List of cities in South America

Map of South America

This is a list of cities in South America .

Largest cities

This list includes the fifty largest cities in South America by population within city limits, based on the most recent official census results, estimates, or short-term projections available for all of these cities, which refer to mid-2020 populations, except for those of Chilean cities (2017) and Venezuelan cities (2015). The figures do not reflect the populations of urban agglomeration or metropolitan area, which typically do not coincide with the administrative boundaries of the city.

Bold represents largest city in country, Italic represents national capital city.

	Name	Image	Country	Population	Year
1	São Paulo		Brazil	11,904,961 [1]	2025
2	Lima		Peru	10,092,000 [a] [2]	2023
3	Bogotá		Colombia	7,862,277 [b] [4]	2024
4	Rio de Janeiro		Brazil	6,730,729 [1]	2025
5	Santiago		Chile	6,254,314 [c] [5]	2017
6	Caracas		Venezuela	3,289,886 [d] [6]	2015
7	Buenos Aires		Argentina	3,121,707 [7]	2022
8	Brasília		Brazil	2,996,899 [1]	2025
9	Medellín		Colombia	2,657,772 [b] [4]	2024
10	Guayaquil		Ecuador	2,650,288 [8]	2022
11	Fortaleza		Brazil	2,578,483 [1]	2025
12	Salvador		Brazil	2,564,204 [1]	2025
13	Belo Horizonte		Brazil	2,415,872 [1]	2025
14	Manaus		Brazil	2,303,732 [1]	2025
15	Cali		Colombia	2,270,293 [b] [4]	2024
16	Curitiba		Brazil	1,830,795 [1]	2025
17	Quito		Ecuador	1,763,275 [8]	2022
18	Maracaibo		Venezuela	1,653,211 [6]	2015
19	Santa Cruz de la Sierra		Bolivia	1,606,671 [9]	2024
20	Recife		Brazil	1,588,376 [1]	2025
21	Córdoba		Argentina	1,505,250 [10]	2022
22	Goiânia		Brazil	1,503,256 [1]	2025
23	Belém		Brazil	1,397,315 [1]	2025
24	Porto Alegre		Brazil	1,388,794 [1]	2025
25	Guarulhos		Brazil	1,349,100 [1]	2025
26	Rosario		Argentina	1,348,725 [11]	2022
27	Barranquilla		Colombia	1,341,160 [b] [4]	2024
28	Montevideo		Uruguay	1,302,954 [12]	2023
29	Campinas		Brazil	1,187,974 [1]	2025
30	Callao		Peru	1,171,400 [2]	2023
31	Arequipa		Peru	1,157,500 [e] [2]	2023
32	Barquisimeto		Venezuela	1,116,182 [6]	2015
33	São Luís		Brazil	1,089,215 [1]	2025
34	Trujillo		Peru	1,034,300 [f] [2]	2023
35	Maceió		Brazil	994,952 [1]	2025
36	São Gonçalo		Brazil	960,196 [1]	2025
37	Campo Grande		Brazil	962,883 [1]	2025
38	Cartagena		Colombia	950,011 [b] [4]	2024
39	Teresina		Brazil	905,692 [1]	2025
40	Valencia		Venezuela	901,900 [6]	2015
41	João Pessoa		Brazil	897,633 [1]	2025
42	El Alto		Bolivia	885,035 [9]	2024
43	Ciudad Guayana		Venezuela	877,547 [6]	2015
44	Duque de Caxias		Brazil	866,225 [1]	2025
45	Nova Iguaçu		Brazil	843,220 [1]	2025
46	São Bernardo do Campo		Brazil	841,154 [1]	2025
47	Natal		Brazil	784,249 [1]	2025
48	Santo André		Brazil	782,048 [1]	2025
49	La Plata		Argentina	768,547 [14]	2022
50	La Paz		Bolivia	755,732 [9]	2024

Countries

• List of cities in Argentina
• List of cities in Bolivia
• List of cities in Brazil
• List of cities in Chile
• List of cities in Colombia
• List of cities in Ecuador
• List of cities in Guyana
• List of cities in Paraguay
• List of cities in Peru
• List of cities in Suriname
• List of cities in Uruguay
• List of cities in Venezuela

Territories

• List of cities in the Falkland Islands
• List of cities in French Guiana

See also

• List of Latin American cities by population
• Demographics of South America
• Lists of cities
• Cities of present-day nations and states
• Citiesportal
• Latin Americaportal

Notes

1. While there is no official administrative definition of the city, it is generally considered to consist of the central 30 of the 43 districts of Lima Province, corresponding to the urban area centered around the historic Cercado de Lima district.
2. Population projections for Colombian cities are that of the cabecera municipal (municipal seat). ^[3]
3. The population of Santiago was calculated using the microdata base from the 2017 Chilean census. The blocks associated with the following urban areas were considered: all of Santiago Province (except Ciudad del Valle, El Cambucho, El Maitén, Lo Aguirre, and Noviciado Alto), Puente Alto, Pirque, La Obra-Las Vertientes, Las Canteras, Chamisero, Estación Colina, Valle Grande, Chicauma, San Bernardo, Padre Hurtado, and Peñaflor. Also included are unassigned blocks from the municipalities of Santiago Province, San Bernardo, Puente Alto, Padre Hurtado, and Peñaflor..
4. Population projection is that of the Metropolitan District of Caracas, which comprises the municipalities of Libertador, Chacao, Baruta, Sucre and El Hatillo.
5. INEI defines the city of Arequipa as comprising the districts of Arequipa, Alto Selva Alegre, Cayma, Cerro Colorado, Jacobo Hunter, Mariano Melgar, Miraflores, Paucarpata, Sabandía, Sachaca, Socabaya, Tiabaya, Yanahuara and José Luis Bustamante y Rivero. ^[13]
6. INEI defines the city of Trujillo as comprising the districts of Trujillo, El Porvenir, Florencia de Mora, La Esperanza and Víctor Larco Herrera. ^[13]

References

1. "Estimativas da população residente para os municípios e para as unidades da federação | IBGE". www.ibge.gov.br. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
2. Situación de la Población Peruana - Una mirada hacia los jóvenes 2023 (PDF) (Report) (in Spanish). Inei. June 2023. p. 23. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
3. "Conceptos básicos" (PDF). DANE. 2011-05-12. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
4. "PROYECCIONES DE POBLACIÓN MUNICIPAL POR ÁREA" (in Spanish). DANE. 2022-02-06. Archived from the original on 2022-07-20. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
5. "Comunas: Actualización Población 2002-2012 y Proyecciones 2013-2020". Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas . Retrieved 2024-12-13.
6. "Proyección de la población al 30 de junio con base al censo 2011, según entidad federal y municipios, 2000-2050". Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
7. Censo Nacional de Población, Hogares y Viviendas 2022 – Indicadores demográficos, por sexo y edad (PDF) (Report) (in Spanish). Indec. November 2023. p. 22. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
8. Censo Ecuador 2022 – Tabulados (Report) (in Spanish). Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos. November 2023. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
9. REPORTE DE DATOS PRIMER CONTEO DE POBLACIÓN, CENSO DE POBLACIÓN Y VIVIENDA 2024 (Report) (in Spanish). Ine. August 2024. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
10. Censo Nacional de Población, Hogares y Viviendas 2022 – Provincia de Córdoba (Report) (in Spanish). Indec. November 2023. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
11. Censo Nacional de Población, Hogares y Viviendas 2022 – Provincia de Santa Fe (Report) (in Spanish). Indec. November 2023. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
12. Censo 2023 – Población estimada, crecimiento intercensal y estructura por sexo y edad de Uruguay. Total país y por departamento (PDF) (Report) (in Spanish). Instituto Nacional de Estadística. December 2024. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
13. "PERÚ: LISTADO DE DISTRITOS QUE CONFORMAN LAS CIUDADES PRINCIPALES, SEGÚN DEPARTAMENTO". Perú: Estimaciones y Proyecciones de Población total y edades quinquenales, según Departamento, Provincia y Distrito, 2005-2015. INEI. November 2010. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
14. Censo Nacional de Población, Hogares y Viviendas 2022 – Provincia de Buenos Aires (Report) (in Spanish). Indec. November 2023. Retrieved 2024-12-13.