Josenópolis


Josenópolis is a Brazilian municipality located in the north of the state of Minas Gerais. In 2007 the population was 4,440 in a total area of 536 km². It became a municipality in 1997.

Location and Distances

Josenópolis is located in the foothills of the Serra do Espinhaço mountains southeast of Montes Claros at an elevation of 692 meters. It is north of the Rio Jequitinhonha and is connected by dirt road to other population centers. The Rio Vacaria, a tributary of the Rio Jequitinhonha, flows into the Jequitinhonha. Neighboring municipalities are: Grão Mogol, Padre Carvalho, and Coronel Murta.
Josenópolis is part of the statistical microregion of Grão Mogol.

Economic activities

The most important economic activities are cattle raising and subsistence agriculture. The GDP in 2005 was R$ 10,399,000. The most important agricultural crops are bananas, coffee, peanuts, sugarcane, and corn. In the rural area there were 446 producers. The total area of agricultural land was 15,000 hectares in 2006, of which 1,000 ha. were in crops. As of 2006 there were only 02 tractors. In the urban area there were no banking agencies in 2006.

Health and education

This municipality is isolated from major population centers and suffers from drought and poor soils.
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.