Biggest Cities In Latin America

Latin America is a group of countries in America that are dominated by the Romance languages. The use of the term "Latin" to describe the region had its origins in France in the 1800s when it was used to differentiate the French-speaking American territories from the Spanish and Portuguese territories. Latin America is made up of 20 sovereign states and several other dependencies territories. Some of the countries making up Latin America include Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Costa Rica,Cuba, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic,El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The whole region has a total population of 626,741,000 people, with Brazil and Mexico together accounting for almost half of the population. Uruguay and Panama are the least populated with a total population of around 7.5 million people. Monte Verd and Puerto Montt are the known earliest settlement in the area of Chile around 14,000 years ago. Some of biggest cities of Latin America are discussed below.

Mexico City

Mexico City is the most populous metropolitan area in all of Latin America. The capital city of Mexico has a population of 22,976,700 people spread across its 16 municipalities and 300 neighborhoods.The city boasts of a GDP of $490.6 billion with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of US $16,239. Mexico City is an important financial center in America. The majority of the people living in Mexico City are Mestizo, the largest indigenous group while 23% considered themselves Europeans. 18.74% of the people are native from other parts of Mexico. Mexico City is also a home to expatriates and immigrants, especially from North America. Roman Catholic is the dominant religion in this city. Mexico City transport system is served by a 229.4-kilometer-long metro system with approximately 1.7 million people using it every day.

Sao Paulo

Sao Paulo, a metropolitan "Alpha Global City", is located in the southeastern region of Brazil. The city is the most populous in Brazil and the second most populous in Latin America with a population of 20,847,500 people. Sao Paulo’s GDP of $530.9 billion is also the largest in the region. The city is one of the most multicultural cities in Brazil and the whole world. 60% of the population in the city is of Italian ancestry while those of Portuguese, German, and Spanish ancestries also live in the city. There are also approximately 3 million immigrants who came into the city since 2010. Sao Paulo is the financial center of Brazil and the main headquarter to some of the major banks. The city is also a major exporting municipality in Brazil. It was founded in 1554 and has attracted people from different parts of the world.

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is Argentina’s largest, most cosmopolitan, and capital city. The city is a multicultural locale and home to several ethnic and religious groups. Buenos Aires has a total population of 15,481,800 with a per capita GDP of $35,906, the highest among Latin American cities. The majority of the population (60%) lives in apartment buildings while 30% live in single homes. Most of the city’s origin can be traced to the Italian and Spanish immigrants into the city beginning in the 19th Century. Roman Catholic Christianity is the dominant religion in the city of Buenos Aires.

Notable Others

The list of other massive cities in Latin America also includes Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with a population of 12,460,200, Lima, Peru and its 10,674,116 residents, Bogotá, Colombia at 9,135,800 inhabitants, and Santiago, Chile, which houses 7,164,400.