About São Carlos

   São Carlos is located in the Central East region of São Paulo state, about 230 kilometers from the state capital. With a population census at 241,389 inhabitants (IBGE / 2015), distributed in a total area of 1,137,332 km², it is the 13th state largest city in number of residents.

   Its altitude is over 856 m, offering a mild climate. Most of the year the city is windy, sunny with mild temperatures at night. For this reason the city is nicknamed "Cidade do Clima" (Weather City) and celebrates once a year an event called "Festa do Clima", or "Weather Festival". According to the Köppen Climate Classification, the city has an altitude tropical climate with dry winter, with minimum average temperatures of 15,3 °C and maximum of 27,0 °C. In August the maximum and minimum temperatures (average) are about 27 °C and 13 °C respectively. The average rainfall in August is about 27 mm.

    In 2011 São Carlos was named by the President Dilma Rousseff as the National Capital Technology because of the high technological level of research produced by the public universities, Universidade of São Paulo (USP) and Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), two Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) and the other researcher centers. Besides, there are two public technological institutes, Instituto Federal São Paulo (IFSP) and Faculdade de Tecnologia (FATEC), plus a private higher education institution (UNICEP). Consequently, there is an intense university activity because of the population of over twenty nine thousand undergraduates and postgraduates. While the national average of PhD/inhabitants is one for every 5,423 inhabitants in São Carlos is 1 to 180.

   The city is also an important industrial regional center, its economy is based on industrial activities and agriculture ( orange, milk and chicken and mostly sugarcane). São Carlos is also a business center of the multinational companies such as the Swiss Leica Geosystems, Volkswagen, Faber-Castell, Electrolux, Tecumseh and Husqvarna. Some national companies include the São Carlos Towels and Carpets, São Carlos Paper (including recycled paper), Prominas Brazil, Opto Electronics, Latina, Engemasa, and Apramed.