This map, published in Visual Capitalist in 2025, shows the 50 most populous cities in South America, according to data from World Population Review.

The map shows the 50 most populous cities in all of South America, with the top ten being the following, in circles of different sizes depending on the number of inhabitants:

• São Paulo, Brazil (22,990,000)
• Buenos Aires, Argentina (15,752,300)
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (13,923,200)
• Bogotá, Colombia (11,795,800)
• Lima, Peru (11,517,300)
• Santiago, Chile (6,999,460)
• Belo Horizonte, Brazil (6,351,680)
• Brasilia, Brazil (4,990,930)
• Recife, Brazil (4,344,050)
• Fortaleza, Brazil (4,284,450)

Brazil, the most populous country in South America, also has the most large cities. Interestingly, there are hardly any large cities in the centre of the continent, mainly due to the limitations of the Andes and the Amazon.

Sources

• Mapped: South America's Biggest Cities in 2025