Catuji is a Brazilian municipality located in the northeast of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population was estimated to be 6,257 people living in a total area of 421 km2.[1] The city belongs to the mesoregion of Vale do Mucuri and to the microregion of Teófilo Otoni. It became a municipality in 1993.[2]
The region is famous for its unique rock formations of which Pedra do Chifre and Pedra de Santa Rosa are the most interesting.
Catuji is located on highway BR-116 at an elevation of 625 meters, 72 km. north of Teófilo Otoni. The distance to the state capital, Belo Horizonte, is 513 km. Neighboring municipalities are: Teófilo Otoni, Itaipé, Novo Oriente de Minas and Padre Paraíso.[3]
The main economic activities are services, small industries, and agriculture. The GDP in 2005 was R$18 million, with 12 million from services, 2 million from industry, and 3 million from agriculture. There were 600 rural producers on 13,000 hectares of land. Only 7 farms had tractors (2006). Approximately 1,700 persons were dependent on agriculture. The main crops were bananas, coffee, sugarcane, beans and corn. There were 7,000 head of cattle (2006). There were no banks (2007) and 166 automobiles (145 motorcycles), giving a ratio of 40 inhabitants per automobile.[4]
There were 4 health clinics. Patients with more serious health conditions are transported to Teófilo Otoni. Educational needs were met by 17 primary schools, 1 middle school, and 1 pre-primary school.[5]
In 2000 the per capita income of R$82.00 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 (considering 5,507 municipalities) Manari in the state of Pernambuco has the lowest rating in the country—0,467—putting it in last place.[7]