São Paulo: population and official figures

In depth

• Economy, jobs and prices in São Paulo: São Paulo's gross domestic product was R$ 1,066.8 billion in 2023 at current prices, 9.75% of Brazil's GDP and the largest of Brazil's 5,570 municipalities.
• Health in São Paulo: Health ministry records show 7,132 deaths of babies under one year old among residents of São Paulo in 2020-2024 against 665,424 live births, 10.7 infant deaths per 1,000 births; the 120th lowest of 320 major Brazilian cities (Brazil: 12.2).
• Education in São Paulo: At the 2022 census 97.7% of children aged 6 to 14 in São Paulo were attending school, the 59th lowest of 320 major Brazilian cities and the 744th lowest of Brazil's 5,570 municipalities (Brazil: 98.3%; São Paulo state: 98.3%).
• Poverty and living standards in São Paulo: At the 2022 census, 21.1% of residents of São Paulo lived in households with an income per person of no more than half the minimum wage (R$ 606 a month), the 131st lowest of 320 major Brazilian cities and the 1397th lowest of Brazil's 5,509 municipalities (Brazil: 31.8%).
• Government budget and revenue in São Paulo: The city government of São Paulo reported R$ 112.34 billion of budget revenue for 2025 in its annual accounts to the National Treasury, after R$ 3.86 billion of deductions, R$ 3.09 billion of them for Fundeb, the school funding pool; that is R$ 9,208 per resident, the 24th highest of 319 major Brazilian cities.

Who runs São Paulo?

In Brazil, cities and towns are run by municipalities: Mayor (prefeito) and council (câmara de vereadores) directly elected for four years; mayors can serve two terms in a row. Primary schools, basic health care, urban planning, local transport, waste; each has its own organic law.

How local power works in Brazil

Cities of a similar size in Brazil

• Rio de Janeiro 6,731,133
• Brasília 3,009,996
• Fortaleza 2,582,360
• Salvador 2,559,945
• Belo Horizonte 2,415,451
• Manaus 2,327,101
• Curitiba 1,832,183
• Recife 1,588,983
• Goiânia 1,511,709
• Belém 1,396,157
• Porto Alegre 1,388,791
• Guarulhos 1,351,284

Up a level: all cities in Brazil · Brazil · government and power

Sources

• Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE): Estatísticas do Cadastro Central de Empresas (CEMPRE) 2022-2024: local units, companies and organisations, employed persons, salaried employees, wages and average monthly salary (SIDRA table 9509; Brazil, states and the 320 listed municipalities), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 6512e29fcaa1…)
• Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE): Censo Demográfico 2022: resident population, area of the territorial unit and population density, Brazil, states and municipalities (SIDRA table 4714), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 6d558ffe6763…)
• Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE): Censo Demográfico 2022: resident population, absolute change from the 2010 population (adjusted to 2022 boundaries) and geometric annual growth rate (SIDRA table 4709), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 5459a5d6df45…)
• Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE): Produto Interno Bruto dos Municípios, database 2010-2023 (text format, with layout): GDP, GDP per person and gross value added by sector for every municipality, with IBGE urban hierarchy, metropolitan region, Legal Amazon and semi-arid classifications, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1179047b0bcc…)
• Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE): Estimativas da População: estimated resident population on 1 July, 2021 and 2024-2026, Brazil, states and municipalities (SIDRA table 6579), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 8bc8863bc78a…)
• Ministry of Health, DATASUS (Departamento de Informação e Informática do SUS): TabNet, Sistema de Informações sobre Nascidos Vivos (SINASC): live births by mother's municipality of residence and year, 2020-2024 (final data), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 d3eb8c12756b…)
• Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE): Censo Demográfico 2022: residents of permanent private households by class of monthly household income per person in minimum wages, Brazil, states and municipalities (SIDRA table 10296; API response in codes-only format), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 4896427475f0…)
• Ministry of Health, DATASUS (Departamento de Informação e Informática do SUS): TabNet, Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade (SIM): infant deaths (under 1 year) by municipality of residence and year, 2020-2024 (final data), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 9c69e0471200…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais Anísio Teixeira (Inep), Ministry of Education: Ideb 2025, primary school late years (6th-9th grade): pass rates, Saeb scores and Ideb 2005-2025 by municipality and school network (spreadsheet from the zip download), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0a54ddd30107…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais Anísio Teixeira (Inep), Ministry of Education: Ideb 2025, primary school early years (1st-5th grade): pass rates, Saeb scores and Ideb 2005-2025 by municipality and school network (spreadsheet from the zip download), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 e132cd0ab831…)
• Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE): Censo Demográfico 2022: mean and median monthly household income per person of residents of permanent private households, Brazil, states and municipalities (SIDRA table 10295), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 34331c7982e4…)
• Ministry of Health, DATASUS (Departamento de Informação e Informática do SUS): TabNet, SINASC: live births by mother's municipality of residence and number of prenatal appointments, 2024, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 9206d88e6676…)
• Secretaria do Tesouro Nacional (National Treasury), SICONFI: SICONFI API, Declaração de Contas Anuais (DCA) Annex I-C, budget revenue realised, 2025 (2024 where 2025 was not filed), for the 320 listed municipalities (gzip of request URL -> exact API response), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 8e46cf2e4cc4…)
• Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE): Censo Demográfico 2022, Agregados por Municípios: household characteristics part 3, residents of occupied permanent private households by sewage destination, water source and rubbish disposal, every municipality, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1b96b1e32794…)
• Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE): Censo Demográfico 2022: gross school attendance rate by age group (0-3, 4-5, 6-14 and 15-17), Brazil, states and municipalities (SIDRA table 10056), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 4966e323affd…)
• Secretaria do Tesouro Nacional (National Treasury), SICONFI: SICONFI API, Declaração de Contas Anuais (DCA) Annex I-E, budget spending by function, 2025 (2024 where 2025 was not filed), for the 320 listed municipalities (gzip of request URL -> exact API response), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 2d3d576cb339…)

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