The Centre-West consists of the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso, and Mato Grosso do Sul (separated from Mato Grosso in 1979) and the Federal District, the site of Brasília, the national capital. Until 1988, Goiás State included the area that became the state of Tocantins in the North.

The Centre-West has 1,612,077 square kilometres (622,426 sq mi) and covers 18.9% of the national territory. Its primary biome is the cerrado, the tropical savannah in which natural grassland is partly covered with twisted shrubs and small trees. Cerrado was used for low-density cattle-raising but is now used for soybean production. There are gallery forests along the rivers and streams and some larger areas of forest, most of which have been cleared for farming and livestock. In the north, the cerrado blends into tropical forests. It also includes the Pantanal wetlands in the west, known for their wildlife, especially aquatic birds and caymans. In the early 1980s, 33.6% of the region had been altered by anthropic activities, with a low of 9.3% in Mato Grosso and a high of 72.9% in Goiás (not including Tocantins). In 1996, the Centre-West region had 10.2 million inhabitants or 6% of Brazil’s total population. The average density is low, with concentrations in and around Brasília, Goiania, Campo Grande, and Cuiabá. Living standards are below the national average. In 1994, they were highest in the Federal District, with a per capita income of US$7,089 (the highest in the nation), and lowest in Mato Grosso, with US$2,268.