  contagem () is a city in the center of the state of minas gerais, in brazil. it is located only 21 kilometers from the capital, belo horizonte and forms part of a metropolitan area with a population of 4.8 million. the city belongs to the mesoregion metropolitana de belo horizonte and to the microregion of belo horizonte and has a territorial extension of 195.2&nbsp;kmÂ² and borders the municipalities of ribeirÃ£o das neves, esmeraldas, betim, ibiritÃ© and belo horizonte. the elevation of the city hall is 939 meters. according to estimates from 2010 the municipal population was 603,442 making it the third most populous city in the state of minas gerais, after belo horizonte and 
Municipalities_in_Minas_Gerais Populated_places_in_Minas_Gerais