11 million inhabitants.

São Paulo has 1,500 bank branches. There are 70 shopping centers. Of all the international companies with business in Brazil, 63% have their head offices in São Paulo.

The Bolsa de Mercadorias e Futuros (Commodities and Futures Exchange) is the sixth biggest in the world, by number of contracts. In the Bolsa de Valores (Stocks Exchange) , R$ 6 billion (US$ 3.5 billion) change hands every day.

There are about 30,000 millionaires living in São Paulo, 60% of all millionaires in Brazil.

Every business day, half a million people go to 25 de Março (photo), a street of popular commerce in downtown. According to Mystery Shopping International, the Rua Oscar Freire is one of the eight most luxurious in the world. São Paulo has a car dealer specialized in Ferrari and Maserati.

The technology of using ducts to transport water has been used for centuries; the Jerwan aqueduct, in today’s Iraq, dates back to around 700 b.C.

In Brazil, there are only 20,000 km (12,500 miles) of aqueducts in Brazil, less than the 42,000 km (26,000 mi) in Mexico and much less than the 440,000 km (273,000 mi) in the USA.

However, the ethanol is gaining so much importance in Brazilian economy that Petrobras and the Government of São Paulo (São Paulo is the biggest producer of ethanol in Brazil) have signed a joint venture to build the first ethanol-duct in the world.

The ethanol duct would be about 1,150 km ( 715 mi) long. It would link the Southern extreme of the State of Goiás to the Port of São Sebastião in the coast of São Paulo, cutting through the Western end of Minas Gerais and all across the interior of São Paulo (see map).

Trucks will be used to move the ethanol from the mills to large tanks, which will feed the ducts. Pumping stations should be built every 200 km (125 mi) to keep the ethanol flowing, at an average speed of 3.6 km/h (2.2 mi/h). Click the image below to see a scheme of the ethanol duct.

Today, the transportation of alcohol is entirely made by trucks; Petrobras estimates that the duct could move a volume equivalent to the load of 1,000 trucks per day. The duct should be in operation by 2011, at a cost of US$ 1 billion; today, the cost of transportation is about R$ 130 (US$ 75) per 1,000 liters, and should drop to about R$ 40 (US$ 23).