Claraval is aBrazilianmunicipality located in the southwest of thestate ofMinas Gerais.
Its population as of 2020[update] was 4,853 people living in a total area of 210 km².[1] The city belongs to the meso-region ofSul e Sudoeste de Minas and to the micro-region ofPassos. It became a municipality in 1953.[2]
Founded as District ofGarimpo das Canoas, belonging to the municipality ofIbiraci, it was elevated to the category of municipality in 1953, with the new name of Claraval.
The origin of the toponym was an homage (Claraval being the Portuguese for Clairvaux) paid toSaint Bernard of Clairvaux, Prior of the French mother house of theCistercians, since the year of the administrative emancipation of the town coincided with the eight hundredth anniversary of the saint's death.[3]
From 1968 to 2006 it also had theTerritorial Abbacy of Claraval, on canonical territory split off from and later returned to theRoman Catholic Diocese of Guaxupé.[4]
The city center of Claraval is located at an elevation of 745 meters in a fertile region on the state boundary withSão Paulo. TheCanoas river forms the boundary.
Neighboring municipalities are:Ibiraci (NE, E, and SE; 25 km southeast on MG-344),Franca (25 km SW),Cristais Paulista (W) andPedregulho (NW).[5]
Nearby cities:
Services and agriculture are the main economic activities. The GDP in 2005 was approximately R$35 million, with 2 million reais from taxes, 18 million reais from services, 5 million reais from industry and 9 million reais from agriculture. There were 557 rural producers on 18,000 hectares of land. Approximately 1,600 persons were occupied in agriculture. The main crops are coffee, bananas, sugarcane, rice, beans and corn. There were 9,000 head of cattle, of which 4,000 were milk cows (2006).[8]
There is 1 bank (2007)[9]
In the vehicle fleet there were 945 automobiles, 157 trucks, 156 pickup trucks, 33 buses, and 341 motorcycles (2007).[10]
In the health sector there were 2 health clinics (2005). Educational needs of 1,100 students were attended to by 5 primary schools, 1 middle school and 5 pre-primary schools.[11]
In 2000 the per capita monthly income of R$191.00 was below the state average of R$276.00 and below the national average of R$297.00.Poços de Caldas had the highest per capita monthly income in 2000 with R$435.00. The lowest wasSetubinha with R$73.00.
The highest ranking municipality in Minas Gerais in 2000 wasPoços de Caldas with 0.841, while the lowest wasSetubinha with 0.568. Nationally the highest wasSão 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 ofPernambuco has the lowest rating in the country—0,467—putting it in last place.[13]
20°23′56″S47°16′01″W / 20.39889°S 47.26694°W /-20.39889; -47.26694