Ilhéus

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Municipality of Bahia, Brazil

title: "Ilhéus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["ilhéus", "populated-places-established-in-1534", "populated-coastal-places-in-bahia", "former-portuguese-colonies", "1534-establishments-in-brazil", "municipalities-in-bahia"] description: "Municipality of Bahia, Brazil" topic_path: "geography/brazil" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilhéus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Municipality of Bahia, Brazil ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Ilhéus
official_name	The Municipality of
São Jorge dos Ilhéos
settlement_type	Municipality
image_skyline	Ilheus, Bahia 1.jpg
imagesize	275px
image_caption	Beach in Ilhéus
(June 2006)
image_flag	Flag_of_Ilhéus.svg
image_seal	Brasão_de_Ilhéus.svg
nickname	Princesinha do Sul (Little Princess of the South)
image_map	Bahia Municip Ilheus.svg
mapsize	275px
map_caption	Location of Ilhéus
coordinates
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	Brazil
subdivision_type1	Region
subdivision_name1	Nordeste
subdivision_type2	State
subdivision_name2	Bahia
established_title	Founded
established_date	28 June 1536
leader_title	Mayor
leader_name	Valderico Luiz Dos Reis Júnior (Brazil Union 2015-)
area_total_km2	1588.555
area_footnotes
elevation_m	52
population_total	178,649
population_as_of	2022
population_density_km2	auto
timezone	BRT
utc_offset	−3
postal_code_type
::

Geography

As of 2020 Ilhéus had approximately 159,923 inhabitants, with an area of 1850 km2, and its downtown is located 1 km away from the Atlantic Ocean. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Mapa_da_Capitania_de_Ilhéus_1640-PT-TT-CRT-162_m0096.jpg" caption="Map of the Captaincy of Ilhéus 1640"] ::

Climate

Ilhéus has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen: Af).

Conservation

The municipality contains a small part of the 23262 ha Una Wildlife Refuge, which surrounds the Una Biological Reserve in the neighboring municipality of Una.{{citation |title=As limitações administrativas da união no refúgio de vida silvestre de Una, Sul da Bahia|journal=Direito Ambiental e sociedade|volume=2 |issue=1|year=2012|page=302 |last1=Lisboa |first1=Gilberto Santos |first2=Guilhardes de, Júnior |last2=Jesus |first3=Mateus de |last3=Melo Lisboa |url=http://www.ucs.br/etc/revistas/index.php/direitoambiental/article/viewFile/3708/2131|access-date=2016-10-23}} It contains 15% of the 9275 ha Serra do Conduru State Park, created in 1997.{{citation|ref=|language=pt |title=Parque Estadual da Serra do Conduru: Ficha Técnica|publisher=PESC: Parque Estadual da Serra do Conduru |url=http://www.parquedoconduru.org/index.php/o-parque/ficha-tecnica|access-date=2016-10-26}} It contains part of the 157,745 ha Lagoa Encantada e Rio Almada Environmental Protection Area, created in 1993. The APA is threatened by water pollution from sewage and garbage, since most of the communities have no sanitation. There are irregular settlements of squatters in the coastal area. Other threats include irregular fishing, deforestation, fires, hunting and the illegal trade in wild animals.

Economy

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Cocoa_from_Provisão_Farm.jpg" caption="Cocoa from Provisão Farm in Ilhéus. Cocoa production has been a major challenge for farmers in the area of Bahia, where the “vassoura de bruxa” disease continues to be fought"] ::

The city was once one of the biggest exporters of cocoa beans.

The city's economy is based mainly on tourism, as a result of its beaches and cultural heritage that includes early Portuguese buildings, history and culinary distinctions, which bring to the city many Brazilian and foreign tourists.

Urban infrastructure

There is a proposal for the construction of a new deep water port which due to impact has been opposed by environmental activists but has been accepted by the government as important for the economy.

Transportation

Road: BR-101 connects it to Itabuna and beyond.
Air: Ilhéus Jorge Amado Airport with daily flights of Azul Brazilian Airlines, GOL and LATAM Brasil with destinations Belo Horizonte-Confins (CNF), Campinas (VCP), Salvador (SSA), São Paulo-Congonhas (CGH) and São Paulo-Guarulhos (GRU).
Sea: Port of Ilhéus.

Culture

Ilhéus is the hometown of Jorge Amado, the best known writer in Brazil. He wrote over 25 novels, which were translated into 48 languages and stayed on bestseller lists in 52 countries. His novels like Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon and Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands portray life and customs in the Northeastern region of Brazil. The plots of these and his other major works largely treat the lives of poor urban and rural black and mulatto communities of Bahia, as well as the land wars that raged in Ilhéus, where cocoa barons killed each other for power and cocoa plantations.

Sister city

USA Davenport, Iowa (2005)

Notable people

Ricardo Nascimento, footballer

References

(2017). "Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics".
[https://cidades.ibge.gov.br/brasil/ba/ilheus/panorama IBGE 2022]
"NORMAIS CLIMATOLÓGICAS DO BRASIL". Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia.
(August 2025). "BDMEP - série histórica - dados diários - temperatura mínima (°C) - Ilhéus". Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia.
(August 2025). "BDMEP - série histórica - dados diários - temperatura máxima (°C) - Ilhéus". Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia.
"APA Lagoa Encantada e Rio Almada". INEMA.
[https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/en/geral/noticia/2014-09/govt-oks-new-port-bahia-despite-pressure-environmentalists Agencia do Brasil:Noticia:September 2009: Government okays new port in Bahia State despite pressure from environmentalists]

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