<P> Each of the five major regions has a distinct ecosystem . Administrative boundaries do not necessarily coincide with ecological boundaries, however . In addition to differences in physical environment, patterns of economic activity and population settlement vary widely among the regions . The principal ecological characteristics of each of the five major regions, as well as their principal socioeconomic and demographic features, are summarized below . </P> <P> The Center - West consists of the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul (separated from Mato Grosso in 1979) and the Federal District, where Brasília is located, the national capital . Until 1988 Goiás State included the area that then became the state of Tocantins in the North . </P> <P> The Center - West has 1,612,077 square kilometers (622,426 sq mi) and covers 18.9% of the national territory . Its main biome is the cerrado, the tropical savanna in which natural grassland is partly covered with twisted shrubs and small trees . The cerrado was used for low - density cattle - raising in the past but is now also used for soybean production . There are gallery forests along the rivers and streams and some larger areas of forest, most of which have been cleared for farming and livestock . In the north, the cerrado blends into tropical forest . It also includes the Pantanal wetlands in the west, known for their wildlife, especially aquatic birds and caimans . In the early 1980s, 33.6% of the region had been altered by anthropic activities, with a low of 9.3% in Mato Grosso and a high of 72.9% in Goiás (not including Tocantins). In 1996 the Center - West region had 10.2 million inhabitants, or 6% of Brazil's total population . The average density is low, with concentrations in and around the cities of Brasília, Goiânia, Campo Grande, and Cuiabá . Living standards are below the national average . In 1994 they were highest in the Federal District, with per capita income of US $7,089 (the highest in the nation), and lowest in Mato Grosso, with US $2,268 . </P> <P> The nine states that make up the Northeast are Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Maranhão, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, and Sergipe . The Fernando de Noronha archipelago (formerly the federal territory of Fernando de Noronha, now part of Pernambuco state) is also included in the Northeast . </P>

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