IBGE has released today, August 31, 2006, the estimates for the resident population in the Brazilian municipalities. This estimate is released annually and is in accordance with the Complementary Law no. 59, of December 22,1998, as well as with the Article 102 of Law no. 8443, of July 16, 1992.

Brazil remains with 14 municipalities with over 1 million inhabitants. Now in 2006, the country has reached the figure of 36 municipalities with 500 thousand inhabitants: Aracaju is a new member of this group.

Fortaleza has become the fourth most populated municipality in Brazil, surpassing Belo Horizonte, which was in fourth place in 2055 and is now in the fifth position. Teresina also fell, from the 20^th to the 21^st place, exchanging position s with São Bernardo do Campo, in São Paulo.

Among the capitals, 15 still have less than one million inhabitants. Palmas, in Tocantins, remains as the most populated one (220,889 inhabitants). São Paulo reached the figure of 11 million inhabitants and is now the leader of the ranking.

In the estimates form 2006, the number of municipalities with 400 thousand inhabitants changed from 48 to 51: Betim (407,003), in Minas Gerais, Florianópolis (406,564), in Santa Catarina and Vila Velha (405,374), in Espírito Santo became part of this group.

In 2006, the coastal city of Guarujá (305,171 inhabitants was the only municipality to become part of the group of cities with over 300 thousand inhabitants, which is now 79.

Itapevi (202,683) in São Paulo, Arapiraca (202,390) in Alagoas, Hortolândia (201,795) in São Paulo, São José (201,103) in Santa Catarina and Marabá (200,801) in Pará have now more than 200 thousand inhabitants, and have entered a group which is formed by 130 municipalities.  

In 2006 only the municipality of Castanhal surpassed the total of 156,217 inhabitants, in a group which is now formed by 164 municipalities. It is worth pointing out that the municipalities with over 156,217 inhabitants are at the least level of the coefficient used by TCU in the calculation of the Municipal Participation Fund.

Sinop (103,868), in Mato Grosso; Piraquara (103,574), in Paraná; Trindade (102,430), in Goiás, Santana de Parnaíba (102,224), in São Paulo; Santana (101,864) in Amapá; Paço do Lumiar (101,554), in Maranhão; Marituba (101,356), in Pará; Arapongas (100,855), in Paraná; Araruama (100,378), in Rio de Janeiro ,Maranguape (100,279), in Ceará, Erechim (100,251), in Rio Grande do Sul and Muriaé (100,063), in Minas Gerais, are now part of the group of municipalities with over 100 thousand inhabitants, which contains 267 municipalities.

Borá is still the municipality with the smallest population in the country, 828 inhabitants, 5 persons more than in 2005, according to recent estimates. Baliza, which had 1,106 inhabitants according to 2005 estimates, has become part of the special group of 5 Brazilian municipalities with less than one thousand inhabitants: Lagoa Santa (965), Anhanguera (914), Baliza (897), Serra da Saudade (889) and Borá (828).

The present estimates are released in a table together with the estimated population for each of the 5,564 Brazilian municipalities on June 1^st 2006, when it is also published in the Official Diary of the Country, up to the 31^st of August each year. The schedule for the release of the estimates also determines that, up to twenty days after the release of the data, complaints may be received by IBGE. Only then, up to October 31 every year, does the institution send the results to the Department of National Accounts. The estimates will be used as the basis for the calculation of revenue distribution referring to the Municipal Participation Fund.