Centralina is a Brazilian municipality located in the west of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population was 10,346 living in a total area of 322 km².[1] The city belongs to the statistical mesoregion of Triângulo Mineiro and Alto Paranaíba and to the statistical microregion of Uberlândia. It became a municipality in 1954.[2]
Centralina is located at an elevation of 474 meters in the north of the rich region known as the Triângulo Mineiro. It is on the eastern bank of the Paranaíba River, just southwest of the great hydroelectric station and reservoir of Itumbiara. The western limits of the municipality are the Paranaíba River and the boundary with the state of Goiás. The important regional center of Itumbiara is a short distance to the north. Federal highway BR-153, which links Uberlândia with Goiânia passes a few kilometers east of the town.
The distance to Uberlândia is 128 km; the distance to Itumbiara is 20 km; and the distance to Belo Horizonte is 665 km. Neighboring municipalities are: Araporã (N); Itumbiara [W] ; Canápolis(S); Monte Alegre de Minas (E) [3]
The main economic activities are industry, services, and agriculture, especially the growing of sugarcane. The GDP in 2005 was R$71,000.00, with 36,000.00 from services, 5,000.00 from industry, and 25,000.00 from agriculture. There were 216 rural producers on 24,000 hectares of land. 99 farms had tractors. The main crops were pineapple, bananas, cotton, sugarcane, soybeans, and corn. There were 15,800 head of cattle (2006).[2]
The social indicators rank it in the top tier of municipalities in the state.
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.[4]