Skip to content
World Measure
The population almanac240 countries · 31,365 cities · UN WPP 2024
City profile · Ecuador · South America

Cuenca

Azuay · Ecuador
City population
636,996
#3
in Ecuador
#1
in Azuay
#874
worldwide
QuitoCuenca
-2.895, -78.996 · 301 km from Quito
City population
636,996
Within the city boundary, not a metro area
Rank in Ecuador
#3
of 71 cities of 15,000+
World rank
#874
of 31,365 cities listed
Share of Ecuador
3.5%
of the national population

About Cuenca

Ranking 874th in the world, this city holds 3.5% of Ecuador's population at 636,996 people, making it the country's third-largest city. Situated 301 km from Quito and at an elevation of 2,484 m, it anchors the Azuay region as its primary centre. Azogues and Gualaceo lie 24 km away, each with populations under 35,000.

This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.

Position in Ecuador
#3of 71
LargestSmallest
Position in Azuay
#1of 2
LargestSmallest

Key Facts

Country
Ecuador
Region
Azuay
Rank in region
#1of 2
Distance to capital
301 km
to Quito
Elevation
2,484 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
America/Guayaquil
Coordinates
-2.895, -78.996
Record updated
2025-07-07
Entry edited, not measured

City population, GeoNames. GeoNames publishes no year for its population figures, so “record updated” is when the entry was last edited — not the date the population was measured. Elevation is modelled from a digital elevation model rather than surveyed, so it is approximate.

Nearby Cities

All 71 in Ecuador

Closest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.

24KMAzogues35K people24KMGualaceo17K people65KMLa Troncal36K people73KMNaranjal32K people96KMNaranjito34K people

Compared with the World's Largest Cities

City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.

  1. Shanghai24.9M
  2. Beijing19M
  3. Shenzhen17.5M
  4. Guangzhou16.1M
  5. Kinshasa16M
  6. Istanbul15.7M
  7. Lagos15.4M
  8. Ho Chi Minh City14M
  9. Chengdu13.6M
  10. Lahore13M
  11. Mumbai12.7M
  12. São Paulo12.4M
  13. Mexico City12.3M
  14. Karachi11.6M
  15. Tianjin11.1M
  16. Cuenca637K
City-proper figures only. Administrative boundaries differ between countries, so these are not directly comparable to metropolitan-area estimates.
Cuenca compared with the fifteen largest cities
NameCity population
Shanghai24.9M
Beijing19M
Shenzhen17.5M
Guangzhou16.1M
Kinshasa16M
Istanbul15.7M
Lagos15.4M
Ho Chi Minh City14M
Chengdu13.6M
Lahore13M
Mumbai12.7M
São Paulo12.4M
Mexico City12.3M
Karachi11.6M
Tianjin11.1M
Cuenca637K

Cuenca Population FAQ

What is the population of Cuenca?

Cuenca has a city population of 636,996. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.

Where is Cuenca?

Cuenca is in Azuay, Ecuador, 301 km from the capital, Quito. Its coordinates are -2.895, -78.996.

How big is Cuenca compared with other cities in Ecuador?

It is the 3rd largest of the 71 cities of 15,000 or more listed in Ecuador, holding 3.5% of the national population.

Explore

EcuadorAll 71 citiesCountry profileEcuador population & indicators