São Paulo — UN urban centre
São Paulo: 18,949,790 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #13 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 7303; territory: Brazil (BRA). UN source workbook.
Method: Degree of Urbanisation (contiguous 1 km2 cells, density 1,500+ people/km2, total 50,000+). This is a source-defined urban centre, not a municipality or province. No association with a separate administrative entity is inferred from proximity or name.
Source centroid: -23.5767, -46.5999. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.
UN population series
| Year | People | Method |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 10,536,121 | Estimate |
| 1980 | 13,006,388 | Estimate |
| 1985 | 14,102,503 | Estimate |
| 1990 | 15,262,744 | Estimate |
| 1995 | 16,046,719 | Estimate |
| 2000 | 16,702,008 | Estimate |
| 2005 | 17,436,827 | Estimate |
| 2010 | 18,150,750 | Estimate |
| 2015 | 18,680,183 | Estimate |
| 2020 | 18,801,950 | Estimate |
| 2025 | 18,949,790 | Estimate |
| 2030 | 18,988,842 | Projection |
| 2035 | 18,935,149 | Projection |
| 2040 | 18,787,046 | Projection |
| 2045 | 18,559,079 | Projection |
| 2050 | 18,217,300 | Projection |
Largest UN urban centres · Fastest-growing urban centres
What changed during your lifetime?
Turn these figures into a private, five-scene personal world story.
Use this source record with the right definition
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.