In recent years it has experienced an economic boom and is one of the fastest-growing cities in the state of Bahia if not in Brazil.

With a population of approximately 157 thousand inhabitants distributed over an area of 7,989 km2, it is an important highway crossroads between the North, Northeast, and the Centerwest of the country.

Geographically it is located in the basin of the Rio Grande, which flows north-east into the São Francisco River.

Cattle caused the first settlers to penetrate these hostile regions, as the great herds began to advance into unexplored lands, bathed by rivers with clear waters.

At the point where the Rio Grande flows into the São Francisco a small settlement called Barras took root.

The Rio Grande was navigable by small boats, and traders soon arrived in the region to support the cattle industry and the ranches.

These were exported together with molasses, rum, manioc meal, and leather while European articles, kerosene and coffee were imported – all commerce being conducted by river.

The great abundance in the nearby forests of mangabeira, from whose sap rubber was made, was a factor for the growth of the town.

With no means of transport, since the rivers had ceased to be navigable and the airport had been closed, the city remained isolated for almost ten years until the Salvador/Brasília highway was finished.

Barreiras is a major producer of cereals (soybeans and corn), coffee, cotton, and fruits, as well as cattle raising.

Production not only supplies the national market but lemons, mangoes and papayas are exported to Europe and Canada.

The planted area of the fruit is: Going along with the development of agriculture traditional cattle raising gave way in the 1990s to the use of high technology, with cultivated pastures in corrected areas; the raising of more productive breeds; maintenance of the herd with the use of mineral supplements; periodical vaccination and the use of modern techniques like embryo transfer and artificial insemination to improve the genetic quality; confinement and semi-confinement; the production of early heifers and pastures irrigated by pivot.

The main breeds raised are: Nelore, Brown Swiss, Frisian, Limmousin, Chianina, Guzerá, Girolanda, Canchim, Marchigiana, Simental, Jersey and Santa Gertrudis.