Population growth rate 1996/2007: -1,86.% (The population declined 14,34% in the period 2000/2006)
Urban population in 2007: 1,043
Rural population in 2007: 2,256
Eligible voters: 2,498 (09/2007)
City government: mayor (Humberto Robson Grossi), vice-mayor (Antenor Gonçalves Ferreira Neto), and 09 councilpersons
Economy
The main economic activities are cattle raising, agriculture, tourism, commerce (18 units), wood extraction and processing, and small transformation industries. Public administration is one of the largest employers. There is also a substantial informal economy.
There were 62,000 head of cattle in 2007. The main agricultural products were bananas, charcoal, hard woods, rice (500 ha.), manioc, corn (1,000 ha.), and soybeans (2,5800 ha.).
There were no financial institutions registered in 2007.
Agricultural data 2006
Number of farms: 776
Total area: 132,815 ha.
Area of permanent crops: 4,848 ha. (bananas)
Area of perennial crops: 6,877 ha. (soybeans, corn, rice)
Baliza is rated 0.715 on the United Nations Human Development Index and is ranked 186 out of 242 municipalities in Goiás. Nationally it is ranked 2,727 out of 5,507 municipalities.
History
The settlement of this region began in 1924 with the discovery of diamonds along the banks of the João Velho River by two prospectors, Cosme and Borges. Soon many prospectors arrived with their families and a settlement began with the name of "Baliza", the name of a large rock in the middle of the Araguaia River. In 1930 the town was raised to the category of district in the municipality of Rio Bonito, now called Caiapônia. In 1936 it became a municipality. Soon the diamonds ran out and the families emigrated to other regions. Baliza was almost totally abandoned with its urban population declining to 883 in the 1980 census.
