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Brazil's largest cities, 1975 to 2050

São Paulo is Brazil's largest city at about 18.95 million in 2025, nearly double Rio de Janeiro's 9.5 million, and is projected to shrink slightly by 2050.

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What the data shows

  • In 2025, São Paulo ranks #1 with 18.9M, ahead of Rio de Janeiro (9.5M) and Belo Horizonte (4.2M).
  • By 2050, on the UN's projections, São Paulo is projected to rank #1 with 18.2M, ahead of Rio de Janeiro (9.3M) and Belo Horizonte (4.1M).
  • São Paulo holds #1 for the whole period, 1975 to 2025.
  • Biggest climber: Manaus, from #11 in 1975 to #7 in 2050.
  • São Paulo grew 1.8× between 1975 and 2025.

About this chart

São Paulo added about 2.5 million people in five years in the late 1970s, rising from about 10.5 million in 1975 to 13 million in 1980. Growth has since flattened. The UN puts it at about 18.95 million in 2025 and projects a peak near 19 million in 2030, then a slow decline to about 18.2 million by 2050. Rio de Janeiro follows at about 9.5 million, roughly half São Paulo's size.

Below the top two, Belo Horizonte (4.16 million), Recife (3.69 million) and Fortaleza (3.24 million) are far smaller, and most are projected to stay close to their 2025 sizes. These are UN Degree of Urbanization figures, which measure contiguous dense areas, so they will differ from city-proper or metro counts. Years through 2025 are estimates and 2030 to 2050 are projections.

The data

Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision (File 21), city population, millions, 1975–2050 (projected after 2025). Retrieved November 4, 2026. Cities as defined by the Degree of Urbanization (contiguous dense areas), so figures differ from city-proper or metro counts.

Brazil's largest cities, Population in millions, 1975 to 2050, 1975–2050
Date🇧🇷 São Paulo🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro🇧🇷 Belo Horizonte🇧🇷 Recife🇧🇷 Fortaleza🇧🇷 Salvador🇧🇷 Curitiba🇧🇷 Goiânia🇧🇷 Manaus🇧🇷 Belém🇧🇷 Porto Alegre🇧🇷 Sao Goncalo
197510.5M5.9M1.3M1.8M1.0M1.2M0.7M0.1M0.3M0.7M0.8M0.9M
198013.0M6.7M1.7M2.0M1.4M1.5M1.1M0.4M0.6M0.8M1.0M1.0M
198514.1M7.0M2.1M2.3M1.7M1.8M1.3M0.5M0.7M1.0M1.2M1.1M
199015.3M7.3M2.6M2.6M2.1M2.1M1.6M0.7M0.9M1.2M1.4M1.1M
199516.0M7.8M3.0M2.8M2.3M2.4M1.8M1.0M1.1M1.5M1.5M1.3M
200016.7M8.4M3.5M3.0M2.5M2.6M2.0M1.2M1.4M1.7M1.7M1.4M
200517.4M8.7M3.7M3.1M2.8M2.7M2.2M1.4M1.5M1.8M1.7M1.5M
201018.2M9.0M3.8M3.3M3.0M2.9M2.3M1.7M1.7M1.9M1.7M1.6M
201518.7M9.3M4.0M3.5M3.1M3.0M2.4M1.9M1.9M2.0M1.8M1.6M
202018.8M9.4M4.1M3.6M3.2M3.1M2.5M2.2M2.1M2.1M1.8M1.7M
202518.9M9.5M4.2M3.7M3.2M3.1M2.5M2.3M2.3M2.2M1.8M1.7M
203019.0M9.5M4.2M3.7M3.3M3.1M2.5M2.4M2.4M2.2M1.7M1.7M
203518.9M9.6M4.2M3.7M3.3M3.1M2.5M2.5M2.5M2.3M1.7M1.7M
204018.8M9.5M4.2M3.7M3.4M3.1M2.5M2.5M2.7M2.3M1.7M1.7M
204518.6M9.4M4.1M3.7M3.4M3.1M2.5M2.6M2.8M2.4M1.7M1.7M
205018.2M9.3M4.1M3.7M3.4M3.0M2.4M2.6M2.9M2.4M1.7M1.7M

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Frequently asked questions

What is the largest city in Brazil?

In 2025, São Paulo ranks #1 with 18.9M, followed by Rio de Janeiro (9.5M) and Belo Horizonte (4.2M). Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision (File 21), city population, millions, 1975–2050 (projected after 2025).

What is the largest city in Brazil?

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil in 2025, with about 18.95 million people under the UN's Degree of Urbanization definition. Rio de Janeiro is second at about 9.5 million. São Paulo has held the top spot throughout the 1975 to 2050 range.

Is São Paulo shrinking?

The UN projects a small decline. São Paulo is estimated at about 18.95 million in 2025 and projected to reach about 18.2 million by 2050, after a projected peak near 19 million around 2030. Rio de Janeiro is projected at about 9.3 million in 2050.

Why does the São Paulo figure differ from the metro population I know?

The UN counts a contiguous dense urban area, not an administrative city or an official metro region. That can produce a number above a city-proper count and different from a metro figure. Compare cities within this ranking, not against other sources.

Where does this data come from?

UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision (File 21), city population, millions, 1975–2050 (projected after 2025). Retrieved November 4, 2026. Cities as defined by the Degree of Urbanization (contiguous dense areas), so figures differ from city-proper or metro counts. You can download the full table as a CSV from this page.

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