List of municipalities in Ceará

Ceará (CE) is a state located in the Northeast Region of Brazil. According to the 2022 census conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), Ceará has a population of 8,794,957 inhabitants over 146,348.3 square kilometres (56,505.4 sq mi), which makes it the 8th largest state by population and the 17th largest by area, out of 26 states. Ceará is divided into 184 municipalities, which are grouped into 33 microregions, which are grouped into 7 mesoregions.

The territory of modern Ceará was inhabited by Tupi and Jê peoples for millennia. Portuguese colonization began in 1603 with Pero Coelho de Sousa's failed settlement who established Fort São Tiago, followed by Martim Soares Moreno's establishment of Fort São Sebastião (1612). The Dutch occupied the region from 1637 to 1654, building Fort Schoonenborch. After Portuguese reconquest, cattle ranching and cotton cultivation spurred growth, though recurrent droughts—notably the Brazilian drought of 1877–1878—triggered mass migrations. Ceará became the first Brazilian province to abolish slavery in 1884, led by figures like Francisco "Dragão do Mar" Nascimento.

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