Brazil has a high level of urbanization with 87.8%^[1] of the population residing in urban and metropolitan areas. The criteria used by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics)^[2] in determining whether households are urban or rural, however, are based on political divisions, not on the developed environment.

Nowadays, the country has 5,570 cities, with 5,568 municipalities plus the capital (Brasília) and the Island of Fernando de Noronha.^[3]

With two exceptions, the state capitals are all the largest cities in their respective states: Florianópolis, the capital of Santa Catarina is its second-largest city after Joinville, while Vitória is only the fourth-largest city in Espírito Santo, although it is located in that state's largest metropolitan area.

Most populous cities in Brazil

This is a list of the most populous cities based on the population of the municipality where the city is located, rather than its metropolitan area. As IBGE considers the entire Federal District synonymous to Brasília, the population of the Federal District is shown for Brasília.

2010 IBGE Census counts as of 1 August 2010.^[4] 2022 IBGE Census^[5]

State capitals are in bold and states' largest cities are in italics.

City	State	2022 Census	2010 Census	Change
São Paulo	São Paulo	11,451,245	11,253,503	+1.76%
Rio de Janeiro	Rio de Janeiro	6,211,423	6,320,446	−1.72%
Brasília	Distrito Federal	2,817,068	2,572,159	+9.52%
Fortaleza	Ceará	2,428,678	2,459,712	−1.26%
Salvador	Bahia	2,418,005	2,675,656	−9.63%
Belo Horizonte	Minas Gerais	2,315,560	2,375,609	−2.53%
Manaus	Amazonas	2,063,547	1,802,014	+14.51%
Curitiba	Paraná	1,773,733	1,751,907	+1.25%
Recife	Pernambuco	1,488,920	1,537,704	−3.17%
Goiânia	Goiás	1,437,237	1,301,912	+10.39%
Porto Alegre	Rio Grande do Sul	1,332,570	1,409,351	−5.45%
Belém	Pará	1,303,389	1,393,399	−6.46%
Guarulhos	São Paulo	1,291,784	1,221,979	+5.71%
Campinas	São Paulo	1,138,309	1,081,862	+5.22%
São Luís	Maranhão	1,037,775	1,015,329	+2.21%
Maceió	Alagoas	957,916	932,642	+2.71%
Campo Grande	Mato Grosso do Sul	897,938	786,774	+14.13%
São Gonçalo	Rio de Janeiro	896,744	999,728	−10.30%
Teresina	Piauí	866,300	814,230	+6.39%
João Pessoa	Paraíba	833,932	723,515	+15.26%
São Bernardo do Campo	São Paulo	810,729	765,463	+5.91%
Duque de Caxias	Rio de Janeiro	808,152	855,088	−5.49%
Nova Iguaçu	Rio de Janeiro	785,882	785,102	+0.10%
Natal	Rio Grande do Norte	751,300	803,739	−6.52%
Santo André	São Paulo	748,919	676,407	+10.72%
Osasco	São Paulo	743,432	666,740	+11.50%
Sorocaba	São Paulo	723,574	586,816	+23.31%
Uberlândia	Minas Gerais	713,232	604,013	+18.08%
Ribeirão Preto	São Paulo	698,259	604,682	+15.48%
São José dos Campos	São Paulo	697,428	629,921	+10.72%
Cuiabá	Mato Grosso	650,912	553,202	+17.66%
Jaboatão dos Guararapes	Pernambuco	643,759	644,620	−0.13%
Contagem	Minas Gerais	621,865	602,986	+3.13%
Joinville	Santa Catarina	616,323	515,288	+19.61%
Feira de Santana	Bahia	616,279	556,588	+10.72%
Aracaju	Sergipe	602,757	571,149	+5.53%
Londrina	Paraná	555,937	506,447	+9.77%
Juiz de Fora	Minas Gerais	540,756	516,247	+4.75%
Florianópolis	Santa Catarina	537,213	421,240	+27.53%
Aparecida de Goiânia	Goiás	527,550	455,735	+15.76%
Serra	Espírito Santo	520,649	417,330	+24.76%
Campos dos Goytacazes	Rio de Janeiro	483,551	464,066	+4.20%
Belford Roxo	Rio de Janeiro	483,087	480,487	+0.54%
Niterói	Rio de Janeiro	481,758	487,562	−1.19%
São José do Rio Preto	São Paulo	480,439	408,258	+17.68%
Ananindeua	Pará	478,778	471,980	+1.44%
Vila Velha	Espírito Santo	467,722	414,586	+12.82%
Caxias do Sul	Rio Grande do Sul	463,338	435,551	+6.38%
Porto Velho	Rondônia	460,413	428,527	+7.44%
Mogi das Cruzes	São Paulo	449,955	387,779	+16.03%
Jundiaí	São Paulo	443,116	370,126	+19.72%
Macapá	Amapá	442,933	398,204	+11.23%
São João de Meriti	Rio de Janeiro	440,962	458,673	−3.86%
Piracicaba	São Paulo	423,323	364,571	+16.12%
Campina Grande	Paraíba	419,379	384,737	+9.00%
Santos	São Paulo	418,608	419,400	−0.19%
Mauá	São Paulo	418,261	416,778	+0.36%
Montes Claros	Minas Gerais	414,240	362,148	+14.38%
Boa Vista	Roraima	413,486	284,313	+45.43%
Betim	Minas Gerais	411,859	379,138	+8.63%
Maringá	Paraná	409,657	355,432	+15.26%
Anápolis	Goiás	398,817	334,623	+19.18%
Diadema	São Paulo	393,237	386,089	+1.85%
Carapicuíba	São Paulo	387,121	369,584	+4.75%
Petrolina	Pernambuco	386,786	293,962	+31.58%
Bauru	São Paulo	379,146	343,937	+10.24%
Caruaru	Pernambuco	378,052	314,912	+20.05%
Vitória da Conquista	Bahia	370,868	306,014	+21.19%
Itaquaquecetuba	São Paulo	369,275	321,770	+14.76%
Rio Branco	Acre	364,756	336,038	+8.55%
Blumenau	Santa Catarina	361,261	308,943	+16.93%
Ponta Grossa	Paraná	358,367	311,601	+15.01%
Caucaia	Ceará	355,679	319,637	+11.28%
Cariacica	Espírito Santo	353,510	348,738	+1.37%
Franca	São Paulo	352,537	318,640	+10.64%
Olinda	Pernambuco	349,976	377,779	−7.36%
Praia Grande	São Paulo	349,935	262,051	+33.54%
Cascavel	Paraná	348,051	286,177	+21.62%
Canoas	Rio Grande do Sul	347,657	323,827	+7.36%
Paulista	Pernambuco	342,167	300,466	+13.88%
Uberaba	Minas Gerais	337,846	295,988	+14.14%
Santarém	Pará	331,937	279,805	+18.63%
São Vicente	São Paulo	329,844	332,445	−0.78%
Ribeirão das Neves	Minas Gerais	329,794	296,736	+11.14%
São José dos Pinhais	Paraná	329,222	264,210	+24.61%
Pelotas	Rio Grande do Sul	325,689	328,275	−0.79%
Vitória	Espírito Santo	322,869	319,738	+0.98%
Barueri	São Paulo	316,473	240,749	+31.45%
Taubaté	São Paulo	310,739	278,686	+11.50%
Suzano	São Paulo	307,364	262,480	+17.10%
Palmas	Tocantins	302,692	228,332	+32.57%
Camaçari	Bahia	299,579	242,970	+23.30%
Várzea Grande	Mato Grosso	299,472	252,361	+18.67%
Limeira	São Paulo	291,869	276,022	+5.74%
Guarujá	São Paulo	287,634	290,752	−1.07%
Juazeiro do Norte	Ceará	286,120	250,095	+14.40%
Foz do Iguaçu	Paraná	285,415	256,088	+11.45%
Sumaré	São Paulo	279,546	239,562	+16.69%
Petrópolis	Rio de Janeiro	278,881	295,774	−5.71%
Cotia	São Paulo	273,640	201,150	+36.04%
Taboão da Serra	São Paulo	273,542	244,528	+11.87%
Imperatriz	Maranhão	273,110	247,505	+10.35%
Santa Maria	Rio Grande do Sul	271,633	261,032	+4.06%
São José	Santa Catarina	270,295	209,804	+28.83%
Marabá	Pará	266,536	233,669	+14.07%
Parauapebas	Pará	266,424	153,908	+73.11%
Gravataí	Rio Grande do Sul	265,070	255,723	+3.66%
Mossoró	Rio Grande do Norte	264,577	259,815	+1.83%
Itajaí	Santa Catarina	264,054	183,373	+44.00%
Volta Redonda	Rio de Janeiro	261,584	258,669	+1.13%
Governador Valadares	Minas Gerais	257,172	263,689	−2.47%
Indaiatuba	São Paulo	255,739	201,619	+26.84%
São Carlos	São Paulo	254,822	221,950	+14.81%
Chapecó	Santa Catarina	254,781	183,548	+38.81%
Parnamirim	Rio Grande do Norte	252,716	202,456	+24.83%
Embu das Artes	São Paulo	250,720	240,230	+4.37%
Macaé	Rio de Janeiro	246,391	206,753	+19.17%
Rondonópolis	Mato Grosso	244,897	195,586	+25.21%
São José de Ribamar	Maranhão	244,579	161,937	+51.03%
Dourados	Mato Grosso do Sul	243,368	195,495	+24.49%
Araraquara	São Paulo	242,228	208,662	+16.09%
Jacareí	São Paulo	240,275	211,214	+13.76%
Marília	São Paulo	237,629	216,745	+9.64%
Americana	São Paulo	237,247	210,638	+12.63%
Hortolândia	São Paulo	236,641	192,692	+22.81%
Juazeiro	Bahia	235,816	198,241	+18.95%
Arapiraca	Alagoas	234,696	213,671	+9.84%
Maracanaú	Ceará	234,392	209,098	+12.10%
Itapevi	São Paulo	232,513	200,769	+15.81%
Colombo	Paraná	232,056	212,994	+8.95%
Divinópolis	Minas Gerais	231,091	213,016	+8.49%
Magé	Rio de Janeiro	228,127	227,667	+0.20%
Novo Hamburgo	Rio Grande do Sul	227,732	238,940	−4.69%
Ipatinga	Minas Gerais	227,731	239,468	−4.90%
Sete Lagoas	Minas Gerais	227,360	214,221	+6.13%
Rio Verde	Goiás	225,696	176,424	+27.93%
Águas Lindas de Goiás	Goiás	225,671	159,386	+41.59%
Presidente Prudente	São Paulo	225,668	207,610	+8.70%
Itaboraí	Rio de Janeiro	224,267	217,790	+2.97%
Viamão	Rio Grande do Sul	224,116	239,384	−6.38%
Palhoça	Santa Catarina	222,598	137,334	+62.09%
Cabo Frio	Rio de Janeiro	221,987	186,264	+19.18%
Santa Luzia	Minas Gerais	218,805	202,601	+8.00%
São Leopoldo	Rio Grande do Sul	217,410	214,087	+1.55%
Criciúma	Santa Catarina	214,493	192,305	+11.54%
Luziânia	Goiás	208,725	174,530	+19.59%
Passo Fundo	Rio Grande do Sul	206,224	184,826	+11.58%
Lauro de Freitas	Bahia	203,334	163,449	+24.40%
Cabo de Santo Agostinho	Pernambuco	203,216	185,025	+9.83%
Sobral	Ceará	203,023	188,677	+7.60%
Rio Claro	São Paulo	201,418	186,253	+8.14%
Araçatuba	São Paulo	200,124	181,579	+10.21%
Valparaíso de Goiás	Goiás	198,861	131,105	+51.68%
Maricá	Rio de Janeiro	197,300	127,397	+54.87%
Sinop	Mato Grosso	196,067	113,099	+73.36%
Nossa Senhora do Socorro	Sergipe	192,330	160,827	+19.59%
Castanhal	Pará	192,262	173,149	+11.04%
Rio Grande	Rio Grande do Sul	191,900	197,228	−2.70%
Nova Friburgo	Rio de Janeiro	189,937	182,057	+4.33%
Alvorada	Rio Grande do Sul	187,315	195,673	−4.27%
Itabuna	Bahia	186,708	204,478	−8.69%
Cachoeiro de Itapemirim	Espírito Santo	185,784	189,546	−1.98%
Santa Bárbara d'Oeste	São Paulo	183,347	180,009	+1.85%
Jaraguá do Sul	Santa Catarina	182,660	143,132	+27.62%
Guarapuava	Paraná	182,093	167,414	+8.77%
Ferraz de Vasconcelos	São Paulo	179,205	168,306	+6.48%
Ilhéus	Bahia	178,703	182,438	−2.05%
Bragança Paulista	São Paulo	176,811	146,744	+20.49%
Timon	Maranhão	174,465	155,579	+12.14%
Araguaína	Tocantins	171,301	150,484	+13.83%
Ibirité	Minas Gerais	170,387	158,224	+7.69%
Barra Mansa	Rio de Janeiro	169,899	176,947	−3.98%
Itu	São Paulo	168,240	154,147	+9.14%
Porto Seguro	Bahia	167,955	126,581	+32.69%
Angra dos Reis	Rio de Janeiro	167,418	169,511	−1.23%
Mesquita	Rio de Janeiro	167,128	168,376	−0.74%
Linhares	Espírito Santo	166,786	141,141	+18.17%
São Caetano do Sul	São Paulo	165,655	149,263	+10.98%
Pindamonhangaba	São Paulo	165,428	146,995	+12.54%
Francisco Morato	São Paulo	165,139	154,472	+6.91%
Teresópolis	Rio de Janeiro	165,123	163,746	+0.84%
Lages	Santa Catarina	164,981	156,727	+5.27%
Poços de Caldas	Minas Gerais	163,742	152,435	+7.42%
Parnaíba	Piauí	162,159	145,705	+11.29%
Barreiras	Bahia	159,743	137,427	+16.24%
Patos de Minas	Minas Gerais	159,235	139,206	+14.39%
Jequié	Bahia	158,812	151,301	+4.96%
Atibaia	São Paulo	158,640	126,603	+25.31%
Itapecerica da Serra	São Paulo	158,522	152,614	+3.87%
Abaetetuba	Pará	158,188	141,100	+12.11%
Itapetininga	São Paulo	157,790	144,377	+9.29%
Caxias	Maranhão	156,970	155,692	+0.82%
Rio das Ostras	Rio de Janeiro	156,491	105,680	+48.08%
Senador Canedo	Goiás	155,635	84,433	+84.33%
Santana de Parnaíba	São Paulo	154,105	108,813	+41.62%
Mogi Guaçu	São Paulo	153,661	137,245	+11.96%
Pouso Alegre	Minas Gerais	152,212	130,615	+16.53%
Araucária	Paraná	151,666	119,123	+27.32%
Alagoinhas	Bahia	151,065	141,463	+6.79%
Toledo	Paraná	150,470	119,313	+26.11%
Santa Rita	Paraíba	149,910	127,676	+17.41%
Fazenda Rio Grande	Paraná	148,873	81,675	+82.27%
Camaragibe	Pernambuco	147,771	144,466	+2.29%
Nilópolis	Rio de Janeiro	146,774	157,425	−6.77%
Paranaguá	Paraná	145,829	140,469	+3.82%
Paço do Lumiar	Maranhão	145,643	105,695	+37.80%
Teixeira de Freitas	Bahia	145,223	138,341	+4.97%
Botucatu	São Paulo	145,155	127,328	+14.00%
Franco da Rocha	São Paulo	144,849	131,604	+10.06%
Garanhuns	Pernambuco	142,506	129,408	+10.12%
Trindade	Goiás	142,431	104,496	+36.30%
Brusque	Santa Catarina	141,385	105,503	+34.01%
Queimados	Rio de Janeiro	140,523	137,962	+1.86%
Balneário Camboriú	Santa Catarina	139,155	108,089	+28.74%
Teófilo Otoni	Minas Gerais	137,418	134,745	+1.98%
Varginha	Minas Gerais	136,467	123,081	+10.88%
Campo Largo	Paraná	136,327	112,213	+21.49%
Cachoeirinha	Rio Grande do Sul	136,258	118,278	+15.20%
Caraguatatuba	São Paulo	134,875	100,840	+33.75%
Salto	São Paulo	134,319	105,516	+27.30%
Cametá	Pará	134,184	120,896	+10.99%
Vitória de Santo Antão	Pernambuco	134,110	128,017	+4.76%
Jaú	São Paulo	133,497	131,040	+1.88%
Santa Cruz do Sul	Rio Grande do Sul	133,230	118,374	+12.55%
Três Lagoas	Mato Grosso do Sul	132,152	101,786	+29.83%
Sapucaia do Sul	Rio Grande do Sul	132,107	130,957	+0.88%
Conselheiro Lafaiete	Minas Gerais	131,621	116,512	+12.97%
Itapipoca	Ceará	131,123	116,076	+12.96%
Crato	Ceará	131,050	121,260	+8.07%
Araras	São Paulo	130,866	118,843	+10.12%
Apucarana	Paraná	130,134	120,919	+7.62%
Araruama	Rio de Janeiro	129,669	112,228	+15.54%
Resende	Rio de Janeiro	129,612	119,769	+8.22%
Sabará	Minas Gerais	129,372	126,384	+2.36%
Vespasiano	Minas Gerais	129,246	104,516	+23.66%
Votorantim	São Paulo	127,923	108,618	+17.77%
Pinhais	Paraná	127,019	117,253	+8.33%
Sertãozinho	São Paulo	126,887	110,074	+15.27%
Barcarena	Pará	126,650	99,859	+26.83%
Valinhos	São Paulo	126,325	106,793	+18.29%
Altamira	Pará	126,279	99,075	+27.46%
Barbacena	Minas Gerais	125,317	126,284	−0.77%
Guarapari	Espírito Santo	124,656	105,286	+18.40%
Ji-Paraná	Rondônia	124,333	116,610	+6.62%
Tatuí	São Paulo	123,942	107,326	+15.48%
São Mateus	Espírito Santo	123,750	109,193	+13.33%
Itaituba	Pará	123,312	97,493	+26.48%
Bento Gonçalves	Rio Grande do Sul	123,151	104,659	+17.67%
Bragança	Pará	123,082	113,227	+8.70%
Barretos	São Paulo	122,485	112,101	+9.26%
Itatiba	São Paulo	122,424	101,471	+20.65%
Colatina	Espírito Santo	119,992	111,537	+7.58%
Almirante Tamandaré	Paraná	119,825	103,217	+16.09%
Arapongas	Paraná	119,138	104,150	+14.39%
Birigui	São Paulo	118,979	108,728	+9.43%
Piraquara	Paraná	118,730	92,962	+27.72%
Sarandi	Paraná	118,455	84,492	+40.20%
Jandira	São Paulo	118,045	108,344	+8.95%
Guaratinguetá	São Paulo	118,044	112,072	+5.33%
Bagé	Rio Grande do Sul	117,938	116,794	+0.98%
Araguari	Minas Gerais	117,808	109,801	+7.29%
Uruguaiana	Rio Grande do Sul	117,210	125,435	−6.56%
Umuarama	Paraná	117,095	100,670	+16.32%
Itaguaí	Rio de Janeiro	116,841	113,691	+2.77%
São Gonçalo do Amarante	Rio Grande do Norte	115,838	87,962	+31.69%
Catanduva	São Paulo	115,785	112,820	+2.63%
Várzea Paulista	São Paulo	115,771	107,089	+8.11%
Formosa	Goiás	115,669	100,085	+15.57%
Ribeirão Pires	São Paulo	115,559	113,354	+1.95%
Igarassu	Pernambuco	115,196	102,021	+12.91%
Simões Filho	Bahia	114,441	118,047	−3.05%
Catalão	Goiás	114,427	86,644	+32.07%
Codó	Maranhão	114,269	118,038	−3.19%
Eunápolis	Bahia	113,709	101,255	+12.30%
Itabira	Minas Gerais	113,343	109,783	+3.24%
Paulo Afonso	Bahia	112,870	108,308	+4.21%
Itanhaém	São Paulo	112,476	87,057	+29.20%
Cubatão	São Paulo	112,471	118,720	−5.26%
Passos	Minas Gerais	111,939	106,290	+5.31%
Nova Lima	Minas Gerais	111,697	80,998	+37.90%
Araxá	Minas Gerais	111,691	93,672	+19.24%
São Lourenço da Mata	Pernambuco	111,243	102,889	+8.12%
Sorriso	Mato Grosso	110,635	66,354	+66.73%
Paulínia	São Paulo	110,537	82,146	+34.56%
Marituba	Pará	110,515	108,246	+2.10%
Tubarão	Santa Catarina	110,088	97,249	+13.20%
Itumbiara	Goiás	107,970	92,876	+16.25%
Luís Eduardo Magalhães	Bahia	107,909	60,105	+79.53%
Santana	Amapá	107,373	101,262	+6.03%
Cambé	Paraná	107,208	96,987	+10.54%
Breves	Pará	106,968	92,860	+15.19%
Açailândia	Maranhão	106,550	104,047	+2.41%
Tangará da Serra	Mato Grosso	106,434	84,093	+26.57%
Jataí	Goiás	105,729	88,006	+20.14%
Erechim	Rio Grande do Sul	105,705	96,085	+10.01%
Nova Serrana	Minas Gerais	105,552	73,699	+43.22%
Paragominas	Pará	105,538	97,819	+7.89%
Maranguape	Ceará	105,093	114,005	−7.82%
Planaltina	Goiás	105,031	81,559	+28.78%
Lavras	Minas Gerais	104,761	92,200	+13.62%
Coronel Fabriciano	Minas Gerais	104,736	103,694	+1.00%
Muriaé	Minas Gerais	104,108	100,765	+3.32%
São Pedro da Aldeia	Rio de Janeiro	104,029	87,820	+18.46%
Ourinhos	São Paulo	103,970	103,035	+0.91%
Novo Gama	Goiás	103,804	94,996	+9.27%
Poá	São Paulo	103,765	106,013	−2.12%
Bacabal	Maranhão	103,711	99,557	+4.17%
Itacoatiara	Amazonas	103,598	86,839	+19.30%
Itabaiana	Sergipe	103,439	86,967	+18.94%
Ubá	Minas Gerais	103,365	101,519	+1.82%
Patos	Paraíba	103,165	100,693	+2.45%
Camboriú	Santa Catarina	103,074	62,361	+65.29%
Santo Antônio de Jesus	Bahia	103,055	91,057	+13.18%
Ituiutaba	Minas Gerais	102,217	97,171	+5.19%
Manacapuru	Amazonas	101,883	85,141	+19.66%
Balsas	Maranhão	101,616	83,528	+21.66%
Lagarto	Sergipe	101,579	94,861	+7.08%
Assis	São Paulo	101,409	95,144	+6.58%
Itaperuna	Rio de Janeiro	101,041	95,867	+5.40%

Brazil's population, as recorded by the 2010 census, was of 190,755,799 inhabitants^[6] (22.40 inhabitants per square kilometer), with 84.36% of the population defined as urban. The population is heavily concentrated in the Southeast (80.4 million) and Northeast (53.1 million).

Distribution

Largest metropolitan areas