The state is crossed from west to east bymany rivers, but the most important is theSão Francisco, which starts inMinas Gerais and runs through western Bahia before emptying into the Atlantic betweenSergipe andAlagoas. Formerly plied bypaddlewheel steamers, the river is only navigable to small modern craft but is still vital to the arid west since it continuously supplies water during seasons. TheSobradinho Dam created one of the largest reservoirs in the world; other major hydroelectric projects along its length include thePaulo Afonso Hydroelectric Complex and the Itaparica orLuiz Gonzaga Dam.
Bahia's geographical regions comprise theAtlantic Forest; the maritime region (Recôncavo)[11] radiating from the Bay of All Saints, the site ofsugar andtobacco cultivation; and thePlanalto, which includes thesertão region of Bahia's far interior. The state has theDiamantina Tableland (Chapada Diamantina), which divides it into two distinct geographical zones. The rain falls regularly in the eastern section.[citation needed] The western area is more arid[11] and its predominate vegetation thecerrado. The natural aridity was greatly worsened over the 19th century by the cowboys' habit of starting wildfires each year to improve the quality of the grass.[12] TheChapada Diamantina National Park is home to picturesquechapadões.[13][14]
Bahia's climate is tropical. It has the longest coastline of the country: 1,103 km long (685 miles; north coast: 143; Bay of All Saints: 124; and southern: 418). With 68% of its territory located in thesemi-arid zone, the State presents diversified climates and an average rainfall that varies from 363 to 2,000 mm (14.3 to 78.7 in) per year, depending on the region.
Bahia was a center ofsugarcane cultivation from the 16th to the 18th centuries and contains a number of historic towns, such asCachoeira, dating from this era. Integral to the sugar economy was the importation of a vast number ofAfrican slaves: more than a third of allslaves taken from Africa were sent to Brazil, mostly to be processed in Bahia before being sent to work in plantations elsewhere in the country.[20]
The state was the last area of the country to join theEmpire of Brazil, as members in the local elite remained loyal to thePortuguese crown after the rest of the country proclaimedindependence underPedro I on 7 September 1822. Control of the province was disputed in several battles, mostly in Pirajá, before the Portuguese were fully expelled on 2 July 1823. It became a Brazilian state in 1889.[18]
Charles Darwin visited Bahia in 1832 onhis famous voyage on theBeagle. In 1835, Bahia was the site of an urbanslave revolt, theMalê Revolt of 1835 by the predominantly MuslimWest African slaves at the time. The termmalê was commonly used to refer to Muslims at the time from theYoruba wordimale. The revolt is particularly notable as the greatest slave rebellion in the history of the Bahia.[21] Under theEmpire, Bahia returned 14 deputies to the general assembly and 7 senators; its own provincial assembly consisted of 36 members.[11] In the 19th century,cotton,coffee, andtobacco plantations joined those for sugarcane and the discovery ofdiamonds in 1844 led to large influx of "washers" (garimpeiros) until the still-larger deposits inSouth Africa came to light.[11] A smaller boom hitCaetité in 1872 upon the discovery ofamethysts there.[11] The cattle industry of the interior led to the development ofFeira de Santana before collapsing in a series of droughts.[18]
Historically, Bahia's politics and that of the country have been closely intertwined, initially due to Salvador's status as the first capital of Brazil. During theimperial period, several prime ministers originated from Bahia; during the early years of the Republic, Bahia produced some noteworthy national figures, such asRuy Barbosa, Cezar Zama, and Aristides Spínola, amongst others.
During theFirst Brazilian Republic (República Velha) the biggest name in the state's politics was José Joaquim Seabra, also known as J. J. Seabra; theVargas era and the subsequent re-democratization period saw the rise ofJuracy Magalhães andOtávio Mangabeira, respectively. During themilitary dictatorship, the governorship ofAntônio Carlos Magalhães (also known by his initials, ACM) marked the politics of Bahia for three decades, with one brief defeat in 1980 byWaldir Pires. Despite this defeat ACM later occupied many other public offices; he died in 2007 while serving as senator. ACM's wide-reaching influence in the state's politics has been dubbed "Carlismo", and is considered an example of a larger phenomenon calledcoronelismo ("colonel-ism").
After the end of military rule in Brazil in 1985, the government of the state of Bahia oscillated between two parties, thePartido da Frente Liberal (PFL, now theDemocrats) and theBrazilian Democratic Movement (MDB). TheWorkers' Party (PT) was elected to the governorship in 2007 and has held it ever since, through five successive elections (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022).
As afederative unit of Brazil, Bahia has its own three branches of government (executive, legislative, judiciary), which are operated by theGovernor, theLegislative Assembly and theCourt of Justice of the State of Bahia, respectively. Elected terms last four years, with state and federal elections being held simultaneously. The governor of the state is limited to two consecutive terms. The Legislative Assembly is composed of 63 state deputies. At the federal level, Bahia is represented bythree senators and39 federal deputies. Municipal elections are held two years after the state and federal elections.
The state capital is the city ofSalvador, but once a year the capital is moved toCachoeira in recognition of the city's importance in the struggle for theindependence of Brazil.[22]
There are 10,110,100 registered voters, according to data from 2012, making Bahia the state with the fourth highest number of voters in the country. Most voters reside in the capital (and most populous city), Salvador.[23]
According toIBGE data of 2022, there were 14,141,626 people residing in the state. The population density was 24.93 inhabitants per square kilometre (64.6/sq mi). Urban population: 67.4% (2006); Population growth: 1.1% (1991–2000); Houses: 3,826,000 (2006).[25] The last National Census in 2022 showed the following numbers: 8,103,964Brown (Multiracial) people (57.3%), 2,772,837White people (19.60%), 3,164,691Black people (22.4%), 83,658Amerindian people (0.6%).[26]
According toInstituto Socioambiental, there are 14 Indigenous groups in the state: Atikum, Kaimbé, Kantaruré, Kiriri, Pankaru, Pankararé,Pataxó, Pataxó Hã-ha-hãe, Payayá, Truká, Tumbalalá,Tupinambá, Tuxá and Xukuru-Kariri.[27]
Historically, the population was estimated at 1.45 million in the 1870s[11] and was 1.92 million at the time of the 1890 Brazilian census.[18]
Bahia has one of the highest crime rates in the country, having four of the ten most violent cities in Brazil.[28] Gun violence in the state more than doubled from 2004 to 2014, ranking first out of the 26 states of Brazil.[29] In 2014, the state also had the highest number of murders in the country.[30][31]
A Christocentric and Marian sanctuary dedicated to Bom Jesus da Lapa and Our Lady of Solitude, founded in 1691. This Catholic pilgrimage site welcomes nearly three million pilgrims annually.Bom Jesus da LapaBahia Farm Show event annual inLuís Eduardo MagalhãesCapoeira inSalvador
As the chief locus of the early Brazilian slave trade, Bahia is considered to possess the greatest and most distinctive African imprint, in terms of culture and customs, in Brazil. These include theYoruba-derived religious system ofCandomblé, thecapoeira (martial art emerged inQuilombo dos Palmares, located in the state ofAlagoas), African-derived music such assamba (especially Brazilian samba precursor, the samba-de-roda),Samba-reggae,afoxé, andaxé, and a cuisine with strong links to western Africa, mainly in Salvador.[citation needed]
In the interior of the state, there is the traditional culture of thevaqueiros among agricultural communities. From the 1550s onward, in Bahia, these farmers were integral to the process of expansion away from the coasts of Brazil.[45] And the emphasis of theTropicália movement.
During the 19th century, one of Brazil's greatest poets, the Bahianabolitionist poet and playwrightCastro Alves, a native of therecôncavo city ofCachoeira, penned his poem,Navio negreiro, about slavery; the poem is considered a masterpiece of BrazilianRomanticism and a centralanti-slavery text.[citation needed]
Other notable Bahian writers include playwright and screenwriterDias Gomes,Gregório de Matos, who wrote during the 17th century and was one of the first Brazilian writers, and Fr.António Vieira, who during the colonial period was one of many authors who contributed to the expansion of the Portuguese language throughout the Brazilian territory.[citation needed]
In the visual and plastic arts, one of the best known Bahian figures was the multigenre artist andArgentinian native Hector Julio Páride Bernabó, also known asCarybé (1911–1997). Fine examples of his work are visible in theAfro-Brazilian Museum in Salvador.
There is aWorld Heritage Site inSalvador. Pelourinho was once Salvador's principal red-light district as well as a working-class neighborhood that was home to thousands of Afro-Brazilians.[clarification needed] Since 1992, however, the overwhelming majority of these people have been forcibly removed and replaced by boutiques, NGO headquarters, government offices, folkloric representations, monuments, and amenities for tourists.[53]
Chapada DiamantinaCanyon in Vale do Capão, BahiaPictographs in Parque Nacional da Chapada Diamantina
Chapada Diamantina ([ʃaˈpadɐdʒi.ɐmɐ̃ˈtʃĩnɐ];Portuguese for the "DiamondPlateau") is a region of, an extensive plateau (38,000 km2), which corresponds to 15% of the State of Bahia, with mountains and unique landscapes. Horácio de Mattos Airport was built in the city ofLençóis to promote tourism in the region. It has the second largest runway in the state.[54][55]
In 2004, Bahia comprised 4.9% of theeconomic activity of Brazil and it has the biggest GDP of the states of the North and Northeast. The industrial sector is the largest component ofGDP at 48.5%, followed by the service sector at 40.8%. Agriculture represents 10.7% of GDP (2004). Bahia exports: chemicals 22.4%, fuel 17.5%, mineral metallics 13%, paper 9.4%,cacao 5.6%, vehicles 4.8%,soybean 4.5% (2002). In addition to important agricultural and industrial sectors, the state also has considerablemineral andpetroleum deposits. In recent years,soy cultivation has increased substantially in the state.[citation needed]
In 2017, the Northeast Region was the largest producer ofcoconut in the country, with 74.0% of national production. Bahia produced 351 million fruits, being the leader in the country. However, the sector has been suffering strong competition and losing market to Indonesia, the Philippines and India, the world's largest producers, who even export coconut water to Brazil. In addition to climatic problems, the low productivity of coconut palms in the Northeast Region is the result of factors related to the variety of coconut harvested and the technological level used in coastal regions. In these areas, the semi-extractive cultivation system still prevails, with low fertility and without the adoption of cultural management practices. The three states that have the largest production, Bahia, Sergipe and Ceará, present a yield three times lower than that of Pernambuco, which is in 5th place in the national production. This is because most of the coconut trees in these three states are located in coastal areas and cultivated in semi-extractivist systems.[56]
In the production ofcocoa, for a long time, Bahia led the Brazilian production. Today, it is disputing the leadership of national production with the state of Pará. In 2017 Pará obtained the leadership for the first time. In 2019, people from Pará harvested 135 thousand tons of cocoa, and Bahians harvested 130 thousand tons. Bahia's cocoa area is practically three times larger than that of Pará, but Pará's productivity is practically three times greater. Some factors that explain this are: the crops in Bahia are more extractivist, and those in Pará have a more modern and commercial style, in addition to paraenses using more productive and resistant seeds, and their region providing resistance toWitch's broom.[57]
In 2018, the Northeast was in third place among the regions that most producesugar cane in the country. Brazil is the world's largest producer, with 672.8 million tons harvested this year. The Northeast harvested 45.7 million tons, 6.8% of national production. Alagoas is the largest producer, with 33.3% of Northeastern production (15.2 million tons). Pernambuco is the 2nd largest producer in the Northeast, with 22.7% of the total in the region (10.3 million tons). Paraíba has 11.9% of northeastern production (5.5 million tons) and Bahia, 10.24% of production (4.7 million tons).[58]
Bahia is the 2nd largest producer ofcotton in Brazil, losing only to Mato Grosso. In 2019, it harvested 1.5 million tonnes of the product.[59][60][61]
Insoy, Brazil produced close to 120 million tons in 2019, being the largest world producer. In 2019, the Northeast produced close to 10.7 million tons, or 9% of the Brazilian total. The largest producer in the Northeast was Bahia (5.3 million tons).[62]
In the production ofmaize, in 2018 Brazil was the 3rd largest producer in the world, with 82 million tons. The Northeast produced about 8.4% of the country's total. Bahia was the largest producer in the Northeast, with 2.2 million tons.[63][60]
In 2018, the South Region was the main producer ofbeans with 26.4% of the total, followed by the Midwest (25.4%), Southeast Region (25.1%), Northeast (20.6%) and North (2.5%). The largest producers in the Northeast were Ceará and Bahia.[64][60]
Incassava production, Brazil produced a total of 17.6 million tons in 2018. Maranhão was the 7th largest producer in the country, with 681 thousand tons. Ceará was 9th, with 622 thousand tons. Bahia was 10th with 610 thousand tons. In total, the northeast produced 3,5 million tons.[65]
Bahia was the fourth largest producer of oranges in Brazil in 2018, with a total of 604 thousand tons, 3,6% of the national production.[66]
Bahia is the second largest fruit producer in the country, with more than 3.3 million tons a year, behind São Paulo. The north of Bahia is one of the main fruit suppliers in the country. The State is one of the main national producers of ten types of fruit. In 2017, Bahia led the production of cajarana, coconut, count fruit or pinecone, soursop, umbu, jackfruit, licuri, mango and passion fruit, and is in second place in cocoa almond, atemoia, cupuaçu, lime and lemon, and third in banana, carambola, guava, papaya, watermelon, melon, cherry, pomegranate and table grapes. In all, 34 products from Bahia's fruit culture have an important participation in the national economy.[67][68]
Rio Grande do Norte is the largest producer ofmelon in the country. In 2017 it produced 354 thousand tons. The Northeast region accounted for 95.8% of the country's production in 2007. In addition to Rio Grande do Norte, which in 2005 produced 45.4% of the country's total, the other 3 largest in the country were Ceará, Bahia and Pernambuco.[69][70]
In the production ofpapaya, in 2018 Bahia was the 2nd largest producer state in Brazil, almost equaling with Espírito Santo: 337 thousand tons.[71]
Bahia was the largest producer ofmango in the country in 2019, with production of around 281 thousand tons per year. Juazeiro (130 thousand tons per year) and Casa Nova (54 thousand tons per year) are at the top of the list of Brazilian cities that lead the cultivation of fruit.[67]
In the production ofbanana, in 2018 Bahia was the 2nd largest national producer.[72]
Bahia is the largest Brazilian producer ofguaraná. In 2017, Brazilian production was close to 3.3 million tons. Bahia harvested 2.3 million (mainly in the city of Taperoá), Amazonas 0.7 million (mainly in the city of Maués) and the rest of the country, 0.3 million. Despite the fact that the fruit originated in the Amazon, since 1989 Bahia has beaten Amazonas in terms of production volume and guarana productivity, because the soil in Bahia is more favorable, in addition to the absence of diseases in the region. The most famous users of the product, however, acquire 90% to 100% of their guarana from the Amazon region, such asAmbev andCoca-Cola. Bahian guarana prices are well below those of other states, but Sudam's tax exemptions lead the beverage industry to prefer to purchase seeds in the North, which helps maintain the highest added value of Amazonian guarana. The pharmaceutical industries and importers, on the other hand, buy more guarana from Bahia, due to the price.[73]
The Northeast region housed 93.2% of the Braziliangoat herd (8,944,461 heads) and 64.2% of thesheep herd (11,544,939 heads) in 2017. Bahia concentrated 30.9% of the goat herd and 20.9% of the national sheep herd.Casa Nova took first place in the municipal ranking with the largest numbers of both species.[74]
In 2017, Bahia had 1.68% of the national mineral participation (4th place in the country). Bahia had production ofgold (6.2 tons at a value of R$730 million),copper (56 thousand tons, at a value of R$404 million);chrome (520 thousand tons, at a value of R$254 million) andvanadium (358 thousand tons, at a value of R$91 million).[75]
Bahia had an industrial GDP of R$53.0 billion in 2017, equivalent to 4.4% of the national industry. It employs 356,997 workers in the industry. The main industrial sectors are: Construction (24.8%), Industrial Services of Public Utility, such as Electricity and Water (15.0%), Petroleum Derivatives and Biofuels (13.8%), Chemicals (9.4%), and Food (6.1%). These 5 sectors concentrate 69.1% of the state's industry.[76]
Bahianindustry have automobile and tyre industries, footwear and textiles, furniture, food and beverages, cosmetics and perfumes, information technology and naval sectors.
In Brazil, theautomotive sector represents close to 22% of industrial GDP. Bahia has aFord factory.[77][78] It was created inCamaçari (2001). The Bahian automotive sector, led by Ford was in 2005 the third largest contributor (14.6%) to the BahianGDP.
Hydrogen Unit at the Camaçari Petrochemical Complex
Bahia's Petrochemical Pole is the largest integrated complex in the Southern Hemisphere, and is the result of R$10 billion in investments, accounting for a third of the state's exports and for nearly half of the industrial production value.
The Reconcavo Basin has been a principal petroleum-producing region, mainly from theUpper Jurassic andLower Cretaceous Bahia Supergroup, since 1939 and contains the Agua Grande Field (discovered in 1951 by the Conselho Nacional de Petroleo and producing from the Sergei and Candeias Formations at about 1 km depth and the shallower Ilhas Formation), the Dom Joao Field (discovered in 1947 by the Conselho Nacional de Petroleo and producing from the Sergei Formation at a depth of about 200 m), the Miranga Field (discovered in 1965 byPetrobras producing from the Ilhas Formation at a depth of about 1 km), theCandeias Field (discovered in 1941 by Conselho Nacional de Petroleo and producing from the Candeias Formation at a depth ranging from 690 to 2400 m), the Buracica Field (discovered in 1959 by Petrobras and producing from the Sergi Formation at about 600 m depth), and the Taquipe Field (discovered in 1958 by Petrobras and producing from the Ilhas Formation).[79]
Agribusiness; footwear; call centers; informatics, electronics, and telecommunications; nautical; paper and pulp; textiles; plastic transformation; and tourism.
Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport is located in an area of more than 6 million square meters (1,500 acres). It lies 20 km (12 mi) north of downtown Salvador. In 2007, the airport handled 5,920,573 passengers and 91,043 aircraft movements,[80] making it thefifth busiest airport in Brazil in terms of passengers. It's responsible for more than 30% of passenger movement in northeastern Brazil. Nearly 35,000 people circulate daily through the passenger terminal. The airport generates more than 16,000 direct and indirect jobs, to serve a daily average of over 10,000 passengers, 250 takeoffs and landings of 100 domestic and 16 international flights.
The state has its transportation based on highways, with few options in other sectors. The main highways in the state are all from the Federal Government:
BR-101 – It borders the state coast, connecting it with the country's richest region (Southeast) and with the rest of the Northeast. It passes through thecocoa producing area of the state, in the cities ofItabuna andIlhéus, reaching the capital Salvador and from there toAracaju, capital ofSergipe.
BR-242 – the highway cuts the state in half in an east–west direction, connecting Salvador toBrasília, the country's capital. It passes through important cities likeLençóis,Barreiras andLuís Eduardo Magalhães.
BR-407 – together withBR-324, the highway connects the region of Bahia, which is the largest producer of fruit and the largest breeder ofsheep andgoats, in the cities ofJuazeiro andCasa Nova, to Feira de Santana, Salvador and southeastern Brazil. The BR-235 borders the North of the state, connecting these same regions to the coast of Bahia.
With cargo volume that grows year after year following the same economic development rhythm implemented in the State, the Port of Salvador, located on theBay of All Saints, holds status as the port with the highest movement of containers of theNorth/Northeast and the second-leading fruit exporter in Brazil. The port's facilities operate from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The ability to handle high shipping volume has positioned the port of Salvador for new investments in technological modernization, and the port is noted for implementing a high level of operational flexibility and competitive rates. The goal of port officials is to offer the necessary infrastructure for the movement of goods, while simultaneously meeting the needs of international importers and exporters.
^Rogério Carlos Borges de Oliveira, "Does inclusive tourism reduce poverty?: evidence from the programme on the Coconut Coast in Brazil." (Geneva, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, 2009)
^Collins, John (2015).Revolt of the Saints: Memory and Redemption in the Twilight of Brazilian Racial Democracy. Durham: Duke University Press. pp. 1–43,181–214.ISBN9780822353065.
^Ghignone, J.I., and Andrade, G.D., General Geology and Major Oil Fields of Reconcavo Basin, Brazil, in Geology of Giant Petroleum Fields, Halbouty, M.T., editor, AAPG Memoir 14, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 1970, pp. 337–358.
Collins, John F.Revolt of the Saints: Memory and Redemption in the Twilight of Brazilian Racial Democracy (Durham: Duke University Press, 2015); describes the hotly contested restoration of the Pelourinho, or Salvador, Bahia's colonial city center that is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and links these changes to racial politics in Brazil today.
Romo, Anadelia A. (2010).Brazil's Living Museum: Race, Reform, and Tradition in Bahia. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.ISBN9780807833827.OCLC440562990. Covers the period from the abolition of slavery in 1888 to the start of Brazil's military regime in 1964.
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