Curitiba

Curitiba is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. The city has the largest population, the largest economy in the State and also in southern Brazil. According to the American magazine Reader's Digest, Curitiba is the best place to live in Brazil. The population of Curitiba numbers approximately 1.8 million people (7th largest nationwide) and the latest GDP figures for the city surpass US$17 billion (ranking 4th nationwide) according to IBGE. Its metropolitan area comprises 26 municipalities with a total population of over 3.5 million (IBGE estimate in 2006). Curitiba is an important cultural, political and economic center in the country. The city sits on a plateau at 932 metres (3,058 ft) above sea level. It is located 105 kilometres (65 mi) west of the sea port of Paranaguá is served by the Afonso Pena International Airport. Growth was based on the cattle trade, being half way between cattle breeding country to the South and markets to the North. Waves of European immigrants started arriving after 1850, mainly Germans, Italians, Poles and Ukrainians, contributing to the economic and cultural development of the city. Currently, only small numbers of foreigners migrate to Curitiba, and these are mainly immigrants from Middle Eastern and South American countries, but there is a substantial inward flow of Brazilians from other States of the country (it is estimated that nowadays about half the population of Curitiba was not born in the city). Curitiba hosts the Federal University of Paraná, the first in Brazil, established in Curitiba in 1913, the same year in which electric streetcars were first deployed.