According to 2002 Sefaz statistics, agricultural activities represented 0.05 Percent , manufacturing represented 3.41 Percent and the sector of the commerce and service 96.54 Percent .
Tourism is one of the staples of Florianopolis' economy. Many inhabitants and tourists consider Floripa to have a singular beauty endowed with strong lines of Azorean culture, observed in the buildings, workmanship, folklore, culinary and religious traditions. Its environmental restrictions on building and commercial development have been more or less strictly enforced, helping it to keep its original character.
Between 1970 and 2004, Florianopolis's population tripled, as did the number of shantytowns. But the local economy grew fivefold, and incomes grew in step. Opportunity seekers, urban and rural, white collar and blue, poured in. While many Brazilian cities are struggling to graduate from smokestacks to services, Florianopolis is succeeding. Thanks in part to a federal rule that for decades barred heavy industry on the island, town elders focused on cleaner public works which led to the founding of several public and private universities that make this one of the most scholarly cities in Brazil.
To meet the demands of its academic crowd, the city invested heavily in everything from roads to schools, and now Florianopolis ranks high on every development measure, from literacy (97 percent) to electrification (near 100 percent). By the late 1990s, private companies were flocking to the island, or emerging from a technology "incubator" at the federal university. (Among the innovations it hatched: the computerized voting machines that have made Brazilian elections fraud-free and efficient). Local officials now say their aim is to be the Silicon Valley of Brazil, with beaches.
In addition to its white sand beaches, Florianopolis offers many historical attractions, including the sites of the original Azorean colonists, the Lagoa da Conceicao lagoon,
