South America Cities by Population 2025
5 Most Populated South America Cities
Sao Paulo
22,990,000
Buenos Aires
15,752,300
Rio de Janeiro
13,923,200
Bogota
11,795,800
Lima
11,517,300
South America Cities Overview
South America features several megacities, with Buenos Aires leading as the largest metropolitan area at 13.1M residents. Sao Paulo follows with 10M inhabitants, while Lima (7.7M) and Bogota (7.7M) form another tier of major metropolises.
Brazil dominates the urban landscape with multiple major cities beyond São Paulo, including Rio de Janeiro (6M), Salvador (2.7M), and Fortaleza (2.4M). The capital city, Brasilia, maintains 2.2M residents.
Several countries feature prominent urban corridors: Colombia includes Cali (2.4M) and Medellin (2M), while Venezuela hosts Caracas (3M) and Maracaibo (2.2M).