Monte Alegre de Goiás is a municipality in northeastern Goiás state, Brazil. Location Monte Alegre is located in the statistical micro-region of Chapada dos Veadeiros and is 31 kilometers south of the border with Tocantins. G0-118 connects it with Teresina de Goiás and Campos Belos de Goiás. It is 568 kilometers from the state capital, Goiânia. Highway connections from Goiânia are made by BR-153 / Anápolis / BR-060 / Alexânia / Planaltina / GO-118 / BR-010 / São João d'Aliança / Alto Paraíso de Goiás / BR-010 / GO-118 / Teresina de Goiás. Municipal boundaries are with the state of Tocantins, Campos Belos de Goiás, Cavalcante, São Domingos, Divinópolis de Goiás, and Nova Roma The Serra da Contenda lies north of the region. The vegetation is mainly cerrado with tropical forest along the rivers. The Sumidouro forest, with 50 caves, is 90% preserved. There are many rivers: Rio Paranã, Manso, São Domingos, Bezerra, Prata, Sarzeda and Pagão. All of these rivers flow north to join the Paranã and eventually the Tocantins. Demographics The population in 2007 was smaller than in 1980, having lost around 200 inhabitants. From 2000 to 2005 there was a loss of 2.03%. The economy The economy is based on cattle raising with 90,000 head of cattle. Many residents work for the government and there is a small commercial sector. In 2007 there was 1 industrial unit and 36 retail units. There was 1 banking institution: Banco Itaú S.A. In 2006 there were 121,200 head of cattle, of which 5,400 were milk cows. The main agricultural products in planted area were rice, sugarcane, beans, manioc, and corn (1,800 hectares). Most of the corn is grown for cattle feed during the dry months of the summer. Agricultural data 2006 Farms: 695 Total area: 175,147 ha. Area of permanent crops: 442 ha. Area of perennial crops: 4,477 ha. Area of natural pasture: 92,754 ha. Area of woodland and forests: 66,983 ha. Persons dependent on farming: 2,200 Number of tractors: 156 Cattle herd: 90,000 Main crop: corn with 1,850 planted hectares IBGE Health and education In 2007 there was 1 hospital with 15 beds. The infant mortality rate was 45.34 in every 1,000 live births in 2000. This was much higher than the state average. There were no institutions of higher learning. The adult literacy rate was 75.8% in 2000, one of the lowest in the state. Monte Alegre de