Map - Jundiaí

Jundiaí is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, in the Southeast Region of Brazil, located 57 km north of São Paulo. The population of the city is 423,006 (2020 est.), with an area of 431.21 km². The elevation is 761 m. The GDP of the city is U$16.6 billion (R$36.6 billion). The budget for 2013 is U$787 million (R$1.63 billion), according to the official data of the City Hall.

The locally most-accepted history of the first non-native American colonizers of the locale were Rafael de Oliveira and Petronilha Rodrigues Antunes who fled São Paulo for political reasons and who in 1615 then founded what became known as the Freguesia de Nossa Senhora do Desterro ("The Parish of Our Lady of the Landless").

The municipality was officially founded on December 14, 1655, when it was elevated to the category of village. Its first urbanization was carried out in 1657. Jundiaí has borders with Várzea Paulista, Campo Limpo Paulista, Franco da Rocha, Cajamar, Pirapora do Bom Jesus, Cabreúva, Itupeva, Louveira, Vinhedo, Itatiba and Jarinu.

Formerly spelled Jundiahy, the name of the town comes from the Tupi language, jundiá means "fish with barbs" (the Rhamdia quelen species) and í means river. Loosely translated, it means "Catfish River ."

The city received massive numbers of Italian immigrants in the late 19th century and early 20th century, making most of the city's inhabitants of Italian descent, which constitutes about 75% of the city's population. Amongst other immigrant groups, there are: Portuguese, Spanish, German and small amounts of Hungarian and Slavic peoples.

Recently, Jundiaí has enjoyed a steep population growth, in large part fueled by a shift of residents from the megalopolis of São Paulo, seeking better living conditions.