In 2022, approximately 11.45 million people lived in São Paulo, making it the largest municipality in Brazil and one of the most populous cities in the world. The homonymous state of São Paulo was also the most populous federal entity in the country.

Brazil's cities

Brazil is home to two large metropolises: São Paulo with close to 11.45 million inhabitants, and Rio de Janeiro with around 6.21 million inhabitants. It also contains a number of smaller, but well known cities such as Brasília, Salvador, Belo Horizonte and many others, which report between 2 and 3 million inhabitants each. As a result, the country's population is primarily urban, with nearly 85 percent of inhabitants living in cities.

While smaller than some of the other cities, Brasília was chosen to be the capital because of its relatively central location. The city is also well-known for its modernist architecture and utopian city plan which is quite controversial - criticized by many and praised by others.

Sports venues capitals

A number of Brazil’s medium-sized and large cities were chosen as venues for the 2014 World Cup, and the 2015 Summer Olympics also took place in Rio de Janeiro. Both of these events required large sums of money to support infrastructure and enhance mobility within a number of different cities across the country. Billions of dollars were spent on the 2014 World Cup, which went primarily to stadium construction and renovation, but also to a number of different mobility projects. Other short-term spending on infrastructure for the World Cup and the Rio Olympic Games was estimated at around 50 billion U.S. dollars. While these events have poured a lot of money into urban infrastructure, a number of social and economic problems within the country remain unsolved.

In 2024, approximately 22.81 million people lived in the São Paulo metropolitan area, making it the biggest in Latin America and the Caribbean and the fifth most populated in the world. The homonymous state of São Paulo was also the most populous federal entity in the country. The second place for the region was Mexico City with 22.51 million inhabitants.

Brazil's cities

Brazil is home to two large metropolises, only counting the population within the city limits, São Paulo had approximately 12.4 million inhabitants, and Rio de Janeiro around 6.8 million inhabitants. It also contains a number of smaller, but well known cities such as Brasília, Salvador, Belo Horizonte and many others, which report between 2 and 3 million inhabitants each. As a result, the country's population is primarily urban, with nearly 85 percent of inhabitants living in cities.

Mexico City

Mexico City's metropolitan area ranks fifth in the ranking of most populated cities in the world. Founded over the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan in 1521 after the Spanish conquest as the capital of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the city still stands as one of the most important in Latin America. Nevertheless, the preeminent economic, political, and cultural position of Mexico City has not prevented the metropolis from suffering the problems affecting the rest of the country, namely, inequality and violence. Only in 2021, the city registered a crime incidence of 45,336 reported cases for every 100,000 inhabitants and around 32 percent of the population lived under the poverty line.

The statistic presents a ranking of the leading cities in Brazil in 2018, based on advertising spending. Brazil's largest city São Paulo ranked first, with more than 35 billion Brazilian reals (approximately nine billion U.S. dollars at December 31, 2018 exchange rates) invested in advertising in 2018.

The capital of Brazil and Curitiba were the cities with the highest hotel occupancy rate in the country in 2023, surpassing 66 percent. Out of the 15 listed cities, only one had an occupancy rate below 60 percent.

The Brazil city gas distribution market is segmented by End-User (Industrial, Power Sector, Residential and Commercial, Transportation), by Type (Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Pipeline Natural Gas (PNG))

In 2024, six of the eight Brazilian cities with the highest homicide rates were in the Northeast. Feira da Santana led the ranking of the most violent city in Brazil, with a murder rate of 55.63 per 100,000 inhabitants. It was followed followed by Recife, with a homicide rate of more than 41 per 100,000 inhabitants. In Latin America and the Caribbean, Feira da Santana was the 22nd most deadly city.

Acrelandia, located in the northern state of Acre, was the most polluted city in Brazil in 2022, based on fine air particulate matter concentration (PM2.5). Throughout the year, the city had an average particulate matter concentration of 23.3 micrograms per cubic meter. The World Health Organization's air quality standards recommend a maximum annual average concentration of 10 μg/m³. Four of the top five most polluted cities in Brazil that year were located in the state of Acre.

In 2024, Florianópolis was considered the leading smart city in Brazil, having received an index score of 37.53 points. Vitória ranked second that year, at 37.5 points. Meanwhile, Brazil's most populated city, São Paulo, received an index score of 36.83 points, following in third place.

In 2023, regarding violent deaths of LGBTI+ people in Brazilian cities, the highest rates were registered in several of the country's largest cities. São Paulo saw the highest number of violent deaths in the country with 11 cases, followed by Manaus with 8, and Rio de Janeiro, with 7 cases.

According to an online survey as of June 2024, the number of self-identified vegetarians, vegans and supporters in Brazil was highest in the city of São Paulo, with more than 4.2 thousand respondents. The second largest population was found in Rio de Janeiro, with nearly two thousand people. In 2018, 14 percent of respondents in a survey in Brazil identified as vegetarians.

According to an online survey as of June 2024, the majority of vegetarians registered in the state of São Paulo lived in its homonymous capital, the city of São Paulo, where more than four thousand people identified themselves as vegetarian, vegan or supporter thereof. The second largest population was found in Campinas, with 545 respondents.

In 2023, the share of urban population in Brazil remained nearly unchanged at around 87.79 percent. Nevertheless, 2023 still represents a peak in the share in Brazil with 87.79 percent. A population may be defined as urban depending on the size (population or area) or population density of the village, town, or city. The urbanization rate then refers to the share of the total population who live in an urban setting. International comparisons may be inconsistent due to differing parameters for what constitutes an urban center.Find more statistics on other topics about Brazil with key insights such as anual population growth.

In Brazil, 70.6 percent of consumers earned at least the equivalent of the highest 40 percent of global income earners as of 2022 in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms. Those who earned at least the equivalent of the top 10 percent of global income earners stood at 7.4 percent.

This statistic shows the cities with the highest number of probable cases of Chikungunya reported in Brazil in 2018, sorted by number of inhabitants. Among the cities with over one million inhabitants, Rio de Janeiro ranked first with a total of 10,062 probable cases of Chikungunya reported in 2018. The city of Várzea Grande registered the highest number of Chikungunya infections among Brazilian cities with between 100,000 and 499,999 inhabitants.

This statistic shows the age structure in Brazil from 2013 to 2023. In 2023 about 19.94 percent of Brazil's total population were aged 0 to 14 years. Population of Brazil Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world by area and population and the largest in both South America and the Latin American region. With a total population of more than 200 million inhabitants in 2013, Brazil also ranks fifth in terms of population numbers. Brazil is a founding member of the United Nations, the G20, CPLP, and a member of the BRIC countries. BRIC is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, and China, the four major emerging market countries. The largest cities in Brazil are São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. São Paulo alone reports over 11.1 million inhabitants. Due to a steady increase in the life expectancy in Brazil, the average age of the population has also rapidly increased. From 1950 until 2015, the average age of the population increased by an impressive 12 years; in 2015, the average age of the population in Brazil was reported to be around 31 years. As a result of the increasing average age, the percentage of people aged between 15 and 64 years has also increased: In 2013, about 68.4 percent of the population in Brazil was aged between 15 and 64 years.

This statistic shows the ten largest cities in Italy in 2024. In 2024, around 2.75 million people lived in Rome, making it the largest city in Italy. Population of Italy Italy has high population figures and a high population density in comparison to other European countries. A vast majority of Italians lives in urban areas and in the metropolises (as can be seen in this statistic), while other areas, such as the island Sardinia, are rather sparsely inhabited. After an increase a few years ago, Italy’s fertility rate, i.e. the average amount of children born to a woman of childbearing age, is now on a slow decline; however, it is still high enough to offset any significant effect the decrease might have on the country’s number of inhabitants. The median age of Italy’s population has been increasing rapidly over the past 50 years – which mirrors a lower mortality rate – and Italy is now among the countries with the highest life expectancy worldwide, only surpassed by two Asian countries, namely Japan and Hong Kong. Currently, the average life expectancy at birth in Italy is at about 83 years. Most of Italy’s population is of Roman Catholic faith. The country actually boasts one of the largest numbers of Catholics worldwide; other such countries include Brazil, Mexico and the United States. The central government of the Roman Catholic Church, the Holy See, is located in Vatican City in the heart of Italy’s capital and ruled by the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. Officially, Vatican City does not belong to Italy, but is a sovereign state with its own legislation and jurisdiction. It has about 600 inhabitants, who are almost exclusively members of the clergy or government officials.

Brazilian startups are mostly localized in the South-Eastern region of the country. In 2023, the city with the largest share of startups in Brazil was São Paulo, with more than 22 percent. With 4.4 percent of the startups located there, Rio de Janeiro was in second place.

In 2024, São Paulo emerged as the top business environment for startups in Brazil with a total score of 36.65, followed by Curitiba with a score of 5.04. Rio de Janeiro secured the third-best position among Brazilian business environments with a score of 4.5.

In 2024, Recife was the selected metropolis with the largest number of homicides in Brazil. That year, there were 1,623 homicides registered in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza, ranking second in the list of selected cities. Salvador was the fourth city in Latin America and the Caribbean with the highest number of homicides.

In 2023, it was estimated that more than four million Brazilians were living outside Brazil. The United States had the largest community, with over two million Brazilian citizens. Portugal was the second country with the largest Brazilian community, namely 513,000 citizens. Brazilians abroad The Brazilian community sought economic opportunities in the United States in the 1980s, leading to the establishment of communities in New York and Boston. Facilitated by the common language and Portugal's favorable laws for the Community of Portuguese-speaking countries, Lisbon became the most popular destination in Europe. This city harbors more than 77,000 Brazilians, with women making up the majority of these. Immigration in Brazil Although more than four million Brazilians live outside of Brazil, the country has had a positive migration rate since 2010, meaning that more people are arriving than leaving. One factor contributing to this is the current humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, which has increased the number of refugees arriving in Brazil each year.