This is a list of the fifty most populous metropolitan areas in South America as of 2015, the most recent year for which official census results, estimates or projections are available for every major metropolitan area in South America. All figures refer to mid-year populations. Metropolitan area Population Year Country 1 São Paulo 21,090,792 2015 2 Buenos Aires 13,693,657 2015 3 Rio de Janeiro 12,280,702 2015 4 Lima 9,904,727 2015 5 Bogotá 9,286,225 2015 6 Santiago 6,683,852 2015 7 Belo Horizonte 5,829,923 2015 8 Caracas 5,322,310 2015 9 Porto Alegre 4,258,926 2015 10 Brasília 4,201,737 2015 11 Fortaleza 3,985,297 2015 12 Salvador 3,953,290 2015 13 Recife 3,914,397 2015 14 Medellín 3,777,009 2015 15 Curitiba 3,502,804 2015 16 Campinas 3,094,181 2015 17 Guayaquil 2,952,159 2015 18 Cali 2,911,278 2015 19 Quito 2,653,330 2015 20 Maracaibo 2,576,836 2015 21 Manaus 2,523,819 2015 22 Asunción 2,482,760 2015 23 Paraíba Valley and North Coast 2,453,387 2015 24 Goiânia 2,421,833 2015 25 Belém 2,402,438 2015 26 Montevideo 2,059,988 2015 27 Barranquilla 2,025,071 2015 28 Santa Cruz 1,986,855 2015 29 Vitória 1,910,101 2015 30 Sorocaba 1,888,073 2015 31 La Paz 1,849,504 2015 32 Baixada Santista 1,797,500 2015 33 Valencia 1,544,004 2015 34 São Luís 1,538,131 2015 35 Córdoba 1,519,000 2015 36 Natal 1,504,819 2015 37 Rosario 1,429,000 2015 38 Piracicaba 1,412,721 2015 39 Norte Catarinense 1,344,089 2015 40 Barquisimeto 1,308,163 2015 41 Maceió 1,304,190 2015 42 João Pessoa 1,253,929 2015 43 Cochabamba 1,227,044 2015 44 Teresina 1,194,911 2015 45 Maracay 1,189,314 2015 46 Cartagena 1,161,320 2015 47 Florianópolis 1,131,981 2015 48 Bucaramanga 1,122,945 2015 49 Mendoza 1,082,000 2015 50 Londrina 1,076,454 2015
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