During his visit to Brazil, the president of the United States, Bill Clinton said of São Paulo: "If Brazil is the country of the future, São Paulo is already the future."
1950 - 2.4 million
The city of São Paulo, São Paulo (Brazil's "New York, New York") is the largest metropolis in Brazil as well as the largest industrial center. It is the third-largest city in the world, has the largest Japanese population in the world outside of Japan and is home to more Italians than live in the Italian capital, Rome. In the 1980's, a new type of heart surgery was pioneered in the São Paulo Heart Institute. Recently, the genome for a bacterium that causes disease in citrus fruit was decoded in a São Paulo laboratory. Over the course of 446 years, São Paulo has become a grand city.
Portuguese Jesuits who began building on the site of a previous Indian village founded São Paulo, São Paulo in 1554. It remained a relatively small city until 1885, when coffee production became (the state of) São Paulo's major export. The coffee was collected in (the city of) São Paulo and shipped to Santos (a port city in São Paulo state) to be exported.
The urbanization of São Paulo having been underway, in 1950 the population soared and began a long stretch of growth (which is still in effect). The millions of European and Asian expatriates that made their new homes in São Paulo were mainly from Germany, Italy, and Japan. To this day, people of these nationalities make up an integral part of São Paulo's population and community. São Paulo is fulfilling its prophecy and is leading into the 21st Century.
Sao Paulo's Population
1970 - 8.1
1990 - 14.8
2000 - 17.8
