São Luís

Also known as Sao Luis

municipality of Maranhão state, Brazil

AI overview

São Luís is a city located in Maranhão state in northeastern Brazil. It is the capital and largest city of the state, serving as an important cultural and economic center in the region.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Instance of: big city
Part of: French colonial empire
Named after: Louis IX of France
Demonym: ludovicense
Country: Brazil
Located in: Maranhão
Population: 868047
Area: 827.141
Elevation: 4
Head of government: Edivaldo Holanda Júnior
Capital of: Maranhão
Shares border with: Rosário
Official website: www.saoluis.ma.gov.br
Image: SaoLuis-Street2.jpg
Dialing code: 98

Show 15 more facts

Commons gallery: São Luís
described by source: Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition
twinned administrative body: St. Louis
Commons category: São Luís (Maranhão)
category for people born here: Category:Births in São Luís (Maranhão)
topic's main category: Category:São Luís, Maranhão
category of associated people: Category:People from São Luís, Maranhão
Human Development Index: 0.768
postal code: 65000-000
inception: 1612-09-08
P8168: Rosemarie Weiß-Scherberger
electorate: 723018
IPA transcription: sɐ̃w luˈis
member of: Organization of World Heritage Cities
P12749: Hans von Trotha

Sources (10)

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Encyclopedic overview

São Luís (/ˈsaʊnˈlwiːs/, SOWN LWEES; Brazilian Portuguese: [ˌsɐ̃w luˈis]; "Saint Louis") is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Maranhão. The city is located on São Luís Island, in the Baía de São Marcos (Saint Mark's Bay), an extension of the Atlantic Ocean which forms the estuary of Pindaré, Mearim, Itapecuru and other rivers. Its coordinates are 2.53° south, 44.30° west. São Luís has the second largest maritime extension within Brazilian states. Its maritime extension is 640 km (397 miles). The city proper has a population of some 1,088,057 people (2024 IBGE census). The metropolitan area totals 1,536,017, ranked as the 15th largest in Brazil.

São Luís, created originally as Saint-Louis-de-Maragnan, is the only Brazilian state capital founded by France (see France Équinoxiale) and it is one of the three Brazilian state capitals located on islands (the others are Vitória and Florianópolis). The historic center of the city (dating from the 17th century) has its original street plan preserved and was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “São Luís” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.