Home > South America > Largest cities
Almost half of the population of South America lives in Brazil, this is also reflected in the ranking of the major continental cities, given that just under half of those over a million inhabitants are located in the largest and most populated South American nation.São Paulo is clearly the largest metropolis on the continent, but also the Argentine capital Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro exceed ten million inhabitants, while the Peruvian capital Lima and the Colombian Bogotá approach this limit.
After Brazil, which has 20 cities on this list, there are Argentina and Colombia (5); there are several capitals in the list and they often play the role of the only large urban center in the country.
| City | Urban aggl. | Population | Urban area | Country | Other cities in urban area |
| São Paulo | 21,486,000 | 11,452,000 | 3,649 Km² | Brazil | Guarulhos, São Bernardo do Campo, Osasco, Santo André |
| Buenos Aires | 15,748,000 | 3,122,000 | 3,437 Km² | Argentina | La Plata |
| Rio de Janeiro | 12,306,000 | 6,211,000 | 2,020 Km² | Brazil | São Gonçalo, Duque de Caxias, Nova Iguaçu |
| Lima | 10,556,000 | 10,004,000 | 891 Km² | Perú | |
| Bogotá | 10,252,000 | 7,898,000 | 562 Km² | Colombia | Soacha |
| Santiago | 7,099,000 | 5,220,000 | 1,147 Km² | Chile | Puente Alto, San Bernardo |
| Belo Horizonte | 5,242,000 | 2,316,000 | 1,287 Km² | Brazil | Contagem, Betim |
| Recife | 3,866,000 | 1,489,000 | 534 Km² | Brazil | Jaboatão dos Guararapes, Olinda, Paulista |
| Porto Alegre | 3,504,000 | 1,333,000 | 899 Km² | Brazil | Canoas |
| Fortaleza | 3,415,000 | 2,429,000 | 567 Km² | Brazil | Caucaia, Maracanaú |
| Brasilia | 3,406,000 | 2,817,000 | 963 Km² | Brazil | |
| Salvador | 3,344,000 | 2,418,000 | 435 Km² | Brazil | Lauro de Freitas |
| Medellín | 3,242,000 | 2,575,000 | 241 Km² | Colombia | Bello, Itagüí, Envigado |
| Guayaquil | 3,183,000 | 2,650,000 | 308 Km² | Ecuador | Durán |
| Curitiba | 2,873,000 | 1,774,000 | 839 Km² | Brazil | São José dos Pinhais |
| Campinas | 2,789,000 | 1,139,000 | 940 Km² | Brazil | Sumaré, Americana, Hortolândia |
| Quito | 2,778,000 | 1,763,000 | 536 Km² | Ecuador | |
| Goiânia | 2,663,000 | 1,437,000 | 831 Km² | Brazil | Aparecida de Goiânia |
| Cali | 2,640,000 | 2,238,000 | 184 Km² | Colombia | |
| Caracas | 2,521,000 | 2,088,000 | 295 Km² | Venezuela | Petare, Baruta |
| Manaus | 2,327,000 | 2,064,000 | 365 Km² | Brazil | |
| Santa Cruz de la Sierra |
2,230,000 | 1,611,000 | 948 Km² | Bolivia | |
| Maracaibo | 2,219,000 | 2,219,000 | 404 Km² | Venezuela | |
| Barranquilla | 2,133,000 | 1,334,000 | 176 Km² | Colombia | Soledad |
| Belém | 2,130,000 | 1,303,000 | 262 Km² | Brazil | Ananindeua |
| La Paz | 2,069,000 | 757,000 | 350 Km² | Bolivia | El Alto |
| Vitória | 1,731,000 | 323,000 | 337 Km² | Brazil | Vila Velha, Cariacica |
| Asunción | 1,609,000 | 477,000 | 710 Km² | Paraguay | Luque, San Lorenzo, Capiatá |
| Cordoba | 1,597,000 | 1,505,000 | 500 Km² | Argentina | |
| Valencia | 1,530,000 | 1,530,000 | 368 Km² | Venezuela | Guacara |
| Santos | 1,460,000 | 419,000 | 313 Km² | Brazil | São Vicente, Guarujá, Praia Grande |
| Montevideo | 1,421,000 | 1,369,000 | 319 Km² | Uruguay | |
| Rosario | 1,399,000 | 1,072,000 | 321 Km² | Argentina | |
| São Luís | 1,398,000 | 1,038,000 | 440 Km² | Brazil | |
| Cochabamba | 1,259,000 | 666,000 | 262 Km² | Bolivia | Quillacollo, Sacaba |
| Natal | 1,229,000 | 751,000 | 243 Km² | Brazil | Parnamirim |
| Mendoza | 1,181,000 | 127,000 | 350 Km² | Argentina | Guaymallén, Las Heras |
| João Pessoa | 1,135,000 | 834,000 | 202 Km² | Brazil | Santa Rita |
| San Miguel de Tucumán | 1,069,000 | 590,000 | 259 Km² | Argentina | |
| Maracay | 1,041,000 | 465,000 | 223 Km² | Venezuela | Turmero |
| Maceió | 1,038,000 | 958,000 | 150 Km² | Brazil | |
| Teresina | 1,010,000 | 866,000 | 228 Km² | Brazil | Timon |
| Bucaramanga | 1,005,000 | 610,000 | 70 Km² | Colombia | Floridablanca |
* data on urban agglomerations updated to 2023 (estimates), those on population according to official data or more recent estimates of the national statistical services, when different from urban agglomerations.