Brazil is the 5th largest country in terms of territorial extension, in addition to having the 6th largest population on the planet. It has a high degree of urbanization, with 85% of its inhabitants living in urban areas. Furthermore, Brazil is the 9th largest economy in the world, ahead of important countries such as Canada and Russia. In terms of foreign investment, the country is in the Top 20 economies perceived as having the greatest potential for investment. In 2022, it was the 5th largest destination for foreign direct investment, totaling US$ 86 billion, equivalent to R$ 444 billion.
In this context, the state of Minas Gerais is located in the Southeast Region of Brazil, considered the main economic area of the country, with the largest share of the population, as well as the largest share in the generation of the national GDP, industrial production and Brazilian international trade. The states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo also make up this region. As can be seen in the map below:
Approximately 64.4% of Brazilian GDP is concentrated in this region, as well as 52% of the Brazilian population.
In this direction, Minas Gerais borders 6 other Brazilian states, including the Federal District, where the capital of Brazil is located: Brasília. Together, the consumer market of Minas Gerais and the markets of its neighboring states account for 61% of the Brazilian consumer market.
Therefore, when considering the state’s business scope, in the Brazilian context, it is safe to say that Minas Gerais is solidly located in Brazil’s main consumer market.
For example, when we consider the distances between the capital of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, and the other capitals in the Southeast region of Brazil and Brasília, we have the following panorama:
• São Paulo, 582 km from Belo Horizonte.
• Rio de Janeiro, 444 km from Belo Horizonte.
• Vitória, 527 km from Belo Horizonte.
• Brasília, 737 km from Belo Horizonte.
All of these capitals are a maximum of 1 hour and 10 minutes away from Belo Horizonte by plane. This scenario becomes even more interesting when we consider the territorial dimensions of the state of Minas Gerais, which has a total territorial extension of 586 thousand km², which makes the state larger than large countries such as Spain and France, as well as larger than the territory of 70% of the countries in Latin America.
In view of the above, it is clear that Minas Gerais has the most strategic location in the Brazilian context in several aspects,
such as commercial (both national and international), logistics and production. This is because Minas Gerais occupies
the position of “link” between the states of the South and the North, as well as from an East-West perspective.
This perception is important due to the number of Brazilian states that are in the interior of the country and that, therefore,
strongly need the infrastructural capabilities of their neighboring states, especially when it comes to international
trade. And, in this sense, Minas Gerais is one of theseproviders of logistics and business facilities.
This scenario is corroborated by the fact that the state has the second largest railway network in the country, with over
5,000 km of installed railways. It also has the largest length of paved highways in Brazil, with over 29,000 km installed.
Minas Gerais also has one of the best customs infrastructures in the country, despite not having direct access to the sea.
There are six large customs structures in the state, known as Dry Ports, which act as “lungs” in the sense of “relieving”
the large volume of customs procedures at the ports located on the coasts of the other states in the Southeast Region.
See more details in the chapter on Transportation Logistics Infrastructure.
Given this situation, the state of Minas Gerais is the third largest economy in the country, considering the value of
the GDP. In 2023, the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reached R$1.02 trillion for the first time, a historic economic
milestone. This value, in dollars, considering the exchange rate of the current year (2023), would be the equivalent of
US$179 billion, which would make the state’s economy larger than the economies of countries such as Morocco, Tunisia,
Jordan, Serbia, Oman, Croatia, Bolivia, among others.
In the 2023 results, Minas Gerais’ GDP consolidated a high growth since the cooling of the COVID-19 Pandemic period.
The observed increase was 3.1% compared to 2022, which had also grown 3.5% compared to 2021. And this had also
grown 5.1% compared to 2020.
The economic performance of Minas Gerais was even superior to that of Brazil. As can be seen in the following graph prepared
by the Federation of Industries of the state of Minas Gerais (FIEMG):
The GDP growth scenario for Minas Gerais over the last five years has presented the following outlook:
After the strong economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state of Minas Gerais showed a rapid recovery and
maintained a scenario of sustained growth in recent years, highlighting the robustness of the Minas Gerais economy
and its importance in the general composition of the Brazilian economy.
In this sense, it is important to highlight that, in addition to being ranked third in terms of overall GDP values, when
compared to other Brazilian states, Minas Gerais is also the state with the third largest share of Gross Added Value (GVA)
of Brazilian industry, with an amount in the order of R$259 billion, equivalent to 13% of the national value, according
to the National Confederation of Industry. Considering the aspects of industrial diversity and productive robustness,
the state is the 2nd largest industrial park in the country, concentrating 12% of the national industry, as well as being
the second largest industrial park in the country’s manufacturing industry.
Still in relation to industry, Minas Gerais has the 2nd largest concentration of industrial establishments in the country
with a total of 75,653 units, as can be seen in the following graph:
Encompassing the entire business spectrum of the state, Minas Gerais began the year 2024 with a total number of
companies in the order of 2,345,678. The growth in the opening of new businesses in the state has occurred exponentially
since the end of the Pandemic, with a sustained expansion of entrepreneurship and investments, reflecting
the favorable business environment and the market potential that the state offers. The growth in recent years can be
seen below:
This scenario highlights the broad productive capacity that the state holds and its great economic weight in the Brazilian
context in all economic nuances: investments, national and international trade, job creation, tax generation, political
influence, participation in national income, among other factors.
- Micro-enterprises (up to 9 employees): 75.7% of the total.
- Small companies (10 to 49 employees): 19.4% of the total.
- Medium-sized companies ( 50 to 249 employees): 3.9% of the total.
- Large companies (more than 250 employees): 1% of the total
When observed from the perspective of employability for each size range of the business base, we have the following perspective on the allocation of the workforce in Minas Gerais:
Given the large labor reserve that the state has, it is important to highlight some relevant aspects that characterize it, such as employment formality, average salary value, age and gender distribution, as well as the level of education.
By the beginning of 2024, the number of formal workers in the state of Minas Gerais was 4.6 million. They are distributed as follows, in terms of economic activity:
In terms of remuneration, average salary, when compared with other states in the Southeast Region, we have the following perspective:
In terms of making investments, Minas Gerais presents a positive scenario in terms of low costs for hiring labor when compared to neighboring states.
When considering the profile of the labor force, other factors relevant to the state’s business and investment potential are added, such as a predominantly young formal labor force that is also aligned with the national average of gender representation, as can be seen in the following graphs:
Added to this scenario is the growing qualification of the workforce of the people of Minas Gerais, which now has a substantially higher number of workers with completed secondary education and a college degree than the number of workers who are still in the most basic stages of formal education. As can be seen in the following graph:
This scenario regarding the profile of the formal workforce in Minas Gerais reflects other relevant nuances of the state’s potential as a territory of continuous growth and economic development. One example of this is the Human Development Index (HDI) observed in the state. In recent years, this has shown continuous improvement, and the state’s HDI is currently 0.774, a percentage that places it on a scale of high development at a global level, according to the United Nations classification. Therefore, in the Brazilian context, Minas Gerais occupies the 4th position in terms of score, behind only the Federal District, São Paulo and Santa Catarina.
The high HDI of Minas Gerais is quite significant, especially when one considers that the state has the second largest population in Brazil, with almost 22 million inhabitants. In this sense, the state has 853 municipalities, the largest number in Brazil. The population density rate, therefore, is 35 inhabitants per square meter.
Given the above, it is clear that Minas Gerais has a high economic potential and that the state has a great capacity to be a driver of development that brings positive repercussions to the entire Brazilian scenario. Corroborating this understanding of business potential, Minas Gerais has, over the last few years, become one of the main Brazilian states receiving foreign and domestic direct investment, with a formidable performance in terms of setting up new companies, structuring new businesses and strengthening local production chains.
In this sense, according to data provided by the investment agency of the Government of Minas Gerais, in the period from 2019 to March 2024, investments have already totaled R$409.4 billion, an absolute record in the economic history of the state. We have the following perspective of the evolution of investments in the state, in recent years:
Below are some international companies that are already present in the state, making it a Brazilian success story in attracting global companies:
