Abaetetuba, Brazil

Living in the Amazon's industrial backyard comes with tough tradeoffs. This riverside manufacturing hub, sitting at the mouth of the Tocantins River, serves as the commercial center for Brazil's Baixo Tocantins region despite its modest population of 99,989.

Originally settled in 1724 by spice traders seeking Amazonian goods, Abaetetuba evolved from indigenous settlements into a strategic port city. Its protected location behind Sirituba Island made it ideal for river commerce, leading to its elevation to city status in 1895. The city's name, meaning "group of true men" in Tupi, reflects its indigenous heritage, though it wasn't officially dubbed Abaetetuba until 1943.