structural:expansion, quality:correction
Economy

Until the mid-nineteenth century, Maranhão's economy was one of the most prosperous in the country. However, after the Civil War in the United States of America, when it lost space in the export of cotton, the state went into decline. Only after the end of the 1960s did the state begin to receive incentives and emerge from seclusion, by way of road and rail connections with other regions.

In the late eighteenth century, increased international demand for cotton to meet the English textile industry coupled with reduced production because of the Revolutionary War in the United States provided the perfect setting to stimulate cotton production in Maranhão. Shipping companies and Southampton & Company Maranha Maranha Shipping Company, shipping steam, which performed the transportation of cotton from the states of Georgia and Alabama, began operating in St. Louis shaft - London, leading to production of Caxias and Baixada Maranhão. By the early twentieth century, St. Louis still exporting cotton to England by sea, through the lines and Booth Red Cross Line Line (the extended route to Iquitos) and company-Maranha Liverpool Shipping Company.

During this golden period of the Maranhão economy São Luís had a lively cultural effervescence. The city had more in common with the European capitals than the other Brazilian cities. It was the first to receive an Italian opera and received the latest news about French literature every week. The rich cotton producers and local businessmen sent their children to study in Recife, Salvador, Rio de Janeiro and as far as Europe.

The opening of the Port of Alumar, Port of Itaqui and Port of Ponta da Madeira, currently the second deepest in the world, second only to the Rotterdam, is one of the busiest in the country. It serves as a gateway for industrial production and iron ore arriving from the Carajás Railway, operated by Companhia Vale do Rio Doce and also exports soybeans grown in southern Maranhão and central Brazil, transported by the Carajás Railway and North-South Railway. The port's proximity to strategic markets in Europe and North America has led it to become an attractive option for exporting goods, but suffers from increased coastal shipping.

The São Luís economy is based on aluminum processing (ALUMAR), pelleting industry (VALE), food production and tourism. São Luís has the largest GDP in the state, hosting two public universities (and UFMA UEMA) and various educational institutions and private colleges. According to the latest data from the IBGE survey, São Luís has a GDP of R$9,340,944,000.00, occupying 14th position amongst state capitals.

In neighbouring Alcântara there is the Alcântara Space Center.