Manaus is a different market from the rest of Brazil. The capital of Amazonas sits in the Amazon, and its economy is industrial: industry produced 45.82 percent of the city’s gross value added in 2021, the highest share in our Brazil guides (IBGE). It is also growing. Manaus had 2,063,689 people in 2022, 261,675 more than in 2010, a growth rate of 1.14 percent a year against 0.52 percent for Brazil (IBGE).
Updated November 8, 2026
By F. Jay Hall, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, ExecSearches.com
The short version
Why is Manaus so industrial?
The Free Trade Zone. Decreto-Lei nº 288 of February 28, 1967 regulates the Zona Franca de Manaus, and the same decree created SUFRAMA, the federal agency that runs it. The Manaus Industrial Hub has about 500 companies and an average of 112,500 direct jobs (Agência Gov, February 27, 2024).
Who hires nonprofit and research leaders in Manaus?
Federal research institutes, conservation nonprofits and universities: INPA, Fiocruz Amazônia, the Fundação Amazônia Sustentável and UFAM. The Amazon Fund, which supports projects in the region, is administered by BNDES in Rio de Janeiro.
Who hires
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), the federal Amazon research institute
- Fiocruz Amazônia (ILMD), the Fundação Oswaldo Cruz unit in Manaus
- Fundação Amazônia Sustentável (FAS), a conservation and community foundation on Rua Álvaro Braga, 351
- Universidade Federal do Amazonas (UFAM), with units in Manaus and across the state
- SUFRAMA, the Superintendência da Zona Franca de Manaus
The numbers
- 2,063,689 people in 2022, seventh in Brazil, up 261,675 since 2010 (IBGE, SIDRA 4709)
- Industry 45.82 percent and public administration 13.71 percent of gross value added in 2021 (IBGE, SIDRA 5938)
Third-sector openings in Amazonas show up on GIFE Vagas, which can be filtered to AM.
Em português: Manaus é outra história. A indústria gerou 45,82% do valor adicionado da cidade em 2021, segundo o IBGE, e a cidade abriga o Polo Industrial de Manaus, com cerca de 500 empresas. A população cresceu 261.675 habitantes entre 2010 e 2022. Quem contrata no terceiro setor e na pesquisa: o INPA, a Fiocruz Amazônia, a Fundação Amazônia Sustentável e a UFAM.
Related guides
- Nonprofit, government and compliance jobs in Brazil
- Brasília
- São Paulo
- Rio de Janeiro
- Porto Alegre
- Careers with the United Nations and international NGOs
- GRC and compliance jobs in Brazil, on GRC Careers
- Vagas de compliance no Brasil (em português)