Major Cities

The majority of Brazilians live in cities; approximately 8 out of 10. There are hundreds of cities in the country of Brazil. Here is a closer look at the top three largest cities, with São Paulo and Rio de Janerio being much larger than any other Brazilian city.

São Paulo

São Paulo is located in southeastern Brazil. It is the capital of the state of São Paulo. This city has an area of 1,523.0 square kilometers (588.0 sq. miles). It's population is a little over 11 million people. São Paulo is the largest and highest populated city in the Southern Hemisphere.

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro is located in southeastern Brazil. The name of this city, and state as well, is Portuguese for " January River". This city was the capital of Brazil and the Portuguese Empire at one time. Rio de Janeiro's population is approximately 6,094,183. These people live in an area of 1182.3 km² (456.5 mi²), which makes Rio de Janeiro Brazil's second largest city. This city is famous for many things including it's Carnival celebrations, beautiful natural setting, tourist beaches, pavements decorated with cream and black pattern mosaics and much more.

Salvador

This city is located on the eastern coast of Brazil. It is the capital of the northeastern state of Bahia. The population is approximately 2.54 million people. The translation of this cities name is “Holy Savior of All Saint’s Bay”. Salvador is located on a small peninsula that separates Todos os Santos Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. It is a huge export port for Brazil because it is situated in a very industrial and agricultural region of the country. It is a culturally rich city with many colonial buildings, old houses, works of art, the nations’ first medical school and a great deal of old churches including Brazil’s oldest cathedral (1572).

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