São Francisco de Sales

São Francisco de Sales is a municipality in the west of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.

It is located at an elevation of 423 meters on the northern bank of the Rio Grande and is crossed by the Verde River.

In 1850 a district was formed with the name "Missões", later changed to São Francisco de Sales in homage to the founder of the Salesian order.

São Francisco de Sales is in the top tier of municipalities in the state with regard to economic and social development.

[5] The highest ranking municipality in Minas Gerais in 2000 was Poços de Caldas with 0.841, while the lowest was Setubinha with 0.568.

In more recent statistics (considering 5,507 municipalities) Manari in the state of Pernambuco has the lowest rating in the country—0,467—putting it in last place.