Brazil has 15 cities with more than 1 million inhabitants. These municipalities are home to 42.8 million people, adding up to 20.1 percent of the Brazilian population, or one in five inhabitants. Of the 15 cities, only two are not state capitals – Guarulhos and Campinas, both in São Paulo state.
The data are based on estimates for July 1, 2025, released Thursday (Aug. 28) by the statistics bureau IBGE.
The figures reveal that Brazil’s population reached 213.4 million, a growth of 0.39 percent in one year.
The capital of São Paulo is the largest city in the country, with 11.9 million people. Guarulhos and Campinas, also in the same state, are the only non–state capitals with more than one million inhabitants.
Even though the Brazilian population grew from one year to the next, IBGE notes that five capitals saw a population decline from 2024 to 2025 – Salvador (0.18%), Belo Horizonte (0.02%), Belém (0.09%), Porto Alegre (0.04%), and Natal (0.14%).
Surroundings
Marcio Minamiguchi, IBGE manager for Demographic Dynamics Studies and Analysis, said that the population decline stems from the ties between the cities and the neighboring municipalities.
“The larger capitals, these more central municipalities, generally have a more conurbated environment and lose population to it. Growth goes from the center to the periphery. In the case of the capitals that lost population – with the exception of Salvador – an increase is seen in the number of inhabitants in their metropolitan regions,” he pointed out.
According to IBGE, Brazil has 30 metropolitan areas, which are home to 103.5 million people, or 48.5 percent of the population. The largest are São Paulo (21.6 million), Rio de Janeiro (12.9 million), and Belo Horizonte (6 million).
Fund
The disclosure of population estimates by the IBGE is a legal requirement and is used by Brazil’s Federal Court of Accounts to calculate the values of resources transferred from the federal government to other federal entities.
To arrive at the population estimate, IBGE uses the 2022 census and makes annual projections based on data such as mortality and birth rates.
The Brazilian population is said to be likely to continue to grow until 2041, reaching 220.43 million inhabitants, and then begin to decline from 2042 onwards. By 2070, the country is expected to be home to 199.2 million people.
Source: Agência Brasil