Altamira: A Municipality the Size of a Country
Brazil is more than a country, it’s a continent disguised as a republic.
And few places illustrate this better than Altamira, a municipality in the state of Pará, deep in the Amazon region.
With 159,533 km² of territory, Altamira is:
Larger than 23 of Brazil’s 26 states and the Federal District
Smaller only than Amazonas, Pará, and Mato Grosso
Bigger than countries like England, Greece, Nepal, and Bangladesh
Nearly three times the size of Portugal
Comparable in size to Tunisia, and larger than Iceland or South Korea
If it were a sovereign country, Altamira would rank among the top 35 nations by area.
🌎 Geographic Comparisons
Region Area (km²)
Altamira (PA) 159,533
England 130,279
Greece 131,957
Nepal 147,516
Bangladesh 147,570
Portugal 92,212
Ceará (State) 148,920
Amapá (State) 142,815
Tunisia 163,610
Sources: IBGE, CIA World Factbook, UNStats
🏞️ Scale Meets Solitude
Despite its colossal size, Altamira has a population of just over 110,000 residents. The vast majority of its land is covered by rainforest, indigenous territories, conservation zones, and river systems. It’s also home to the Belo Monte Dam, one of the largest hydroelectric complexes in the world.
This is not a city as most people understand cities. It’s a territorial unit the size of a nation, containing vast natural resources, geopolitical sensitivities, and a critical role in the global environmental equation.
🧭 Why It Matters
Understanding the dimensions of Brazil changes how we think about:
Infrastructure: building a road may require hundreds of kilometers of forest crossing.
Governance: municipalities like Altamira require state-level capacity.
Investment: real estate, logistics, energy, and environmental assets operate on a different scale.
Climate relevance: Altamira alone sits at the intersection of Amazon preservation, energy policy, and territorial control.
🌍 This Is Just the Beginning
This is the first in our new series:
“Continental Brazil” exploring the scale, extremes, and opportunities hidden in Brazil’s geography.
Next up: “Amapá: A State with European Borders and Amazonian Depth
