Maranhão is the State of Brazil with the largest number of municipalities facing the sea

Maranhão is the State of Brazil that has the largest number of municipalities facing the sea. According to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), released on July 14, of the 279 municipalities that are in this privileged geographical position, 33 cities are in Maranhão.

The 33 municipalities in Maranhão are: Alcântara, Apicum-Açu, Araioses, Axixá, Bacabeira, Bacuri, Bacurituba, Barreirinhas, Bequimão, Cajapió, Cândido Mendes, Carutapera, Cedral, Cururupu, Godofredo Viana, Guimarães, Humberto de Campos, Icatu, Luís Domingues , Paço do Lumiar, Paulino Neves, Puerto Rico do Maranhão, Primeira Cruz, Fox, Rosario, Santa Rita, Santo Amaro do Maranhão, São João Batista, São José de Ribamar, São Luís, Serrano do Maranhão, Turiaçu and Tutóia.

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IBGE data also point out that, in Brazil, the year 2021 closed with 81 Metropolitan Regions (RM’s), and in Maranhão there are 3 RM’s, which are:

• Greater São Luís, formed by 13 municipalities: São Luís, Paço do Lumiar, São José de Ribamar, Raposa, Presidente Juscelino, Rosário, Santa Rita, Alcântara, Icatu, Bacabeira, Morros, Cachoeira Grande and Axixá.
• Southwest Maranhense, captained by Imperatriz, and formed by 22 municipalities: Lajeado Novo, João Lisboa, Porto Franco, São João do Paraíso, Senador La Rocque, Vila Nova dos Martírios, Ribamar Ficane, São Francisco do Brejão, São Pedro da Água Branca, Sítio Novo, Açailândia, Amarante do Maranhão, Buritirana, Campestre do Maranhão, Carolina, Cidelândia, Davinópolis, Estreito, Governor Edison Lobão, Imperatriz, Itinga do Maranhão and Montes Altos.
• And the East Zone of Maranhão, created by the State Complementary Law nº 180, of January 5, 2016, and consists of 7 municipalities: Aldeias Altas, Caxias, Codó, Timon, Parnarama, São João do Sóter and Matões.

The IBGE also disclosed that the city of Timon, in Maranhão, is part of the Integrated Development Region (RIDE) of Teresina, in Piauí.

Also according to the IBGE, Maranhão has two cities that make up the Brazilian semi-arid region, they are Timon and Araioses. Altogether, this region is made up of 1,262 municipalities spread across the states of Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia and Minas Gerais.

Another data from the Institute is that Maranhão continues to be part of MATOPIBA, which is a grain production area formed, in addition to Maranhão, by the states of Piauí, Tocantins and Bahia.

Maranhão also has municipalities that make up the Legal Amazon, which is formed by a territorial area of ​​5,015,067.86 km², which corresponds to 58.93% of the Brazilian territory. 181 municipalities in Maranhão are included in this territory, 21 of which are partially integrated into this legally constituted territorial space.

Altogether, the Legal Amazon encompasses 8 Brazilian states: Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima and Tocantins and part of Maranhão.

According to the IBGE, these data correspond to specific territorial cuts, and the update is in accordance with the territorial divisions maintained until the end of 2021. These cuts represent legally constituted administrative areas as well as comply with administrative rules of public institutions, such as “municipalities coastal areas”, under the responsibility of the Ministry of the Environment. With the updating of the legal territorial limits, the IBGE expands the production of research and statistics that allow the generation of knowledge about the country.

“These cuts configure administrative areas defined by legislation or normative acts of other public institutions. And the IBGE is committed to updating them and making statistics available to them due to their relevance to public policies”, explains IBGE Geography Manager, Cayo Franco.

With information from G1