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

Santa Cruz de la Sierra

Santa Cruz Department · Bolivia
City population
1,831,434
#2
in Bolivia
#1
in Santa Cruz Department
#236
worldwide
SucreSanta Cruz de la Sierra
-17.786, -63.181 · 260 km from Sucre
City population
1,831,434
Within the city boundary, not a metro area
Rank in Bolivia
#2
of 39 cities of 15,000+
World rank
#236
of 31,365 cities listed
Share of Bolivia
14.6%
of the national population

About Santa Cruz de la Sierra

Bolivia's second-largest city, Santa Cruz de la Sierra holds 1,831,434 residents and accounts for 14.6% of the national population. The city sits 260 km from the capital Sucre and is surrounded by smaller settlements: Cotoca at 14 km with 18,347 people and Warnes at 30 km with 22,036. Montero, the nearest larger neighbour, lies 50 km away with a population of 88,616.

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

Position in Bolivia
#2of 39
LargestSmallest
Position in Santa Cruz Department
#1of 9
LargestSmallest

Key Facts

Country
Bolivia
Region
Santa Cruz Department
Rank in region
#1of 9
Distance to capital
260 km
to Sucre
Elevation
433 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
America/La_Paz
Coordinates
-17.786, -63.181
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 39 in Bolivia

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

30KMWarnes22K people32KMEl Torno16K people50KMMontero89K people81KMVilla Yapacaní18K people211KMAscención de Guarayos19K 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. Santa Cruz de la Sierra1.83M
City-proper figures only. Administrative boundaries differ between countries, so these are not directly comparable to metropolitan-area estimates.
Santa Cruz de la Sierra 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
Santa Cruz de la Sierra1.83M

Santa Cruz de la Sierra Population FAQ

What is the population of Santa Cruz de la Sierra?

Santa Cruz de la Sierra has a city population of 1,831,434. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.

Where is Santa Cruz de la Sierra?

Santa Cruz de la Sierra is in Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia, 260 km from the capital, Sucre. Its coordinates are -17.786, -63.181.

How big is Santa Cruz de la Sierra compared with other cities in Bolivia?

It is the 2nd largest of the 39 cities of 15,000 or more listed in Bolivia, holding 14.6% of the national population.

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