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World Measure
The population almanac240 countries · 31,365 cities · UN WPP 2024
City profile · Brazil · South America

Porto Alegre

Rio Grande do Sul · Brazil
City population
1,488,252
#12
in Brazil
#1
in Rio Grande do Sul
#319
worldwide
BrasíliaPorto Alegre
-30.033, -51.230 · 1,620 km from Brasília
City population
1,488,252
Within the city boundary, not a metro area
Rank in Brazil
#12
of 2,250 cities of 15,000+
World rank
#319
of 31,365 cities listed
Share of Brazil
0.7%
of the national population

About Porto Alegre

Brazil's 12th largest city by population, Porto Alegre holds 1.49 million residents, accounting for 0.7% of the national population. The city ranks first within Rio Grande do Sul and sits 1,620 km from Brasília. Four cities exceed 100,000 residents within 20 km: Canoas (328,291), Alvorada (187,315), Cachoeirinha (141,503), and Guaíba (98,239).

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

Position in Brazil
#12of 2,250
LargestSmallest
Position in Rio Grande do Sul
#1of 125
LargestSmallest

Key Facts

Country
Brazil
Region
Rio Grande do Sul
Rank in region
#1of 125
Distance to capital
1,620 km
to Brasília
Elevation
46 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
America/Sao_Paulo
Coordinates
-30.033, -51.230
Record updated
2026-04-13
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 2,250 in Brazil

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

13KMGuaíba98K people14KMCanoas328K people15KMAlvorada187K people16KMCachoeirinha142K people20KMEsteio76K 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. Porto Alegre1.49M
City-proper figures only. Administrative boundaries differ between countries, so these are not directly comparable to metropolitan-area estimates.
Porto Alegre 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
Porto Alegre1.49M

Porto Alegre Population FAQ

What is the population of Porto Alegre?

Porto Alegre has a city population of 1,488,252. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.

Where is Porto Alegre?

Porto Alegre is in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 1,620 km from the capital, Brasília. Its coordinates are -30.033, -51.230.

How big is Porto Alegre compared with other cities in Brazil?

It is the 12th largest of the 2,250 cities of 15,000 or more listed in Brazil, holding 0.7% of the national population.

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