Brazil has a high level of urbanization with 87.8% of the population residing in urban and metropolitan areas. The criteria used by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) in determining whether households are urban or rural, however, are based on political divisions, not on the developed environment. Its most populous city is São Paulo.
Nowadays, the country has 5,571 cities, with 5,569 municipalities plus the capital (Brasília) and the Island of Fernando de Noronha.
Curitiba (Brazilian Portuguese: [kuɾiˈtʃibɐ]; English: /ˌkʊərɪˈtʃiːbə/ KOOR-ih-CHEEB-ə) is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná in Southern Brazil. The city's population was 1,829,225 as of 2024, making it the eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in Brazil's South Region. The Curitiba Metropolitan area comprises 29 municipalities with a total population of over 3,559,366, making it the ninth most populous metropolitan area in the country.
The city sits on a plateau at 932 m (3,058 ft) above sea level. It is located west of the seaport of Paranaguá and is served by the Afonso Pena International and Bacacheri airports. Curitiba is an important cultural, political, and economic center in Latin America and hosts the Federal University of Paraná, established in 1912.
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is also the world's fifth-largest country by area and the seventh-largest by population, with over 213 million people. The country is a federation composed of 26 states and a Federal District, which hosts the capital, Brasília. Its most populous city is São Paulo, followed by Rio de Janeiro. Brazil has the most Portuguese speakers in the world and is the only country in the Americas where Portuguese is an official language.
Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 kilometers (4,655 mi). Covering roughly half of South America's land area, it borders all other countries and territories on the continent except Ecuador and Chile. Brazil encompasses a wide range of tropical and subtropical landscapes, as well as wetlands, savannas, plateaus, and low mountains. It contains most of the Amazon basin, including the world's largest river system and most extensive virgin tropical forest. Brazil has diverse wildlife, a variety of ecological systems, and extensive natural resources spanning numerous protected habitats. The country ranks first among 17 megadiverse countries, with its natural heritage being the subject of significant global interest, as environmental degradation (through processes such as deforestation) directly affect global issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss.
São Paulo (/ˌsaʊ ˈpaʊloʊ/; Portuguese: [sɐ̃w ˈpawlu] ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the capital city of the state of São Paulo, as well as the most populous city in Brazil and in the Americas. Listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) as an alpha global city, it exerts substantial international influence in commerce, finance, arts, and entertainment. It is the largest urban area by population outside Asia and the most populous Portuguese-speaking city in the world. The city's name honors Paul the Apostle and people from the city are known as paulistanos. The city's Latin motto is Non ducor, duco, which translates as "I am not led, I lead".
Founded in 1554 by Jesuit priests, the city was the center of the bandeirantes settlers during Colonial Brazil, but it became a relevant economic force only during the Brazilian coffee cycle in the mid-19th century and later consolidated its role as the main national economic hub with industrialization in Brazil in the 20th century, which made the city a cosmopolitan melting pot, home to the largest Arab, Italian, and Japanese diasporas in the world, with ethnic neighborhoods like Bixiga, Bom Retiro, and Liberdade, and people from more than 200 other countries. The city's metropolitan area, Greater São Paulo, is home to more than 20 million inhabitants and ranks as the most populous in Brazil and one of the most populous in the world. The process of conurbation between the metropolitan areas around Greater São Paulo also created the São Paulo Macrometropolis, the first megalopolis in the Southern Hemisphere, with more than 30 million inhabitants.
Brasília (/brəˈzɪliə/ brə-ZIL-ee-ə, Brazilian Portuguese: [bɾaˈziliɐ, bɾaˈziljɐ] ) is the capital city of Brazil and the Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino Kubitschek on 21 April 1960, to replace Rio de Janeiro as the national capital. Brasília is Brazil's third-most populous city after São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, with a population of 2.8 million. Among major Latin American cities, it has the highest GDP per capita.
Brasília is a planned city developed by Lúcio Costa, Oscar Niemeyer and Joaquim Cardozo in 1956 in a scheme to move the capital from Rio de Janeiro to a more central location, which was chosen through a committee. The landscape architect was Roberto Burle Marx. The city's design divides it into numbered blocks as well as sectors for specified activities, such as the Hotel Sector, the Banking Sector, and the Embassy Sector. Brasília was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 due to its modernist architecture and uniquely artistic urban planning. It was named "City of Design" by UNESCO in October 2017 and has been part of the Creative Cities Network since then.
Rio de Janeiro, and also known as Rio, is the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the second-most-populous city in Brazil after São Paulo and the sixth-most-populous city in the Americas.
Founded in 1565, the city was initially the seat of the Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro, a domain of the Portuguese Empire. In 1763, it became the capital of the State of Brazil. In 1808, when the Portuguese Royal Court moved to Brazil, Rio de Janeiro became the seat of the court of Queen Maria I of Portugal. Under the leadership of her son, prince regent John of Braganza, Maria raised Brazil to the dignity of a kingdom, within the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and Algarves. Rio remained as the capital of the pluricontinental monarchy until 1822, when the Brazilian War of Independence began. This is one of the few instances in history that the capital of a colonizing country officially shifted to a city in one of its colonies. Rio de Janeiro subsequently served as the capital of the Empire of Brazil, until 1889, and then the capital of republican Brazil until 1960 when the capital was transferred to Brasília.
Florianópolis (Brazilian Portuguese: [floɾiaˈnɔpolis]; English: /ˌflɔːriæˈnɒpəlɪs/) is the capital and second largest city of the state of Santa Catarina, in the South region of Brazil. The city encompasses Santa Catarina Island and surrounding small islands, as well as part of the mainland. It has a population of 537,211, according to the 2022 Brazilian census, the second-most populous city in the state (after Joinville), and the 39th in Brazil. The metropolitan area has an estimated population of 1,111,702, the 21st largest in the country. The city is known for having the country's third-highest Human Development Index score among all Brazilian cities (0.847).
The economy of Florianópolis is heavily based on information technology, tourism, and services. The city has 60 beaches and is a center of surfing activity. Lagoa da Conceição is the most famous area for tourism, recreation, nature, and extreme sports. The New York Times reported that "Florianopolis is the party destination of the year in 2009." Newsweek placed Florianópolis in its "ten most dynamic cities of the world" list in 2006. Veja, a Brazilian publication, named the city as "the best place to live in Brazil." As a result of this exposure, Florianópolis is growing as a second home destination for many Paulistas, Argentines, Uruguayans, U.S. citizens, and Europeans.