Monjolos


Monjolos is a Brazilian municipality located in the northeast of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2007 was 2,303 living in a total area of 652 km². The city belongs to the statistical mesoregion of Central Mineira and to the statistical microregion of Curvelo. It became a municipality in 1962.
Monjolos is located at an elevation of 560 meters east of the Rio das Velhas, an important tributary of the São Francisco River. It is connected to the nearest major population center, Curvelo, by state highway MG-220. As of 2001 this highway was not paved. The distance to Curvelo is 50 km., and the distance to the state capital, Belo Horizonte, is 247 km. Neighboring municipalities are: Santo Hipólito, Gouveia, Diamantina and Augusto de Lima.
The main economic activities are services, small industries, and agriculture. The production of charcoal from eucalyptus plantations is also important. The GDP in 2005 was R$12 million, with 6 million from services, 700 thousand from industry, and 5 million from agriculture. There were 164 rural producers on 17,000 hectares of land. Only 22 farms had tractors. Approximately 600 persons were dependent on agriculture. The main crops were beans and corn. There were 17,600 head of cattle. There were no banks and 29 automobiles, giving a ratio of 79 inhabitants per automobile. This is much lower than the state average.
There were 2 health clinics. Patients with more serious health conditions are transported to Montes Claros or Curvelo. Educational needs were met by 2 primary schools, 1 middle school, and 1 pre-primary school.
In 2000 the per capita income of R$145.00 was well below the state and national average of R$276.00 and R$297.00 respectively.
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 Manari in the state of Pernambuco has the lowest rating in the country--0,467--putting it in last place.