Pelotas is the most populous city in the South Region, and the third most populous in the State. There are 338.544 inhabitants, more than 30% of the whole region.

For its cultural background, it is considered the most European city in the South of Rio Grande. With about 28 ethnic groups, its population is characterized by the strong Portuguese, Spanish and African presence (it is the biggest “black city” of the State), added to them there are the migratory groups of Germans, Italians, French, Irish and Polish, that strongly influenced the physical and cultural formation of the Pelotense people, result of great miscigenation.

It is located in the confluence of the roads BR 116, BR 392 and BR 471, that together make the connection to the Mercosur Countries and the Brazilian capitals.
Away 252 km from the State capital, 60 Km from Rio Grande Harbor, the biggest in the South of Brazil, 150 Km from Jaguarão and 250 Km from Chuy, both Uruguay frontier towns.

Pelotas stands out for having an expressive agro industrial park and food in cans, with the production of more than 40 millions of cans of peach per year, and for the greatest capacity installed for cattle slaughtering in state scope. The industry of leather and furs is also a regional highlight.

The city is the biggest pole of rice benefactor of the American continent. In 2000, Josapar acquired the most modern and advanced plant of rice processing in Latin America, becoming the third world’s largest company in this segment. There are 20 rice mills in the city, where about 13 millions of sacks are processed every year.

The dairy industry is also important for the region, processing more than 300 thousands of litters of milk a day.

A stage of great Art and Culture manifestations, Pelotas stands out for its historical museums that preserve the cultural memory of its people, and also for its great and famous theaters.
The Public Municipal Library is one of the biggest public libraries of the State.
Pelotas has an important Cultural Patrimony that can be noticed in the reminiscent architectonical samples, which are the heritage from old times of cultural, social and economical development.

Pelotas has great histories and traditions. Mansions and centenary buildings, many of them transformed in museums, evoke the image of the economical and cultural opulence that the cattle breeding and the charqueadas provided in the past.
The charqueadas came from the simple establishments where dried meat was produced becoming businesses, directed to the consuming market. Consequently there was a wealth accumulation that provided conditions for a fast urbanization process. After all, the charque industry was growing quickly, having, some of the times, forty-two charqueadas working simultaneously in the city.

Pelotas is characterized for being the main educational center in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul, with a superior quality of education in all levels, and in all segments: private, federal, state and municipal. The city counts on a great school net that offers from preschool through high school, with two technological centers considered by the Education Ministry as a national reference in technical teaching. It also counts on five institutions that offer college studies. Approximately 30% of the population or 92.755 study from preschool to university.

Situated on the shore of Lagoa dos Patos, Laranjal beach is more than just a suburb of the city. Mainly in the summer, it becomes the city itself, when the population and tourists look for its beaches. Even though it is lacustrine, Laranjal’s water, eventually becomes salty because of the advance of the Atlantic Ocean waters, with which it has connection.

The National Sweet Fair (FENADOCE) is the highest mark of Pelotas festivities calendar. It is an yearly event which promotes the culture of sweetmeats confections of the city – heritage of the German and Portuguese colonization – and the development of the region all over Brazil.
The fair has an average sales of about BRL 17 millions in business with hundreds of expositors, in an area of 22.000 m2, in the sectors of industry, commerce and services, besides dozens of sweets stores, sweet confectioners, and colonial cafe.
The event attracts visitors from other parts of Brazil and from Mercosur, and they are responsible for the consume of some millions of candies. For the expositors, it is the chance to get in touch with more than 300 thousand visitors. A unique opportunity to do business and to know Pelotas sweets.