São Francisco, Minas Gerais

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São Francisco is a municipality in the northern part of Minas Gerais, Brazil. In 2020, about 56,477 people lived there, and the area is around 3,300 square kilometers. The town sits at 695 meters above sea level and became a municipality in 1831. The postal code is 39300-000, and it belongs to the Januária microregion.

São Francisco lies on the right bank of the São Francisco River and is connected by paved roads to Brasília de Minas and Montes Claros. The economy depends on farming and cattle raising. In 2006 there were about 103,000 head of cattle. The main crops are sugarcane, bananas, castor oil seeds, and corn. The GDP was about 140.7 million reais in 2005. Irrigation from the river supports the production of tropical fruits. In 2006 around 12,500 people worked in agriculture, including 2,200 salaried workers. There are two banks in the municipality.

The area is relatively isolated from large cities and faces drought and poor soils. Social and health indicators include: urbanization around 54%; literacy about 77%; urban sewage coverage about 1.3%; and infant mortality around 20.7 per 1,000 live births.