From World travel guide
View of Pipa Beach in
Natal.
This is a list of the largest cities in Brazil. Brazil has a relatively high reported level of urbanization, with 8 out of every 10 Brazilians living in cities. The criteria used by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) in determining whether households are urban or rural, however, is based on political divisions, not on the built environment.
A town is any seat of a district (the lowest political division); a city is the seat of a municipality. Nowadays, the country has more than 5,564 municipalities.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> About 81.3% of Brazilians live in an urban area.<ref>[1]</ref>
State capitals are also each the largest city in its state, the exceptions being Vitória in Espírito Santo, and Florianópolis, the capital of Santa Catarina; there are also non-capital metropolitan areas in São Paulo (Campinas, Santos, Paraíba Valley), Minas Gerais (Vale do Aço), Rio Grande do Sul (Sinos Valley), and Santa Catarina (Itajaí Valley). Most of the non-capital large cities in Brazil are in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Paraná.
Some of the principal Brazilian cities are planned cities; the most famous of these is Brasília, which represents, with Chandigarh in the Punjab, India, the acme of the Modernist school of architecture and urbanism.
Top 100 most populous cities
This list of the 100 most populous cities is based on the population of the município where the city is located, rather than its metropolitan area.
- IBGE estimates of 2008 <ref name="IBGE">Template:Cite web</ref>
- State capitals are in bold
| Rank
| City
| State
| Population
|
| 1
| São Paulo
| Template:Flag
| 10,990,249
|
| 2
| Rio de Janeiro
| Template:Flag
| 6,161,047
|
| 3
| Salvador
| Template:Flag
| 2,948,733
|
| 4
| Brasília
| Template:Flag
| 2,557,158
|
| 5
| Fortaleza
| Template:Flag
| 2,473,614
|
| 6
| Belo Horizonte
| Template:Flag
| 2,434,642
|
| 7
| Curitiba
| Template:Flag
| 1,828,092
|
| 8
| Manaus
| Template:Flag
| 1,709,010
|
| 9
| Recife
| Template:Flag
| 1,549,980
|
| 10
| Porto Alegre
| Template:Flag
| 1,430,220
|
| 11
| Belém
| Template:Flag
| 1,424,124
|
| 12
| Guarulhos
| Template:Flag
| 1,279,202
|
| 13
| Goiânia
| Template:Flag
| 1,265,394
|
| 14
| Campinas
| Template:Flag
| 1,056,664
|
| 15
| São Luís
| Template:Flag
| 986,826
|
| 16
| São Gonçalo
| Template:Flag
| 982,832
|
| 17
| Maceió
| Template:Flag
| 924,143
|
| 18
| Duque de Caxias
| Template:Flag
| 864,392
|
| 19
| Nova Iguaçu
| Template:Flag
| 855,500
|
| 20
| São Bernardo do Campo
| Template:Flag
| 801,580
|
| 21
| Teresina
| Template:Flag
| 793,915
|
| 22
| Natal
| Template:Flag
| 798,065
|
| 23
| Campo Grande
| Template:Flag
| 747,189
|
| 24
| Osasco
| Template:Flag
| 713,066
|
| 25
| Santo André
| Template:Flag
| 671,696
|
| 26
| João Pessoa
| Template:Flag
| 693,082
|
| 27
| Jaboatão dos Guararapes
| Template:Flag
| 678,346
|
| 28
| Uberlândia
| Template:Flag
| 622,441
|
| 29
| São José dos Campos
| Template:Flag
| 609,229
|
| 30
| Contagem
| Template:Flag
| 617,749
|
| 31
| Sorocaba
| Template:Flag
| 576,312
|
| 32
| Ribeirão Preto
| Template:Flag
| 558,136
|
| 33
| Cuiabá
| Template:Flag
| 544,737
|
| 34
| Feira de Santana
| Template:Flag
| 584,497
|
| 35
| Juiz de Fora
| Template:Flag
| 520,612
|
| 36
| Aracaju
| Template:Flag
| 536,785
|
| 37
| Londrina
| Template:Flag
| 505,184
|
| 38
| Ananindeua
| Template:Flag
| 495,480
|
| 39
| Joinville
| Template:Flag
| 492,101
|
| The estimates below are from 2006 (IBGE) unless otherwise stated
|
| 40
| Belford Roxo
| Template:Flag
| 489,002
|
| 41
| Niterói
| Template:Flag
| 476,669
|
| 42
| São João de Meriti
| Template:Flag
| 466,996
|
| 43
| Aparecida de Goiânia
| Template:Flag
| 453,104
|
| 44
| Campos dos Goitacazes
| Template:Flag
| 429,667
|
| 45
| Santos
| Template:Flag
| 418,375
|
| 46
| São José do Rio Preto
| Template:Flag
| 415,508
|
| 47
| Mauá
| Template:Flag
| 413,943
|
| 48
| Caxias do Sul
| Template:Flag
| 412,053
|
| 49
| Betim
| Template:Flag
| 407,003
|
| 50
| Florianópolis
| Template:Flag
| 406,564
|
| 51
| Vila Velha
| Template:Flag
| 405,374
|
| 52
| Mogi das Cruzes
| Template:Flag
| 400,000
|
| 53
| Serra
| Template:Flag
| 394,370
|
| 54
| Carapicuíba
| Template:Flag
| 389,634
|
| 55
| Olinda
| Template:Flag
| 387,494
|
| 56
| Porto Velho
| Template:Flag
| 380,988
|
| 57
| Campina Grande
| Template:Flag
| 379,871
|
| 58
| Diadema
| Template:Flag
| 375,333
|
| 59
| Macapá
| Template:Flag
| 368,367
|
| 60
| Piracicaba
| Template:Flag
| 366,442
|
| 61
| Cariacica
| Template:Flag
| 361,058
|
| 62
| Bauru
| Template:Flag
| 356,680
|
| 63
| Itaquaquecetuba
| Template:Flag
| 352,755
|
| 64
| Montes Claros
| Template:Flag
| 348,995
|
| 65
| Jundiaí
| Template:Flag
| 348,621
|
| 66
| Pelotas
| Template:Flag
| 346,452
|
| 67
| Canoas
| Template:Flag
| 333,322
|
| 68
| São Vicente
| Template:Flag
| 329,370
|
| 69
| Franca
| Template:Flag
| 328,121
|
| 70
| Maringá
| Template:Flag
| 324,397
|
| 71
| Ribeirão das Neves
| Template:Flag
| 322,969
|
| 72
| Anápolis
| Template:Flag
| 318,808
|
| 73
| Vitória
| Template:Flag
| 317,085
|
| 74
| Rio Branco
| Template:Flag
| 314,127
|
| 75
| Caucaia
| Template:Flag
| 313,584
|
| 76
| Petrópolis
| Template:Flag
| 310,216
|
| 77
| Foz do Iguaçu
| Template:Flag
| 309,113
|
| 78
| Guarujá
| Template:Flag
| 305,171
|
| 79
| Ponta Grossa
| Template:Flag
| 304,973
|
| 80
| Paulista
| Template:Flag
| 299,744
|
| 81
| Blumenau
| Template:Flag
| 298,603
|
| 82
| Vitória da Conquista
| Template:Flag
| 289,772
|
| 83
| Governador Valadares
| Template:Flag
| 289,612
|
| 84
| Uberaba
| Template:Flag
| 285,094
|
| 85
| Cascavel
| Template:Flag
| 284,083
|
| 86
| Caruaru
| Template:Flag
| 283,152
|
| 87
| Suzano
| Template:Flag
| 280,318
|
| 88
| Limeira
| Template:Flag
| 279,554
|
| 89
| Santarém
| Template:Flag
| 276,074
|
| 90
| Taubaté
| Template:Flag
| 271,660
|
| 91
| Gravataí
| Template:Flag
| 270,763
|
| 92
| Santa Maria
| Template:Flag
| 270,073
|
| 93
| Barueri
| Template:Flag
| 265,549
|
| 94
| Viamão
| Template:Flag
| 261,971
|
| 95
| São José dos Pinhais
| Template:Flag
| 261,125
|
| 96
| Petrolina
| Template:Flag
| 260,004
|
| 97
| Novo Hamburgo
| Template:Flag
| 258,754
|
| 98
| Volta Redonda
| Template:Flag
| 258,145
|
| 99
| Várzea Grande
| Template:Flag
| 254,736
|
| 100
| Boa Vista
| Template:Flag
| 249,655
|
Largest metropolitan areas
Currently, Template:As of, IBGE officially recognizes 15 major RMs (Região Metropolitana; Metropolitan Region in English), where approximately 32% of the Brazilian population (55 million people out of 180 million) lives. These RMs are responsible for approximately half of the Brazilian GDP and more than 70% of the Brazilian annual industrial production.
- IBGE estimatives of 2006 <ref name="IBGE"/>
| Rank
| Metropolitan Area
| State
| Population
|
| 1
| São Paulo
| Template:Flag
| 20,500,000
|
| 2
| Rio de Janeiro
| Template:Flag
| 11,351,937 1
|
| 3
| Belo Horizonte
| Template:Flag
| 5,597,945
|
| 4
| Porto Alegre
| Template:Flag
| 4,101,042
|
| 5
| Recife
| Template:Flag
| 3,646,204
|
| 6
| Fortaleza
| Template:Flag
| 3,415,455
|
| 7
| Salvador
| Template:Flag
| 3,408,273
|
| 8
| Curitiba
| Template:Flag
| 3,261,168
|
| 9
| Campinas
| Template:Flag
| 2,687,099
|
| 10
| Belém
| Template:Flag
| 2,086,906
|
| 11
| Goiânia
| Template:Flag
| 2,013,073 1
|
| 12
| Santos²
| Template:Flag
| 1,666,453
|
| 13
| Vitória³
| Template:Flag
| 1,627,651
|
| 14
| Natal
| Template:Flag
| 1,266,507
|
| 15
| São Luís
| Template:Flag
| 1,255,879
|
| 16
| Maceió
| Template:Flag
| 1,116,075 1
|
| 17
| João Pessoa
| Template:Flag
| 1,062,801
|
| 18
| Joinville
| Template:Flag
| 1,024,212 1
|
| 19
| Florianópolis
| Template:Flag
| 841,552
|
| -
| Uberlândia4
| Template:Flag
| 818,395 1,1
|
| 20
| Londrina
| Template:Flag
| 739,195 1
|
| 21
| Aracaju
| Template:Flag
| 708,345
|
| 22
| Maringá
| Template:Flag
| 576,581 1
|
| 23
| Itajaí
| Template:Flag
| 465,225
|
| 24
| Macapá
| Template:Flag
| 458,008
|
| 25
| Vale do Aço
| Template:Flag
| 445,441
|
| 26
| Vale do Itajaí
| Template:Flag
| 449,726 1
|
| 27
| Criciúma
| Template:Flag
| 318,027 1
|
| 28
| Tubarão
| Template:Flag
| 128,545
|
Template:Small
References
Template:Reflist
See also
ko:브라질의 도시 인구 순위
hr:Dodatak:Popis gradova u Brazilu
pt:Anexo:Lista dos cem municípios mais populosos do Brasil
