Uberlandia, my home away from home for the month, is a relatively small place, with about 650,000 residents, making it the 28th largest city in Brazil. It owes its prosperity to its strategic location near many major cities such as Brasilia, the nation's capital, Belo Horizonte, the capital of the state of Minas Gerais and Sao Paulo, the biggest city in the country. Great roads make Uberlandia the transportation hub for the interior of Brazil, ferrying agricultural and industrial goods to and from all over the county and the world.
Uberlandia ("fertile land") also has a big student population. UFU is the most significant university here, offering degrees in Engineering, Medicine, Arts, Sciences, Law etc.
The weather is mild thanks to its elevation (2800 ft above MSL).
I looked up the cities comparable to Uberlandia, and this is what I found:
- The 28th largest city by population in the US is Portland, Oregon - which coincidentally also has about the same number of people
- The 28th largest city in India is Kalyan / Dombivli, which is an exurb of Bombay. It has a population of 1.25 mn.
- The city in India with a similar number of inhabitants is Kochi (Cochin) near my birthplace of Trivandrum. Kochi is the 75th largest city in India.
- The 28th largest Chinese city is Hefei, with about 3.1 mn people.
Brazil is the 5th largest country by area (3.29 mn sq. miles) and also by population (186 mn). Only Russia, Canada, USA & China are larger and only China, India, USA and Indonesia have more people. The state of Minas Gerais is the 4th largest in Brazil and is comparable in size to France. It has the second biggest population (after Sao Paulo state) with 20.6 mn people.
The Brazilian economy is the 6th largest in the world by nominal GDP. Notable Brazilian companies include Petrobras (oil & gas), Embraer (aircraft), Vale (mining) and AmBev (beverages).
Within my team, we discussed the pluses and minuses of Uberlandia and Brazil in general. Jill misses the rain, which is a feature of daily life in Dublin. Marc pointed out that the roads in Brazil are better than in Germany, which I was astounded by. He clarified that Western Germany now has relatively poor roads compared to Eastern Germany, and he said the roads in Uberlandia are better than many in his tome town of Munich ! My conclusion, from living in Brazil for a bit over two weeks, is that this place has the lifestyle and sensibilities of the Western world and the opportunities of the Emerging world - a great combination.
#ibmcsc brazil
Uberlandia ("fertile land") also has a big student population. UFU is the most significant university here, offering degrees in Engineering, Medicine, Arts, Sciences, Law etc.
The weather is mild thanks to its elevation (2800 ft above MSL).
I looked up the cities comparable to Uberlandia, and this is what I found:
- The 28th largest city by population in the US is Portland, Oregon - which coincidentally also has about the same number of people
- The 28th largest city in India is Kalyan / Dombivli, which is an exurb of Bombay. It has a population of 1.25 mn.
- The city in India with a similar number of inhabitants is Kochi (Cochin) near my birthplace of Trivandrum. Kochi is the 75th largest city in India.
- The 28th largest Chinese city is Hefei, with about 3.1 mn people.
Brazil is the 5th largest country by area (3.29 mn sq. miles) and also by population (186 mn). Only Russia, Canada, USA & China are larger and only China, India, USA and Indonesia have more people. The state of Minas Gerais is the 4th largest in Brazil and is comparable in size to France. It has the second biggest population (after Sao Paulo state) with 20.6 mn people.
The Brazilian economy is the 6th largest in the world by nominal GDP. Notable Brazilian companies include Petrobras (oil & gas), Embraer (aircraft), Vale (mining) and AmBev (beverages).
Within my team, we discussed the pluses and minuses of Uberlandia and Brazil in general. Jill misses the rain, which is a feature of daily life in Dublin. Marc pointed out that the roads in Brazil are better than in Germany, which I was astounded by. He clarified that Western Germany now has relatively poor roads compared to Eastern Germany, and he said the roads in Uberlandia are better than many in his tome town of Munich ! My conclusion, from living in Brazil for a bit over two weeks, is that this place has the lifestyle and sensibilities of the Western world and the opportunities of the Emerging world - a great combination.
The flags, from left to right, of Uberlandia, Brazil and Minas Gerais, fluttering in front of my office.
#ibmcsc brazil
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