The IBGE has released today update editions of three annual studies in Geosciences: Digital Municipal Mesh 2021, Municipal Maps of Population Estimates and Territorial Areas of States and Municipalities.

The Institute has provided a number of updates in the Digital Municipal Mesh, encompassing the political and administrative representation of Brazilian states and municipalities, which provides material for new Municipal Maps and Territorial Areas.

This group of data includes modifications due to legal decisions, new state laws, technical reports elaborated by state bodies in charge of the political and administrative Division and cartographic adjustments of dividing lines into the best available inputs, with an effect on the calculation of areas and borders considered for the Population Estimates 2021.

Brazil has 5,568 municipalities, besides the island district of Fernando de Noronha, and the Federal District, amounting to a total territorial area of 8,510,345.540 km², which represents adjustment of 0.02 km² of the figure in 2020 (8,510,345.538 km²).

For 2021, once the area was calculated based on a single file with the borders of Brazil, instead of the sum of areas of each municipality, there was no need for rounding off partial figures, which led to a difference in the final result.

The IBGE has also updated the Municipal Maps of 342 municipalities whose areas and borders changed between May 2020 and April 2021. The state with most updated municipalities was Goiás (246 municipalities). See the list of municipalities where changes took place.

Also, due to the necessary continuous update of the Territorial Base, mainly regarding the municipal map, cartographic adjustments were made in several municipalities, considering the availability of mew cartographic inputs, especially regarding their quantity in the states of Maranhão e Goiás.

All the updates influence studies and surveys conducted by the IBGE. Although the Digital Municipal Mesh, the Municipal Maps and the respective Territorial Areas are used as a reference for activities of public and private bodies and by Society as a whole, it is not a duty of the IBGE to define and delimitate territory boundaries.