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Campinas is a city and county (município) located in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Area: 801 km² (county). Population: approximately 968,000 (2000 census), with over 98% in the urban region. It is the second largest city in the state.
The city was founded on July 14, 1774, by Barreto Leme .
Campinas was the birthplace of opera composer Carlos Gomes (1836--1896).
Campinas is the center of 19 counties with a total of 2.33 million inhabitants:
Campinas' main economic activities are agriculture (mainly coffeeThis article discusses the coffee plant; for information on the beverage see coffee (drink). Coffea arabica Arabian Coffee Coffea benghalensis Bengal Coffee Coffea canephora Robusta Coffee Coffea congensis Congo Coffee Coffea liberica Liberian Coffee Coff, sugarcanespontaneum ''S. robustum ''S. officinarum ''S. barberi ''S. sinense ''S. edule Ref: as of 2004-05-05 Sugarcane is one of six species of a tall tropical southeast Asian grass (Family Poaceae) having stout fibrous jointed stalks whose sap at one time was th, and cottonCotton is a soft fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant. The fibre is most often spun into thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile. Cotton is a valuable crop because only about 10% of the raw weight is lost in processing. Once tr), industry (textiles, machinery, agricultural equipment, chemical and petrochemical, pharmaceutics, paperPaper is a thin, flat material produced by the compression of fibres. The fibers used are usually natural and based upon cellulose. The most common material is wood pulp from pulpwood (largely softwood) trees such as pines, but other vegetable fiber mater and cellulose, telecommunications, computers and electronics, etc.), commerce and services.
The region is responsible for 9% of Brazil's Gross Industrial Product, with just over 3% of the country's population. Per capita income is one of the highest in Latin America (US$ 10,000/year).
Campinas has been dubbed the Brazilian Silicon Valley, since it is home to many national and multinational high-tech industries ( IBM, Motorola, Lucent, Nortel, Compaq, Celestica, Samsung, Alcatel, Bosch, 3M, Texas Instruments, General Motors, Honda, and many others), and to several research centers and universities (such as CPqD , EMBRAPA , UNICAMP, and PUCCAMP). It also has a sizable pharmaceutical industry sector, with companies like Medley Farma , Sigma Pharma , Merck, etc.
The largest oil refinery of Latin America, operated by Petrobras in the neighboring county of Paulínia, has attracted many petrochemical industries to the Campinas area, including Dupont, Rhone-Poulenc , and Shell.
Campinas is a major transportation and telecommunications hub for the State of São Paulo, as it is located on the major highways that connect the capital to the Northwest part of the State. Its international airport of Viracopos Airport has long been the State's main air cargo terminal, and its passenger traffic is rapidly expanding.
According to Wired Magazine, Campinas is one of the highest-growth high-tech areas in Latin America, second only to the city of São Paulo itself. Since 1995, the city received over US$ 7 billion in investments in telecommunications, information technology and electronics. Of the 500 largest companies listed by Fortune magazine, 50 are already established in the Campinas region.
