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

Salvador

Bahia · Brazil
City population
2,711,840
#4
in Brazil
#1
in Bahia
#141
worldwide
BrasíliaSalvador
-12.976, -38.491 · 1,063 km from Brasília
City population
2,711,840
Within the city boundary, not a metro area
Rank in Brazil
#4
of 2,250 cities of 15,000+
World rank
#141
of 31,365 cities listed
Share of Brazil
1.3%
of the national population

About Salvador

At 4 m above sea level, this city holds 2.7 million people, making it Brazil's fourth-largest by city population and accounting for 1.3% of the national total. Located 1,063 km from Brasília, it ranks first in Bahia among 243 listed cities in the state. Lauro de Freitas, 20 km away, is the nearest substantial city with 203,331 people; four other neighbours fall within 30 km.

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
#4of 2,250
LargestSmallest
Position in Bahia
#1of 243
LargestSmallest

Key Facts

Country
Brazil
Region
Bahia
Rank in region
#1of 243
Distance to capital
1,063 km
to Brasília
Elevation
4 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
America/Bahia
Coordinates
-12.976, -38.491
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.

20KMLauro de Freitas203K people23KMItaparica20K people23KMSimões Filho115K people30KMMadre de Deus19K people35KMCandeias72K 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. Salvador2.71M
City-proper figures only. Administrative boundaries differ between countries, so these are not directly comparable to metropolitan-area estimates.
Salvador 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
Salvador2.71M

Salvador Population FAQ

What is the population of Salvador?

Salvador has a city population of 2,711,840. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.

Where is Salvador?

Salvador is in Bahia, Brazil, 1,063 km from the capital, Brasília. Its coordinates are -12.976, -38.491.

How big is Salvador compared with other cities in Brazil?

It is the 4th largest of the 2,250 cities of 15,000 or more listed in Brazil, holding 1.3% of the national population.

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