Mato Grosso do Sul
Campo Grande
| Area: | 358,158.7 km²
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| Inhabitants: | 2,026,600 (2000)
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| Pop. density: | 3.1 inh./km²
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| Timezone: | GMT-4 |
| ISO 3166-2: | BR-MS |
| Governor: | José Miranda dos Santos
known as Zeca do PT |
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Mato Grosso do Sul is one of the states of Brazil, located in the western part of the country.
Neighboring states are (from north clockwise) Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders Paraguay and Bolivia to the west.
The name means "thick grass of the South". The state is subdivided into 11 regions with 77 municipalities. Big cities include:
Geography
The state is located in the jungles of Pantanal. Mato Grosso do Sul depends mainly on cattle-raising. Other agrarian products include sugarcane, wheat, soy beans, manioc, rice and cotton.
The highest elevation is the 1,065 m high Morro Grande.
History
In 1977 the state was split off from the state Mato Grosso. It became fully state status effective January 1, 1979.
Flag
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The flag was adopted by the first law of the new state - article 1 of decree no. 1 implementing decree-law no. 1 - on January 1, 1979. It was designed by Mauro Michael Munhoz. The white strip symbolizes hope, the green the vegetation. The star in the blue sky in the right side stands for balance, force and serenity.
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