The Greater Natal (lit. Grande Natal, officially Natal Metropolitan Region, lit. Região Metropolitana de Natal) is a metropolitan area located in Rio Grande do Norte state in Brazil. It consists of nine municipalities, including the capital, Natal.
The metropolitan area of Natal is known as a historical, cultural and economic center of state, with a total population of 1,263 million inhabitants. The region was first officially defined on January 16, 1997. Only a few municipalities show a high level of agglomeration — namely, Natal-Parnamirim and Natal-São Gonçalo do Amarante.
The state government's greatest challenge is connecting all the cities in the metropolitan area by bus. There is a plan called "Via Metropolitana" (Metropolitan Highway) to connect all cities.
Municipalities in Greater Natal
MunicipalityArea (km2)IBGE, Área Territorial Oficial, Resolução nº 5 de 10 de outubro de 2002. Acessado em 26 de fevereiro de 2008.Population(2007)IBGE, População residente, em 1º de abril de 2007, Publicação Completa. Acessado em 26 de fevereiro de 2008.GDP R$(2006)IBGE, Produto Interno Bruto dos Municipios 2002-2006. Acessado em 22 de dezembro de 2008.Natal170,298774.2307.508.466Ceará-Mirim739,68665.450247.860Extremoz (pt)125,66521.79296.887Macaíba (pt)512,48763.337527.652Monte Alegre (pt)200,00020.59063.266Nísia Floresta (pt)306,05122.90695.767Parnamirim120,202172.7511.269.568São Gonçalo do Amarante251,30877.363677.341São José de Mipibu (pt)293,87736.990172.328Total2.719,5741.255.40910.659.135
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