Paineiras is a municipality in the Midwest of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. As of 2007 the population was 4,594 in a total area of 638 km². It became a municipality in 1962.
Paineiras belongs to the statistical micro-region of Três Marias. It is located at an elevation of 637 meters between the Indaiá River and the southern reaches of the great reservoir of Três Marias, which dams up the São Francisco River. Neighboring municipalities are:
Connections to the north and south are made on MG-415.
The most important economic activities are cattle raising, commerce, and agriculture. The GDP in 2005 was R$ R$27 million of which 14 million came from services and 10 million came from agriculture. Paineiras is in the middle tier of municipalities in the state with regard to economic and social development. As of 2007 there were no banking agencies in the town. There was a small retail infrastructure serving the surrounding area of cattle and agricultural lands. There were 642 automobiles in all of the municipality (2007), about one for every 07 inhabitants.
In the rural area there were 496 establishments occupying 87,000 hectares (planted area, 2,200 ha; natural pasture, 63,000 ha.; and woodland, 14,000 ha.) (2006). About 1,500 persons were employed in agriculture. 48 of the farms had tractors, a ratio of one in ten farms. There were 35,000 head of cattle in 2006. The main crops were rice and corn. A major agricultural activity is extraction of charcoal, which is shipped by truck to be used in the industries of the Belo Horizonte region.
In the health sector there were 04 health clinics and 01 hospital with 14 beds. In the educational sector there were 07 primary schools and 02 middle schools.
The highest ranking municipality in Minas Gerais in 2000 was Poços de Caldas with 0.841, while the lowest was Setubinha with 0.568. Nationally the highest was São Caetano do Sul in São Paulo with 0.919, while the lowest was Setubinha. 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.
Coordinates: 18°54′21″S 45°32′17″W / 18.90583°S 45.53806°W