Campo Grande

The current name originates from the primitive designation of the settlement, Arraial de Santo Antônio de Campo Grande, a reference to the field of native pastures where the settlement formed, in the region then known as the campos de Vacaria. The name Campo Grande was fixed when the district was created, in 1889.

In 1870 (because of the Paraguayan War), news reached the residents of Monte Alegre de Minas, in the Triângulo Mineiro, of fertile lands for agriculture and livestock in the region then called "Campo Grande da Vacaria". This ended up pleasing José Antônio Pereira, who needed land to settle his family. On June 21, 1872, he arrived and settled on fertile, completely uninhabited lands of the Serra de Maracaju, at the confluence of two streams – later called Prosa and Segredo – today the Horto Florestal. The city's first historian, Rosário Congro, stated that the following year João returned to Monte Alegre, leaving João Nepomuceno responsible for his ranch. On August 14, 1875, Pereira finally returned with his family (wife and eight children), slaves, and others (62 people in total). …

Campo Grande is the capital of the 21st most populous state of Brazil, Mato Grosso do Sul, and is located in the south of the Central-West region of Brazil. Geographically, the municipality of Campo Grande lies close to Brazil's border with Paraguay and Bolivia. It is located at a latitude of 20º26'34" South and a longitude of 54°38'47" West. It is equidistant from the northern, southern, eastern, and western extremes of South America, and lies 1,134 kilometres (705 miles) from Brasília. It is one hour behind Brasília and four hours behind Greenwich. It occupies a total surface of 8,082.978 square kilometres (3,120.855 square miles), equivalent to about 2.26% of the state's total area. The urban area totals 154.45 square kilometres (59.63 square miles) according to Embrapa Satellite Monitoring. …

The culture of Campo Grande is marked by the diversity of customs, music, and gastronomy and reflects singular cultural traits due to the heritage left by the indigenous peoples and various races, such as European, Syrian-Lebanese, Japanese, Paraguayan, and Bolivian, and by migrants from other states who settled here. Festas Juninas were introduced to Northeastern Brazil by the Portuguese and the custom spread to the rest of the country, including Campo-Grande, where festivities take place with the usual fare of typical foods and decoration, rural costumes, music, dancing, a bonfire, and fireworks. The Campo Grande Film Festival is held annually in the months of January and February since 2004. It focuses on independent cinema, presenting Brazilian and foreign films alike, as well as regional and short films. …

Most of the city's active economic labor is absorbed by the tertiary sector (commerce and services). In spite of that, the primary and secondary sectors, especially agribusiness, still play an important role in the local economy. The farming of bovine livestock supplies local slaughterhouses, which in turn allows Campo Grande to export meat to other states in Brazil and abroad. In addition to food processing and agribusiness, construction and non-metallic mineral processing are important. The area's most important crops are soy, rice and manioc. Recently, sugar cane is becoming important as well. According to IBGE, Campo Grande has a total of 11,657 commercial and 1,300 industrial enterprises. The city's GDP was R$ 20.7 billion (about US$ 9. …

In the 2022 census, the municipality had 898,100 inhabitants — a growth of 14.1% compared to the 786,797 recorded in 2010 — and a demographic density of 111.11 inhabitants/km². The IBGE estimate for July 1, 2026 is 970,843 inhabitants. Campo Grande was also included in a study released in 2017 by the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA) analyzing homicide rates. According to the study, the city is among the 110 least violent cities (107th position) among Brazilian municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants. Considering deaths by aggression (homicides), the city recorded 170 assassinations (19.9 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants) and, in violent deaths from undetermined causes (MVCI), 30 assassinations (3.5 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants). In the sum of both indices, it totaled 200 assassinations (23.4 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants). …